Workshops Update

I considered titling this post “the end is near!” but ultimately decided that was too much drama. Nevertheless…. Yay! The remaining three workshops in our first cycle of certification workshops are now scheduled! Here they are:

January 12, 2019 – Birds

Our own Dr. Terri Maness will lead this workshop. Yes, she gets credit in her own trek towards certification for “taking” her own workshop!

Terri hopes we will be able to do our field work in the Ouachita Wildlife Management Area, which draws large numbers of water and shore birds especially in the winter. That area is also prone to flooding, so we will have to have Plan B.

Terri is an assistant professor of biological science at La Tech University.

February 9, 2019 – Mammals

Dr. Kim Tolson, ULM associate professor of biology, will lead this workshop. A few of you met Kim when she went night-time herp hunting with us back in June of this year.

Our field work for this one will be looking for animal sign–tracks, scat (ok, “poop”), antler rubs, etc.–since mammals are notoriously shy of clusters of humans roaming their habitat. I’m hoping for Tensas NWR but that will be up to Kim.

March 2, 2019 – Geology

Gerry Click is a ULM graduate and a retired petroleum geologist. He will lead this workshop on environmental geology and teach us how to identify basic rocks in Louisiana, among other things.

Since rock outcroppings are about as hard to site in northeast Louisiana as wild mammals, it’s not yet clear where we will do our field work. Do not fear. That will be figured out.

In the meantime, Gerry sent this picture of a toad sighted in Cameron Parish and challenged us to name it, demonstrating clearly that he knows how to engage wanabee master naturalists!

Final words: These three will conclude our first series of nine workshops. All are scheduled 9 am – 3 pm on a Saturday. We will then conduct a certification ceremony for all who have completed at least seven of the nine.

We will begin a new cycle of workshops ASAP so that those who missed more than two can fill in the gaps. I hope we will have two certification ceremonies next year, the first in March or early April and the second in the fall.

Onward!