Certification

🌿 Becoming a Certified Louisiana Master Naturalist – Northeast

A friendly guide to how certification works in our chapter

Many people join LMN‑NE simply to learn, explore, and enjoy nature with us. Certification is completely optional. If you decide you’d like to become a Certified Louisiana Master Naturalist, we’re here to help you every step of the way.

🌱 The Simple 3‑Step Path to Certification

1. Join our organization

Become a member at any time. You do not have to commit to certification when you join.

2. Attend 7 workshops

We offer a rotating series of 9 natural history workshops. You may take them at your own pace, and you can take one workshop before joining if you’re still deciding.

3. Complete a final interpretive project

This is your chance to share something you’ve learned—through a presentation, guided walk, video, or other creative format.

If you ever want more details, just ask any board member or certified naturalist.

🌾 A More Complete Explanation

For those who want to understand the process more deeply, here’s how certification works in practice.

🧭 Workshops

Our certification curriculum includes 9 workshops, covering topics such as:

  • Basic field skills
  • Plants
  • Herpetology
  • Aquatic life
  • Birds
  • Mammals
  • Geology or Soil Science
  • Ecosystems and restoration
  • Watershed dynamics

You must complete 7 of the 9 to become certifiable.
Workshops are offered on a rotating cycle, and some appear only once every two years, so we encourage candidates to prioritize attending when they can.

A note about the “free 7th workshop”

Your 7th workshop is free, but you still need to let us know you plan to attend so we can reserve your spot. You simply skip the PayPal link and notify the workshop coordinator.

Taking one workshop before joining

If you’re new and want to “try before you join,” you may take one workshop as a non‑member. If you later become a member, that workshop will count toward certification.

The Final Interpretive Project

After completing your workshops, you’ll create a project that:

  • Relates to the natural history of Northeast Louisiana
  • Is educational and based on observation and research
  • Identifies your sources
  • Has a visual or audio component
  • Aims to improve understanding or awareness

Examples include:

  • A guided nature walk
  • A trifold for public display
  • A PowerPoint or photo‑based presentation
  • A short educational video
  • An audio program with supporting materials

A small jury of LMN‑NE members (including at least one board member) will review your project.

Note: In past discussions, some members have wondered whether projects should cover a “new” topic for the candidate. This is not currently a written requirement. If the Board chooses to revisit this, we will update the page accordingly.

🌟 After Certification: Staying Active

Please stick with us post-certification. To maintain active certified status each year, members complete:

  • 10 hours of Volunteer Service
  • 10 hours of Continuing Education (CE)

These hours help us stay connected, keep learning, and support conservation in our region. Please see Volunteer/CE and Volunteer Opportunities for more info.

🤝 We’re Here to Help

Certification is meant to be encouraging, not intimidating.
If you’re curious, thinking about starting, or already on your way, reach out anytime. We’re a welcoming community, and we love helping new naturalists grow.

Click for PDF of rules governing our certification process and see:

ByLaws Louisiana Master Naturalists NE 2017

*Note: You can pay with a credit card through PayPal without having a PayPal account.