Come explore the opportunities of the Master Naturalist volunteer program

[May 23, 2015]  Come explore the opportunities that the University of Illinois Extension Master Naturalist volunteer program has to offer. A Master Naturalist summit, for current volunteers and those with an interest in the program, will be held on Saturday, May 30, 2015 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Nipper Wildlife Sanctuary, Loami, Illinois.

The event is free and open to the public. One goal of the summit is to provide information to anyone who wants to know more about the Master Naturalist program. The presentations will include a bird walk with Kevin Veara, local bird expert and artist, a prairie hike with Vern LaGesse, Friends of Sangamon Valley, and a program and demonstration on use of drones in wildlife management by Jacques Nuzzo, Illinois Raptor Center.

Nipper Wildlife Sanctuary is a private sector nonprofit park and sanctuary which includes a restored tall grass prairie and a series of five linked wetlands along Lick Creek. Since its establishment in the mid-1990s, the sanctuary has transformed 120 acres of former farmland into a rich and varied habitat that is home to many native species of plants and animals. It is located at 9560 Withers Road, approximately two miles southeast of Loami. Directions to the site can be found on the Nipper Wildlife Sanctuary Facebook page.

University of Illinois Extension Logan-Menard-Sangamon Unit offers the Master Naturalist volunteer program in partnership with Lincoln Memorial Garden, Illinois Audubon Society at Adams Wildlife Sanctuary, the Friends of the Sangamon Valley and Logan County Park and Trails- Kickapoo Creek Park.

Though the Summit meeting is free, preregistration is requested at http://web.extension.illinois. edu/lms/.  Participants are asked to bring their own lunch; drinking water will be provided.
 

[Jennifer Fishburn, Logan-Menard-Sangamon Counties Extension educator]