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. This training covers core content related to 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. 

The Kentucky Master Naturalist Volunteer 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. This continued with additional cohorts in the fall of 2022 (100 participants online) and 2023 (two in-person cohorts hosted by the Lyon County Extension Office and the Boone County Extension Office.  

In the spring of 2024, we hosted another training cohort for new Master Naturalists with approximately 100 people attending.  This training featured 16 2-hour webinars on a broad range of topics, highlighting guest speakers who are experts in each.  In addition, we offered a range of field training options across the state for naturalists to get more hands-on experience.  100% of 63 participants that completed the post-program survey reported that their expectations were met or exceeded by the program and they rated the speakers and topics highly.  They reported increased levels of understanding of core topics and planned to use the information learned in a wide variety of ways including citizen science (74%), land management/trail maintenance (70%), improving their own land (72%), developing and presenting educational programs (49%), writing articles (26%) and leading trips (26%). 

We will continue engaging this cohort of Master Naturalists as they complete their volunteer hours this year and plan to repeat this Zoom offering of the program in spring 2025.