Authors: Ellen Crocker, PhD. and Laurie Thomas

The Kentucky Master Naturalist (KYMN) program was developed by the University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension with valuable input from stakeholders at public and private organizations whose interests align with the mission of the KYMN program. The mission of the KYMN program is to develop a cohort of well-informed volunteers to advance education, research, and outreach efforts dedicated to the conservation and management of natural resources and natural areas within their communities for the Commonwealth of Kentucky. 

Becoming a KY Master Naturalist Volunteer requires an initial training with 40 hours of combined classroom and field instruction and 40 hours of approved volunteer service. The program was piloted in Jefferson and Fayette counties in 2018 and 2019, led by Carmen Agouridis, where 35 participants completed the program to be a certified Kentucky Master Naturalist. In the spring of 2021, we (Ellen Crocker and Laurie Thomas) rolled the program out statewide by offering it to all UK Cooperative Extension agents, associates, specialists, and assistants for CEUs. In the fall of 2021, we continued to expand this program by hosting the first large public cohort of the KYMN program with more than 150 people participating in mix of online training and in-person field days. This core training was conducted again in 2022 with over 100 people. We now have a community of over 398 people who have gone through the KY Master Naturalist Volunteer Program and we wanted to bring this group together with the opportunity to learn, network, and recognize volunteer service. 

To facilitate this, in 2023 we hosted our first KY Master Naturalist Conference, something we plan to offer annually in the future. We hosted this conference April 14-15 at Lake Barkley State Resort Park, collaborating with Land Between the Lakes and Ky State Parks to offer a range of talks, hikes, and more. These included:

1. Tour of Land Between the Lakes Woodland Nature Station 
2. Evening owl program and prowl
3. Morning talks on archaeology, butterflies, wildlands conservation, water quality, and wildflower photography
4. Afternoon field programs in making and monitoring bluebird trails, water quality assessment, spring wildflowers and mushroom hunting.

About 35 people registered for this conference and 17 participants completed a post-conference survey. In this, 95% said the conference met or exceeded their expectations and all indicated that they were likely to attend again in a future year. We plan to continue and grow this conference in future years and have already secured a venue for our 2024 conference, exploring a new part of the state partnering with another state resort park and local partners.