CBEC Offers Adults A Cure For Curious Minds

Courtney Leigh,
Volunteer and Adult Education Coordinator

Do you love the outdoors and want to learn more about the Chesapeake Bay and Maryland’s Coastal Plain? You can enhance your knowledge of the natural world and help others to share your enthusiasm by joining the Master Naturalist program as we work together for a sustainable natural environment in Maryland.

The Chesapeake Bay Environmental Center (CBEC), located in Grasonville, Maryland, will be hosting weekly Maryland Master Naturalist Training beginning on Wednesday, September 6th and running through December 13th, 2017. Each Wednesday class will be held from 9:30am–3:30pm.

Field Trip to Blackwater Wildlife Refuge, MD Master Naturalists study salt marsh ecology.

Maryland Master Naturalist volunteers complete a 60-hour hands-on course with expert instructors and fellow learners, studying natural history, environmental interpretation, and conservation stewardship. Final certification comes with completion 40 hours of volunteer service.

The University of Maryland Cooperative Extension program offers three courses that correspond to Maryland’s three regions:

  • COASTAL PLAIN (Cecil, Kent, Queen Anne’s, Caroline, Talbot, Dorchester, Wicomico,Somerset, and Worcester Counties)
  • THE PIEDMONT (Carroll, Harford, Frederick, Baltimore, Montgomery, and Howard Counties and Baltimore City)
  • THE MOUNTAINS (Garrett, Allegany, Washington, and Frederick Counties)

Maryland Master Naturalist Intern Stephanie Everett learns to identify Submerged Aquatic Vegetation found in Marshy Creek with Courtney Leigh, CBEC’s Volunteer and Adult Education Coordinator and MD Master Naturalist Program Facilitator.

CBEC’s training class will cover the natural and cultural history of the Coastal Plain Region. Topics will include: Ecology, Fungi, Botany, Ornithology, Herpetology, Mammals, Fish, Geology, and Weather. During the course, participants will increase their knowledge and understanding of our local natural environment and will strengthen their observational skills. In addition, participants will improve their communication skills by sharing knowledge with other participants and working on group projects.

Space is limited to 25 people who are 18 or older. The cost of the course is $250 which includes all materials.

To learn more or to download an application visit this site:
MARYLAND MASTER NATURALIST AT CBEC
Please contact Courtney Leigh at 443-262-2032, if you are interested in joining this training.

University of Maryland Extension programs are open to all citizens without regard to race, gender, disability, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, marital or parental status or national origin.