Category: Certification

So I’ve lost track of what plan we are on for the start-up of cycle two of our Master Naturalist Certification workshops! Whatever. Here’s the newest iteration:

May 25 – Basic Plant Identification with Dr. Charles Allen

Dr. Allen is awfully busy for a retired person (Hmmm, sounds familiar!), and he is willing to adjust his plans to do a workshop with us Saturday, May 25. Several people responded that they were okay with that date, so we’re going for it.

Regarding location, we will very likely follow the plan that was set for today (May 4). However, I will be monitoring water levels at the ULM Biological Station, Charles Allen Nature Preserve near Columbia. Should this infernal weather give us a break and the water level drop, we’ll move it.

June 1 – Bugs with Dr. Natalie Clay

The power is back on in Ruston! At this time, I am assuming our bugs workshop with Dr. Clay will go forward as planned, with classroom work at LaTech and field work at the LaTech Arboretum.

Re payment: If you have paid for a workshop that has been cancelled or rescheduled, please know that you have credit. If anyone wants their money refunded to them, please just let me know. Otherwise, I will use it for the next workshop you are able to attend.

Now for a couple of visual treats, a plant and a bug…I think! I went to Dr. Allen’s edible plants workshop last Saturday. Here are gems from that experience.

So… Bugs was to be the first workshop of Round Two, but it had to be rescheduled due to weather. Thus, the honors for kicking off our second cycle of certification workshops goes to a repeat of Basic Plant Identification with Dr. Charles Allen.

Those of you who participated in this one last year know we had a blast, but you are welcome again! I have taken multiple Charles Allen plant workshops over the years and still have a ton of stuff to learn. Moreover, this one will not be an exact repeat. More on that in a minute.

The link to register for Basic Plant Identification is ready for you on the Certification tab of this website, as is the flyer. Those of you who registered for Bugs and left your money in the LMN-NE treasury do NOT NEED TO REGISTER. (I’ll send out an email about that shortly.)

If you did not register for Bugs, please register for Basic Plant Identification asap so I know how many copies of Dr. Allen’s handouts to make.

We will again meet at the Chevron station in Georgetown and conduct the “classroom” portion of the workshop under the canopy in the parking lot. For field work, we will caravan to nearby locations in the Kisatchie National Forest. The Chevron station will be home base and pit stop at noon. The staff there is looking forward to our food and/or gas business!

Here’s what’s different. Georgetown has ended access to its reservoir. We can’t go there. That made me sad because we saw lots of cool plants there last year, but last Friday I scouted a new area in the Kisatchie about 3 miles down Highway 500 from the Chevron station. We’ll turn north off of Highway 500 onto Forest Service 568 (gravel) and in a few miles, the road crosses a stream and nice, wide trails extend east and west into the forest.

I walked just a short distance down both trails Friday and saw lots of cool stuff worthy of our attention. Indeed, I came home with photos of new dragonfly and damselfly species! Of course, I’m not going to spill the beans on what plants I saw. Come and see!

Right now, the weather forecast for Saturday is “mixed clouds and sun with scattered thunderstorms.” To me that’s a go ahead, but I plan to have a rain poncho in the camera bag! Do check your email and the FB page Friday.

So, the weather got the better of us. (See the map I posted on Facebook.) I can be kind of hardcore about not letting the weather change plans, but… occasionally sense–and concern for safety–must prevail.

Our next workshop will be Basic Plant Identification with Dr. Charles Allen. It is scheduled May 4, 9 – 3.

We still have not pinned down a location. However, I can tell you that the ULM Biological Station was again flooded just a couple of weeks ago. If it does not clear in time, we will do a repeat of last year or go to the nature trail near the Columbia Lock & Dam.

IMPORTANT: If you paid for Bugs, you have three options: 1) Leave the money as is to cover the Plant ID workshop, 2) leave the money as is to cover the Bugs workshop June 1, or 3) ask for a refund. Please just let me know via email which option you prefer.

The bugs workshop is hereby rescheduled June 1, 9-3 at La Tech, and I for one am hoping for good weather so we can go to the La Tech Arboretum for field work.

In the meantime, here are more events to keep you entertained and outdoors!

Saturday, April 20, 10 a.m.: Earth Day at Black Bayou Lake NWR, brought to you by Ouachita Green. We will have a table. Help wanted! Fun activities for the whole family!

Monday, April 22, 6:30: Grand opening of the alligator exhibit at Black Bayou Lake NWR, followed by a talk about alligators by Kelby Ouchley. Bring your copies of Kelby’s books to get them signed, and if you don’t have them, I’m sure the FOBB gift shop will be open.

Sunday, April 28, 1:30 – 3: LMN-NE will have a table at the celebration of Earth Day in Ruston on the grounds of the Civic Center. I will be there with all of our stuff. Again, help wanted! Fun activities for the whole family! Flyer below. Please note that Amy Ouchley will be sharing a letter from Swamper!

Earth Day Celebration 2019

The registration link for the Bugs workshop this coming Saturday is now live on the Certification tab of this website. Yes, I’m kinda running late, so get registered now!

As usual, if you want to pay on site, email me please. Here’s the Workshop 1 Flyer.

Dr. Natalie Clay is our workshop leader. We will convene on the Tech campus, very likely the same room we have used before, but she has been on the road and will reserve a space for us Monday. I will convey that via email by mid-week.

Our classroom time will include an intro to entomology, major orders of insects, identification, and methods of collecting and preserving.

We will go to the Louisiana Tech Arboretum for our field work. Wear footwear and pants you don’t mind getting wet and muddy! Bring the usual field gear and protection from the sun just in case.

Ahh, the weather! At this time, scattered thunderstorms are predicted for Saturday, with a high of 70 degrees. I plan to bring a rain jacket and will only stay indoors if it is pouring.

But Natalie says if we can’t go outdoors, we will sift through leaf litter indoors, look at Tech’s specimens, etc. Expect to see bugs!

Speaking of rain and bugs.. We had a great 1st Quarter Meeting today at Black Bayou Lake NWR. We saw dragonflies, heard Dr. Doug Clarke’s excellent presentation on Odonates, and got wet over a pair of prothonotary warblers! Then there was this little guy on the path as we hurried back to the Visitor Center in the rain. Perfect afternoon, if you ask me. More about it later.

Folks, sorry to be so late with this! It is past time to register for this coming Saturday’s Geology workshop. It is the 9th and last in our first series of workshops for those seeking to become certified Master Naturalists.

The charge is $25 as usual and the registration link is live on the Certification tab above. You can also pay on site if you let me know in advance that you wish to do so.

I am still waiting for details from Gerry Click, so the flyer link on the Certification tab is not active. But here’s what you need to know now:

1. We will convene in the Learning Center of the Franklin Parish Library at 9 a.m. for the classroom portion. The address is 705 Prairie St., Winnsboro.
2. We will end the classroom portion in time for folks to pick up lunch in Winnsboro, or take their brown bag lunches to the park that is on the left side of the highway going south–the direction we will go, or head straight to the WMA and eat there.
3. We will reconvene at the J.C. “Sonny” Gilbert Wildlife Management Area at about 12:30 p.m. It is a 40-minute drive straight south on Highway 425 to Sicily Island then a few miles west on Highway 8.

As soon as I hear from Gerry, I’ll finish the flyer and distribute it by email so you’ll have something to print if that is your desire. In the meantime, get registered! And enjoy this photo of a lovely geological display at a quarry north of Pollock, La.