8th Training Class Starts August 26
One of the few benefits of online meetings is that it minimizes travel time, often opening opportunities for people with very busy schedules. The Balcones Canyonlands Chapter of Texas Master Naturalists (BCTXMN) is currently reaping the benefits from this virtual training and will soon welcome its largest group of new members.
“As of now, we have 63 people who have expressed interest and have received the training materials,” says Sheila Endres, training director for BCTXMN. “This is a huge class: when we were meeting in person, the limit was about 25.”
The class for 2021-22 is BCTXMN’s 8th class. So far, it looks like half of the new members will be under 50 years of age, which is unusual since Texas Master Naturalists was initially set up for retirees. The COVID-19 pandemic has opened the program to younger, working people interested in biodiversity, water resources, geology and much more.
Last year’s class — the first online — was one of the youngest, with a third of the new members under 30 years of age. This class was also large, starting at 34 with 29 new master naturalists graduating after completing the initial training as well as volunteer hours and advanced training.
Initial training for the 2021-22 class begins on August 26 with an introduction to technical issues (logging volunteer hours, how to use the online meeting system), and each of the next 15 sessions will also be on Thursday evenings form 6:30 to 9pm. There are also two field trips on Saturdays in November and December. All new chapter members will be encouraged to volunteer at the Snowden Tract and other locations around Texas, and advanced training is easy to achieve by attending the monthly talks that accompany each chapter meeting.
“One new thing is that we have a scholarship committee that should make joining Texas Master Naturalists open to all,” says Endres. “This scholarship was put together by chapter member Gene Janulis, and if new members need assistance, they can write balconeschapter@gmail.com.“