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Master Naturalists increasing in state
TULSA, Okla. – If being in the outdoors is a major part of your life, whether you are curious about native plants and wildlife, want to teach children about nature, or want to help build walking trails, the Oklahoma Master Naturalist program could be for you.
Being a Master Naturalist, a national program modeled after the Master Gardener program, has many rewards. One includes monthly chapter meetings that always include a lecture by a naturalist on a topic of wide interest. In addition to the enjoyable camaraderie of being with others who share your interests, other opportunities for working with nature and learning from experts are also available through chapters in both the Oklahoma City and Tulsa areas.
In June, Tulsa’s Master Naturalists were treated to a presentation by noted bluebird enthusiast Bob Walshaw. A fellow Master Naturalist and the Oklahoma Bluebird Society Director, Walshaw has long worked with the conservation and management of the popular bird species.
Walshaw’s presentation about one of Oklahoma’s most eye-pleasing native birds included history, facts and practical information for aiding bluebirds and their habitat. Walshaw monitors a 100-nest bluebird line that has fledged thousands of bluebirds in an area between Broken Arrow and Coweta, where he and his wife live.
The July meeting of Oklahoma’s
Northeast Master Naturalist chapter, at the Tulsa County
Extension Center,
located at 4116 E. 15th, is on July 19 at 10 a.m.
Members and visitors will hear a presentation from Marley Beem, Oklahoma State University Cooperative Extension specialist in aquaculture and natural resources. Beem sponsors the Master Naturalist program through the Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service. He can be contacted at beem@okstate.edu.
Beem will use slides and videos to acquaint the group with Nepal, where he spent time in the Peace Corps.
“Nepal is a small country but is extremely diverse in terms of wildlife and plants as well as cultures,” Beem said. “The diversity is a function of its wide range of altitudes and the geographical isolation that occurs as a result of the mountainous terrain that covers most, but not all of the country.”
Beem will share first-hand knowledge of the flat lowlands, the foothills of the Himalaya Mountains and the Tibetan plateau.
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Oklahoma State University, U.S. Department of Agriculture,
State and Local Governments Cooperating:
The Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service offers its programs to all
eligible persons regardless of race, color, national origin, religion, sex,
age, disability, or status as a veteran, and is an equal opportunity employer.
