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Florida Master Naturalist Program1
Martin B. Main and Ginger M. Allen2The Florida Master Naturalist Program (FMNP) is an adult education Extension program developed by the University of Florida and provided by the Cooperative Extension Service and other partner organizations. FMNP training increases knowledge about Florida ecosystem processes, plants and wildlife, and conservation and management issues. The FMNP benefits persons seeking to obtain educational contact hours or wishing to increase interpretive skills for use in educational programs as volunteers, employees, and ecotourism guides.
The FMNP provides training in three ecosystem subject areas - Freshwater Wetlands, Coastal Systems, and Upland Habitats. Each ecosystem module is taught separately and each provides 40 educational contact hours that includes classroom learning (videos, presentations, and hands-on and practical experience in interpretation) and three field trips. Students are required to complete a group final project as a synthesis of information learned during the program. Students receive detailed course manuals and, upon completion, University of Florida (UF) certificates, patches, and pins denoting their area of expertise (e.g., Wetlands Naturalist). FMNP students are registered in the UF database of Florida Master Naturalists. The FMNP does not provide university credit toward a degree-seeking program.
Instructors schedule their own classes, and students may take one, two, or all three modules. Additional information for prospective FMNP instructors and students, scheduled courses, regional training locations, and online registration forms are available on the FMNP Web site at http://www.MasterNaturalist.org
A pdf file (216 KB) of the Florida Master Naturalist Program brochure can be printed from this document. Select landscape for a 11 x 8 1/2-inch poster.
Footnotes
1. This document is Fact Sheet WEC 161, one of a series of the Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. First published June 2002. Minor Revision March 2003; Minor Revision October 2007; Please visit the EDIS Web site at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu to access more publications.2. Martin B. Main is Associate Professor and Extension Wildlife Specialist; and Ginger M. Allen is Sr. Biological Scientist and Coordinator, The Florida Master Naturalist Program; respectively, Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, Southwest Florida Research and Education Center - Immokalee; Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institue of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611.
The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) is an Equal Opportunity Institution authorized to provide research, educational information and other services only to individuals and institutions that function with non-discrimination with respect to race, creed, color, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, political opinions or affiliations. For more information on obtaining other extension publications, contact your county Cooperative Extension service.
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Florida, IFAS, Florida A. & M. University Cooperative Extension Program, and Boards of County Commissioners Cooperating. Larry Arrington, Dean.
Copyright Information
This document is copyrighted by the University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) for the people of the State of Florida. UF/IFAS retains all rights under all conventions, but permits free reproduction by all agents and offices of the Cooperative Extension Service and the people of the State of Florida. Permission is granted to others to use these materials in part or in full for educational purposes, provided that full credit is given to the UF/IFAS, citing the publication, its source, and date of publication.