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The Call of the Wild: Master Naturalist program starting this month

By Jess Mancini 5 min read

WILLIAMSTOWN -- The 12th Mid-Ohio Valley Master Naturalist Program will begin March 23.

Participants will take 64 hours of workshops throughout the year and upon completion will be designated Master Naturalists, said Emily Grafton, organizer of the program held in collaboration with the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources.

Workshops are led by experts in their field and in the field.

"This year we're going to have some spectacular people," Grafton said.

The Master Naturalist Program encompasses the natural history of the region, wildflowers, birds, gardening for wildlife, mushrooms, mammals and reptiles, geology and the natural ecosystem, among others, and is taught in classroom settings and on field trips, she said. The program is for participants of all ages 16 and older and all levels of physical ability and knowledge.

The program includes experts from West Virginia University and Marietta College, the West Virginia Division of Natural Resource, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and local experts who will teach the 64 hours of workshops required to complete the course and earn a certificate, Grafton said.

Among the instructors is Jason White, a Marietta College biology instructor, who will present two workshops. Daniel Jonas, a Parkersburg High School biology teacher and herpetologist, will teach a class on reptiles and amphibians with hands-on instruction in the out-of-doors. Michael Schramm with the Ohio River Islands National Wildlife Refuge, an expert birder, will teach a workshop on birds. Bill Beatty will present a program about Saw-whet owls.

Workshops will be held at the refuge and other venues including Mountwood Park, Doddridge County Park and North Bend State Park, Grafton said. Field trips are routine, she said.

"We try to get out in the field as much as possible," she said.

The mission of the program is expose students to local natural history so they develop a basic knowledge of the ecology, plants and wildlife of the region, Grafton said. Participants who complete the program will be able to lead nature walks and introductory nature classes and can continue their learning by attending new workshops every year.

Some graduates work as seasonal naturalists in state parks, Grafton said.

The 64 hours of workshops consists of 48 required core credit hours and 16 hours of elective classes to earn the Master Naturalist's certificate, she said. While the core workshops begin on March 23, the first elective class will be held from 9 a.m.-noon Saturday at a location yet to be determined and will be about vernal pools by Adam Weaver, Grafton said.

Master Naturalist chapters are located across West Virginia, she said. The Mid-Ohio Valley chapter program has had participants from the community, the region and from St. Marys, Ravenswood and Marietta.

"We've attracted people from all over," she said.

Cost is $125 for the entire program no matter how long it takes for the participant to complete the hours for the certificate, Grafton said. Some people have taken years to finish and others have completed the program and return to take other courses, she said.

Payments can also be made each month, which is a benefit for students in school, she said.

"That allows anybody with any budget the flexibility," Grafton said.

Participants also must complete 30 hours of volunteer work, of which there are numerous opportunities, Grafton said. Among those are monitoring bluebird boxes, planting and maintaining pollinator gardens and volunteering at an environmental education program, she said.

More information about the program is available from Grafton at emily.grafton@gmail.com or at 304-906-7846. Brochures with this year's schedule of workshops can be mailed and are available at some libraries and other locations.

The state Master Naturalists website at mnofwv.org has information about other chapters in West Virginia. The Mid-Ohio Valley Master Naturalist Program also has a Facebook page.

The schedule for 2024 is:

* Saturday, 9 a.m.-noon, location to be determined: vernal pools, elective, Adam Weaver

* March 23, Ohio River Islands National Wildlife Refuge Visitors Center: 9 a.m.-noon, wildlife habitat improvement, core, Emily Grafton; 1-4 p.m., nature interpretation, Ken Zebo.

* April 20, Doddridge County Park, directions to be distributed: 7:30-11:30 a.m., wildflowers, core, Kevin Campbell, West Virginia Native Plant Society botanist; 11:30 a.m.-noon; noon-3 p.m., recording and preserving what has been learned, core.

* May 18, wildlife refuge: 8:30 a.m.-noon, birds, core, Michael Schramm; noon-1 p.m. lunch; 1-4 p.m., names and classification, core, Jason White.

* June 15, Mountwood Park: 9 a.m.-noon, trees and shrubs, core, Emily Grafton; 1-4:30 p.m., geology, Claudette Simard.

* July 6-7, North Bend State Park: 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. July 6, one hour for lunch, West Virginia Save Our Streams training and aquatic habitats, core, Callie Sams, West Virginia Division of Environmental Protection: 7-10 p.m., salamander hunt, stargazing and moth night, Adam Weaver, John Dennis and Emily Grafton; 9 a.m.-noon July 7, terrestrial habitats.

* July 20, Mountwood Park: 9 a.m.-noon, reptiles and amphibians, core, Daniel Jonas; wetlands, Emily Grafton.

* Aug. 17, Wildlife Refuge visitors center: 9 a.m.-4 p.m., one hour lunch, mushrooms and other fungi, elective, Amy McLaughlin and Shawn Means.

* Sept. 14, Wildlife Refuge visitors center: 9 a.m.-noon, mammals, core, Sheldon Owen; noon-1 p.m., lunch; 1-4:30 p.m., ecosystem restoration, elective, Mark Krivchenia.

* Oct. 5, Wildlife Refuge visitors center: 9 a.m.-noon, medicinal plants, elective; noon-1 p.m. lunch; 1-4:30 p.m., insects and other invertebrates, core; 7 p.m., Saw-whet owls, elective, Bill Beatty

* Nov. 9, Wildlife Refuge visitors center: 9 a.m.-noon, fish and ichthyology, elective, Mike Vernon; 1-4 p.m., general ecology, Jason White.

* Dec. 7, Wildlife Refuge visitors center: 9:30 a.m.-1 p.m., nature trivia and potluck, to be announced.

Jess Mancini can be reached at jmancini@newsandsentinel.com.

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