Missouri Master Naturalist Training – Week 4

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There were 2 Missouri Master Naturalist (MMN) training evenings during week 4. The topics for the first one were migratory birds and wildlife management. Both lectures were informative, and I read 3 publications from the Missouri Department of Conservation afterward:

 Missouri Bird Conservation Plan Technical Section

Missouri Bird Conservation Plan Outreach Plan

Missouri Wildlife Management Plan

The topics for the second evening were Birds of Missouri (also Project Feederwatch), capstone projects and Botany. I took a bowl of show-and-tell materials that is the beginning of some collecting for my MMN capstone project (an educational trunk for trees). The red seeds of the magnolia that look a lot like red M&Ms and the size comparison between acorns (pin and white oak) and cones (hemlock and shortleaf) were the biggest hits…fun to share.

The follow-up from this class is to be ready to participate in Project Feederwatch at my house beginning in November; it will be something my husband and I will do together.

One of the handouts was a booklet Fifty Common Trees of Missouri (from the Missouri Department of Conservation) which I promptly looked at and checked the trees I’ve seen in the field in my Identifying Woody Plants class (30 of the 50 although the introductory lectures we have before going into the field have covered more of the 50).

I still need to browse the handouts from the two sessions.

There are also some things I can do to move along my capstone project…and I need to remember to keep track of the hours I am spending doing that.

Missouri Master Naturalist Training – Week 3

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Week 3 of my Missouri Master Naturalist Training included my first Springfield Plateau Chapter monthly meeting. There is not an equivalent to it in Maryland, so it was a new experience. The first part of the evening was networking over a potluck light dinner. I met a Master Naturalist that teaches high school biology and got some tips on my capstone project that is part of the training.

Then there was a lecture on prairie reconstruction/restoration on private land that started in the mid-1980s. The target was established by a land survey done in 1835 that noted the types and sizes of trees at ½ mile intervals. Most of the area around Springfield tended toward savannah (prairie with some trees). Most of the trees noted in the survey were oaks and hickories. There are 385 plant species now growing on the reconstructed prairie…that has a Floristic Quality Assessment score of 4.2 which compares favorably with other restored/reconstructed prairies in the area. But maybe the greatest joy is from seeing red-headed woodpeckers returned to some of the snags!

There was a short break before the business meeting (more networking). I learned a lot about the chapter from the business meeting…the committee reports were enlightening and I talked with 3 of the committee leads after the meeting. I already have my first Missouri Master Naturalist volunteer gig scheduled…and have ideas on the committees most relevant to the type of volunteering I want to do. There are hours to support the chapter too that I need to think about since that type of volunteer hours is not something I did in Maryland.

Missouri Master Naturalist Training – Week 2

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During last week’s class, we headed out to Kickapoo Edge Prairie which is a small area of the Springfield Botanical Gardens that is being managed as a reconstructed prairie.

Along the way we stopped at the rain garden and I got the last good light to photograph some seed pods there.

A paved walk runs through the prairie making it easy to see many native species of grasses and prairie flowers. This time of year, the goldenrods are blooming, and the milkweed pods are fat – not popped open yet. The prairie is surrounded by trees of the garden so keeping woody growth out is challenging; they clip and drip (herbicide on the cut stem) plus do burns periodically. One woody plant they are letting stay so far is Smooth Sumac. They have two sizes of ragweed – a regular sized plant and some giant plants; I was surprised that I did not have any allergy problems after the walk. On a more positive note:  there is a passionflower native to Missouri (Passiflora incarnata) and there was a plant blooming in this prairie!

The class included a discussion of native plants…focusing on plants that do well in yards around our homes.

Our field trip to La Petite Gemme Prairie was last weekend. It is about 40 miles north of the Springfield Botanical Gardens. I took a few pictures at the gardens where we met before heading to the prairies for carpool organization  since parking is limited at the prairie location: a playground silver maple and a nearby yellow poplar…both displaying some fall color. There were also leaves on the ground with interesting nodules (insects?). It was a great day for a field trip – in the 70s, a little breezy, cloudy but getting sunny later.

At the prairie before we started our session I noticed a path mowed through it and took a few pictures before the program started.

We were divided into groups. My first session was about the nature photography. We walked through the tall grass and up a hill (i.e. not the mowed path). I was glad I had my jeans tucked into my socks and some gaiters over that. It was my first experience walking through a prairie!

My favorite flowers of the day were the Prairie Gentians (Gentiana puberulenta)

But several different kinds of goldenrods and blazing stars were great to photograph too.

Our second session was to id as many plants as we could encircled by a hula-hoop. Most of us used the SEEK app although we quickly learned that it is hard to get good focus on the plant to id with all the other plants crowded close together…and the breeze moving everything.

Of course, there are small creatures about too…I managed to photography a grasshopper and a yellow spider.

The third session was an intro to nature journalling. We spred out along the mowed path. I thought about the layering of the prairie…the shortest to tallest plants; the plants are very dense closer to the ground; usually the grasses are the highest although some sunflowers get tall. I noticed a barbed wire fence (probably the boundary of the prairie) and how tall the plants were on the other side…including some woody plants; it takes work to maintain the prairie as it is.

On the way to our fourth session, I photographed a wasp (Great golden digger wasp, Sphex ichneumoneous?) on a goldenrod.

The fourth session was about seed dispersal. The ones that stuck to my clothes mainly during the hike in the first session were champion hitchhikers, but I managed to get most of them off before we headed home. So far, I don’t think I was bitten by anything!

A wonderful way to spend a Saturday morning!

Missouri Master Naturalist Training – Week 1

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The training to become a Missouri Master Naturalist (MMN) started last week. Some weeks there is only one session…sometimes there are more sessions or field trips or chapter meetings. September and October are going to be busy months this year! The first class was at the Springfield-Greene County Botanical Center starting at 6 PM. I went a little early do some late afternoon photography in the garden areas near the building. I always enjoy the rain garden area with the duck sculpture almost covered with vegetation this time of year. There were goldenrod soldier beetles on the asters and golden rods….skippers on the asters. A mallow was beginning to fade nearby.

On my way from the rain garden to the build I noted what looked like a large basket beside the sidewalk; I didn’t try to open it.

In the raised bed near the door there were several interesting plants…including some chard and an oak leaf hydrangea in bloom.

Inside I met the rest of the people that will be in the class with me. There were handouts that included a Missouri Master Naturalist tote bag. Since we all got one, I am thinking about making some Zentangle patterns on the back so that I can easily identify my bag!

The lecture topics were History of Conservation and Insects. I appreciated that we had a break to walk around between lectures since my back starts hurting if I sit for longer than an hour!

I am using a blank book my daughter picked up at a recent conference for note taking since the activity is part of my learning strategy (forces me to pay closer attention). The charts are evidently not going to be posted or sent to us so my notes will be what I will have from the class.

I find myself comparing this class with the one for Maryland Master Naturalist 9 years ago; but realizing that whatever they do here in Missouri for training is geared for the type of volunteer opportunities available here….and the volunteer work is why I am in the training!

Missouri Master Naturalist Orientation

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I went to an orientation session about becoming a Missouri Master Naturalist last week. The meeting was held at the Springfield-Greene County Botanical Center (the building in the Botanical Gardens). I spent a few minutes photographing some flowers (one with a bumblebee) in the Master Gardeners area before I went into the building.

The session was an overview of the process to become a Missouri Master Naturalist and then an informal time to talk to people that were already Missouri Master Naturalists. It was a learning experience….confirmed my decision to start the training and participate as soon as I can in volunteer opportunities. I’ve already noticed some differences between the way Maryland and Missouri implemented their Master Naturalist program…but the idea at the core is same and there are a lot of commonalities in the types of training and volunteering – which is the motivation for me! I’m excited to get started in September. It is the same type feeling I had toward the end of summer during my school years.