The 21st Century Matriarch

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:

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.

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.