Welcome to the Springfield Plateau Chapter of the Missouri Master Naturalist™ program. Are you passionate about the natural world? Do you enjoy learning about and teaching others about butterflies and moths, spiders and insects, fish and birds and all manner of four-legged wild critters in Missouri?  Do you like prairies and glades, forests and savannas, streams and caves?

If yes, then perhaps you were meant to be a Master Naturalist™.  We’re a community-based natural resource, education and volunteer program. Our mission is to engage Missourians in the stewardship of our state’s bountiful natural resources through science-based education and volunteer community service. The purpose of the program is to develop a corps of well-informed volunteers to provide education, outreach and service dedicated to that purpose.

Becoming a Master Naturalist

A Master Naturalist must give 40 hours of volunteer service every year. That’s a big commitment, but many of our members give far more than that.

To become a Master Naturalist, you will receive 40 hours of training  and contribute 40 hours of volunteer service in the next year. After the first year, each Master Naturalist must complete eight hours of advanced training and 40 hours of volunteer service each year. Learn more at Missouri Master Naturalist. Also visit our calendar to view scheduled events and volunteer opportunities.

What We Do

The Springfield Plateau Chapter is one of the most active in the state. Our 60+ members rock! Among the 60+ members of the Springfield Plateau Chapter, you’ll find us in Joplin lending a hand,  in classrooms and on nature outings helping teachers introduce their students to the natural world. We may talk about the critters you’ll find in a rotten log or the types of fur-bearing animals in Missouri. We teach kids about the many uses of the American bison. We plant trees, monitor springs and streams,  volunteer for river cleanups, remove invasive species, help restore glades and prairies and participate in many other outdoor educational events with our partners and sponsors.

We get involved in projects such as planting natives and developing a rain garden at Springfield’s green Hickory Hills School and providing trees for residents of Battlefield.

Read more about our accomplishments in our annual reports:

2011 2010 2009 2008 2007

And here’s the statewide Master Naturalist report for 2011.

Download our flier about the classroom presentations covering bison, insects and spiders, birds, mammals and reptiles/amphibians you can schedule.  And here’s our brochure about the Springfield Plateau Chapter.

Our monthly meetings (members only) feature programs on soil, water, insects, mammals, fish, trees and plants–just about anything you can think of in the natural world. In November, we move from our current “home” at the Missouri Department of Conservation’s office in Springfield to the new C.W. Titus Education Facility at the Watershed Center at Valley Water Mill Park.

We also offer field trips to members. For example, we have visited Prairie State Park, Rocky Barrens Conservation Area and Tumbling Creek Cave. We’ve gone “down under” Springfield, led by Mike Kromrey of the Watershed Committee of the Ozarks, and we’ve enjoyed wildflower walks along Bull Creek. Our blog at http:springfieldmn.blogspot.com, is managed by member Bob Kipfer, with contributions from other members.

Two of our chapter partners, the Missouri Department of Conservation and the University of Missouri Extension, are particularly active in supporting and guiding the Springfield Plateau Chapter.  Jay Barber with MDC and Patrick Byers with Extension participate in programs and outings, provide training and coordinate volunteer opportunities.

Jay is shown to the left with the Outreach and Education Division Award of Excellence trophy he recently received from MDC for his dedication in growing the Springfield Plateau Chapter of Missouri Master Naturalists, for his work with Discover Nature Schools in Springfield, his work with Missouri State University in developing an emphasis educational program, his work in developing native plantings at Hickory Hills School and his participation in teacher training programs.  Read more at our blog, http://springfieldmn.blogspot.com.

Missouri Department of Conservation

University of Missouri Extension

Other chapter partners are:

• Greater Ozarks Audubon Society
• Missouri Prairie Foundation
• Watershed Committee of the Ozarks
• Friends of the Garden
• Missouri Stream Team

Our chapter sponsors are:

• Missouri State University
• City of Springfield, also including http://ozarksenvironment.com/calendar.html and http://www.springfieldmo.gov/cee/smyn.html (Show-Me Yards & Neighborhoods)
• James River Basin Partnership
• Greater Ozarks Audubon Society
• Wonders of Wildlife Museum
• Bass Pro Outdoor World

State Conference Recap

By all reports, the state conference in September hosted by the Joplin chapter was a success, with our own Carl and Janet Haworth presenting “Your Conservation Education in a Trunk,” a three-hour workshop on our chapter’s trunk shows. These educational programs are unique to the Springfield Plateau Chapter, but several chapters expressed interest in setting up their own shows.

Other Plateau members attending the conference were Caryn Fox, Joe Kleiber, Gala Solari and Sheryl Walker.

Here are some photos from the Elk River outing, which in addition to being an enjoyable float trip was also educational. By planting native willow sticks in riparian corridors and eroded river and creek banks, further erosion can be slowed or eliminated and natural water flow maintained.  Joe Kleiber is in the first photo and Carl Haworth in the fourth.