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. 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 state-wide 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.

In the fall of 2022, we offered a Zoom version of this training program, with over 100 participants.  This training featured 16 2-hour classes covering core content related to the Kentucky Master Naturalist Program with new instructors/speakers each week including Ecoregions of Kentucky, Ecological Concepts, Archeology, Geology, Soils, Entomology, Weather and Climate, Water Resources, Botany (woody and herbaceous), Safety and Health, Invasive Species, Wildlife, Environmental Education and Ethics, Citizen Science and Outdoor Learning Environments. In addition, we hosted 12 field days for participants, at locations across the state to accommodate the broad range of participant locations. All the recorded sessions and additional learning materials were made available through the KYMN website https://naturalist.ca.uky.edu/fall2022 

This year we changed several aspects of the program which strengthened the training overall.   First, our classes were longer than previously (2 hours instead of 1.5) and added a presentation from a land manager working in the topic area, to provide real-world context.  We also increased the number of presentations from organizations seeking volunteers to better connect participants to opportunities, including a virtual volunteer showcase to wrap up the training with short presentations from 12 organizations.  This fall we also switched to an application procedure for those interested in the program.   This resulted in a cohort that was more engaged and already active in volunteer work than in the past. 

The KYMN program will continue to grow in 2023 with two in-person offerings hosted by both the Lyon County Extension Office (Susan Fox) and the Boone County Extension Office (Lacey Kessle).  In addition, we plan another Zoom session in spring 2024 and hosted our first KY Master Naturalist Conference in the spring of 2023, something we plan to continue in the future.