Arkansas Master Naturalists

 

October
2026 NIT enrollment will be opening soon on the Arkansas Master Naturalist website
NWAMN Project Leaders - It's time to submit your project budgets for the 2026 calendar year.

November
2026 Membership reminder emails will go out to NWAMN membership listing.

December
Award Nominations - Accepting Award Nominations till December 1.
Don't forget to log your volunteer hours! Volunteer hours are used to determine Master Naturalist Certification, attract grants/ funding by partner and Master Naturalist organizations, and NWAMN Yearly Awards.

 

It is award nomination and submission time!!! The deadline to submit nominations for the current year is December 1.

Please find forms on the NWAMN website atDocument Library - Arkansas Master Naturalists, or manually navigate via Arkansas Master Naturalists website > log in as a member > Resources > Documents > Document Library/ Documents Folder/ NWAMN Documents > Awards and Recognition > [select/ download specific form].

The Master Naturalist (MN) annual awards:
1. Master Naturalist of the Year – recognizes an exceptional Master Naturalist who has made an outstanding contribution to the MN mission and/or community throughout the year. [All active Master Naturalists, EXCEPT prior winners, are eligible to be nominated for the Master Naturalist of the Year Award.]
2. Rookie of the Year – recognizes a NIT (first year) Master Naturalist graduate who has met their annual Certification requirements and has provided outstanding service to the MN mission and/or community within their class year. [This award is open to Master Naturalists who have completed their NIT Classroom training and achieved their first-year membership certification requirements of 40+ work hours and 8+ education hours within their class year.]
3. Project of the Year – recognizes an outstanding Chapter project. [Re-nomination of a previously winning project within 3 years of prior award requires significant changes to warrant a new nomination.]
4. Excellence in Education of the Year – recognizes an outstanding educational program. [EIE nominee must not have won the award within the last 2 years.]

The Master Naturalist (MN) general membership awards:
1. President’s Award/s – Chapter President’s recognition of outstanding performances of deserving Chapter members. [All active Master Naturalists are eligible to be nominated EXCEPT those that have won the award within the last 2 years. The Chapter President may issue this award, at their discretion, to recognize one or more deserving members at Chapter General Membership meetings throughout the year.]
2. Friend of Master Naturalists (Individual) – to recognize an individual (a non-Master Naturalist) who has shown outstanding support of the Master Naturalist Program. [Nominee cannot have won within the previous 5 years.]
3. Friend of Master Naturalists (Business or Organization) - to recognize a business or organization who has shown outstanding support of the Master Naturalist Program. [Nominee cannot have won within the previous 5 years.]

Please write your nominations based on the guidelines provided within the appropriate award nomination form. ALL nomination forms must be submitted electronically as a PDF document to the Membership Awards Committee via email Kathy Launder (kalaunder@gmail.com) for selection and final approval by the Chapter President. The decisions of the committee and Chapter President will be final.

 

Greetings all,

T'is the season...for our annual pot parties! It is time for your favorite Master Naturalist activity...yes, pot cleaning! Every year, we clean and disinfect thousands of recycled pots for use in the MN native plant program. The pots to be recycled have all been acquired from various sources and sorted by size and type. Our three 100-gallon stock tanks will be filled with 10% bleach. We will be working outside and enjoying the cool autumn weather.

Be sure to wear old clothes, since eventually we will have folks working at the bleaching and rinsing stations. We will not have a luncheon, but our house will be open for bathroom visits. Also, you are welcome to water and fertilize our woods if needed!

So, for signup, select one or more time slots below. Please sign up for one or more 3-hour slot on one of the dates given below. Each day, we will be working from 9 am to noon, and 1 pm to 4 pm. Please pick a time slot convenient. If you are able, give me several dates and times that you are available. This will allow me some flexibility in filling dates and times. Be sure to check your e-mail for a confirmation from me for your "exclusive" reservation.

Dates and time slots include:

Thursday, October 16th, 9 am to noon

Friday, October 17th, 9 am to noon

Friday, October 17th, 1 pm to 4 pm

Saturday, October 18th, 9 am to noon

Saturday, October 18th, 1 pm to 4 pm

Let's see how this works, and if needed, we will add additional dates in the following weeks.

Please note: If you have used pots for recycling, especially tree pots, gallon-size pots and the tall square 4-inch pots, please bring 'em on down to the nursery. Also, used Venetian blinds that we repurpose to make labels are welcomed.

Thank you all for being part of the MN Native Plant Team and helping with this activity as well as the other tasks throughout the year. It does indeed take a village!

Please call, text or e-mail if you have questions. I look forward to seeing my MN "buddies" after a too-long hiatus.

Rambling Rose (479-713-0661)

 

Glenn Duffy Elementary in Gravette is creating an outdoor classroom and garden area.

They are or will be looking for donations of native plants and help constructing the outdoor space. They need materials, time, and donations.

Any NWAMNs that are interested in volunteering your time, please check out the links below:

Video of the kids explaining the outdoor space (super cute!):

https://youtu.be/nUeVmVRaLnY?si=ehnxkWv1iLAAb3MN

Outdoor classroom information:

https://www.gravetteschools.net/o/gde/page/outdoor-classroom?fbclid=IwQ0xDSwMRa1pleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHn-KqvRiUOV8Q0CUVUMjEO9XzLLh9OTZeb79sBUib2dZrHPquodTFnUZhu4f_aem_DhNqMN7kkNwi2zxntw2fSA

Off the Shelf – a weekly notice from the Awe in Arkansas with Children’s Literature project.

1. Provide books as gifts!
2. Use for programs!
3. Share with nature gift shops!

Falcons in the City  by Charles Early  

 

Age Range: 6 - 16

 

This book tells the story of a nest of falcons who live on a high rise in Chicago. Learn to love them as they raise a family in a unique setting. Includes and index and filled with fabulous photos.

 

 

 

Please note: the library will not be open when we are scheduled to work on the rooftop garden. Therefore, you will need to call me to let you in the building. You will also need to access the library from the West entrance on SW Avenue as shown on the map below.
My number (Shelby Lebeau): 479-879-1036

 

To help inform a larger audience of NWA Master Naturalists, please add the NWA Events email address to communications sent to project/ committee members.  That way the NWA Communications Committee can accurately post activities happening in our area to the NWAMN's Events Calendar and to the NWAMN Weekly Update.  The cutoff for submissions is end of day Tuesday for Friday membership delivery, assumes no revisions are required. 

nwamnevents@gmail.com