Date: 1/26/2026
Subject: January 26 CE
From: Margie Smotherman
Dear NCAMN,
All of the January NiT classes are being held at Bull Shoals White River State Park and are available to you for hours, but you must register on the NCAMN calendar.
Morning sessions will run from 9:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. with afternoons going from 12:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Don’t forget to bring lunch and your own “mess kit.”
*January 31—AM program (9-11) Monarch Butterflies presented by Alyson Hoge, Managing Editor of the Arkansas Democrat Gazette
PM program (12:30-3:00) Nighttime: Protecting and Observing the Night Sky presented by Jeff Hoeper
February’s NiT classes involve a field trip and some in-the-field trainings. Look on the calendar for classes on trail building and maintenance (Feb.21), Darters/Crayfish with Dustin Lynch (Feb. 28).
In March, Birding and Skywarn at the Fred Berry Crooked Creek Nature Center (Mar. 7), Back at Bull Shoals White River State Park for History of Buffalo River and Mushrooms (Mar. 14), also at BSWRSP Making a Difference in Your Own Back Yard and Native Plant Ecology (Mar. 21).
Keep in mind, the schedule is subject to change for various reasons. Always check the NCAMN calendar on the website to be sure what is happening where and when. Remember to register if you plan to attend and you are not a NiT.
Other In-Person Continuing Education Opportunities:
*February 9 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Fred Berry Crooked Creek Nature Center
Love Among the Stars
Jeff Hoeper will provide a fanciful retelling of the convoluted myths associated with Perseus, Andromeda, Cepheus, Cassiopeia, and Cetus. After this myth-making we will go outside for an amusing constellation tour and some telescopic observing. Free and open to the public. Signing up will get you an email if we have to use the rain date (Feb. 10). Register on the NCAMN calendar. You don’t want to miss this…
*February 16 from 6:30 pm on the ASUMH campus. Cosmic Wonders Await. Jennifer Wiseman senior project scientist for NASA’s Hubble Space Telescopes. She will talk about what modern telescopes reveal about stars, planets, galaxies, black holes and dark matter. The presentation will be held indoors at the McClure Convention Center. Following the presentation, weather permitting, there will be an outdoor stargazing experience.
Virtual CE
*Wednesday, February 18 at 6:00 p.m. Central Time: From Wasteland to Wonder-Easy Ways We Can Help Heal Earth in the Sub/Urban Landscape presented by Basil Camu and sponsored by Wild Ones. To register, visit this link: https://wildones.org/from-wasteland-to-wonder/
The webinar is free although there is a place to make a suggested donation.
*If you happened to miss the American Rivers webinar about undamming rivers, you are in luck. Here is a link to a series of webinars: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLyIXf7SAH_gVtyluwKPWDO_HhMuIfw6kj
*Monarch Joint Venture Conservation Webinar Series
https://monarchjointventure.org/events/monarch-conservation-webinar-series
Here are just the first few in this series. Visit the link above to learn more details about times. Visit the link below to sign up.
January 27: Community to Conservation: How participatory science is closing knowledge gaps and driving conservation presented by Jennifer Thieme, Monarch Joint Venture and Rich Hatfield, Xerces Society
February 24: Designing Monarch Overwintering Habitat in California: Advances in Measuring Canopy Structure and Modeling Microclimate, presented by Stu Weiss, Creekside Science
March 24: A Journey Through the Monarch’s Winter Home: The Sights, Sounds, and Science of the migratory monarch butterfly colonies, presented by Court Whelan, MJV Board Member, Natural Habitat Adventures
https://secure.qgiv.com/for/monarchconservationwebinarseries/event/2mcwsc/
*Doug Tallamy’s Latest Book
Learn about what you can do to save nature right in your yard from Doug Tallamy’s latest book: How Can I Help? Saving Nature With Your Yard
He shares his wisdom in this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGg8nMamyWM
*Coming in March is Leopold Week—a virtual speaker series. Find out who is speaking about what here: https://www.aldoleopold.org/news-and-events/land-ethic-live
*There is also a virtual presentation on Reimagining Conservation: Belonging, Justice, and the Future of the Land Ethic by Carolyn Finney on February 12 at 7:00 p.m. Central Time.
Information can be found on all of this at the link listed above.
*NCAMN Book Club will meet on Saturday, March 21, at the Baxter Library from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Books being discussed are: Is a River Alive? by Robert Macfarlane
and The Secret Therapy of Trees: Harness the Healing Energy of Forest Bathing and Natural Landscapes by Marco Nieri and Marco Mencagli. You only have to read one to attend. Register on the NCAMN calendar.
Don’t forget to log your hours and put as much info in the notes box as possible.
For example, Doug Tallamy video saving nature in my yard or Monarch webinar on winter’s home/Joint Venture Conservation.