Master Naturalist Program

The Whitfield Master Naturalist Program aims to instill the pursuit of life-long learning and promote environmental stewardship. Participants are actively engaged through education and service dedicated to the beneficial management of natural resources throughout NM. The Master Naturalist Program is ideal for individuals who have a love for the outdoors, curiosity of the natural environment, a desire to work with others, and help support conservation measures that improve land health.

Classes begin in mid-March and end in mid-May each year. We will hold an information meeting about the program on February 29th at Whitfield at 10am and registration is due March 6th. A fee of $85.00 is associated with this program and should be made out to Valencia Soil and Water Conservation District. Call Whitfield at 505-864-8914 for further information.

Through this program, participants will understand...

• All aspects of their role as a Master Naturalist, the mission and objectives of the program, and the guidelines for participation
• What a naturalist is and does and the signficance of naturalists
• The biomes and life zones of New Mexico
• Basic concepts of ecology
• Basic concepts of geology
• Basic concepts of hydrology
• Basic concepts of botany
• Basic concepts of zoology
• Basic concepts of scientific methods and record keeping
• Some native flora and fauna in the region
• The general process of land health monitoring and natural resource management
• Our connection to nature

Through this program, participants will be able to...

• Use a key to identify organisms
• Use a field guide
• Share knowledge with others (verbally and or/in writing)
• Make and record observations in nature
• Collect and analyze data
• Recognize when he or she does not know the answer to a question
• Seek out answers from people, books, or other reliable resources
• Continue the pursuit of the life-ling learning of the natural world