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Arkansas Master Naturalists

Date: 2/20/2026
Subject: NWAMN Weekly Update February 20
From: Susan Eagleson


NWAMN Weekly Update
Master Naturalist in Action
[Post till 2/28]
 
Master Naturalist JB Portillo and Charity Shares Everything You Need to Know to Get Started with Native Plants on The Garden Show.
 
We had a great time sitting in with Bella Vista Community TV to talk all about native plants on their latest episode of The Garden Show with host JB Portillo.
Charity mentions the classic native plants to start growing like Purple Coneflower and Black-Eyed Susan— and then she dives a little deeper into the different varieties of Mountain Mint, Bee Balm, and more!

If you're just starting with native plants or want to expand your knowledge a little bit more, this is a great one to listen to and start planning for 2026.


https://aquwdydab.cc.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001IssM1qQyRwU8zVenwqE2mkInZUDmF7BAO_L3_DLsZAmCALPCShZX_6WoEalAgup0vKT-b4PlUc0GxdUyMVljPbkY825vpJOQs9Il6VnkQOspRqIPc_Ec6WtXkRk8ILHXpTX0QOkFhPlw0OR5lx4yTPmJZ0X8oYOIUABu-rhUxqlDb8FZ1hQiBZom-z1ox5-c&c=ZytMc521nOkmo149zk-RJgnK3nOBq9ZiWyoZTQ9LLwB1HAyg2Fjy4A==&ch=woiy1uMFe9-NBsbjzxCP2rDDcLzlx5jRLGDVzfbm-cXGC9kLrynYMw==
AMN_2026

Greetings Arkansas Master Naturalists!


Amy and I are enjoying a beautiful day here in Northwest Arkansas and I hope you are too at your home. 


Tuesday evening we had our annual state meeting of Arkansas Master Naturalists. The Zoom meeting was well attended and the information provided to us was excellent. Thanks to everyone who contributed to our meeting. We recorded the meeting and that recording is now available for viewing by all of our members. You will find the YouTube link on the Home Page of our website....   arkansasmasternaturalists.org   Once you sign in, the link will become available. I have included a screenshot at the top of this communication of what that link looks like. Thanks to Denise Hilton for making that available to us.


For all that attended the meeting or for those that will view the recording, you get credit for 1.5 hours of continuing education. When recording that on your time sheet, choose Annual State Meeting - (your chapter) as the Activity and then choose your chapter as the Sponsor.

Thank you for attending and watching, it was wonderful to see everyone.


Don't hesitate to contact me or your chapter representatives to the state board if you have any questions/comments of any kind during the year. Let's keep on working to keep the Natural State natural!


Sincerely,

Dave Leisure, AMN President

daveleisure@hotmail.com

817-980-3085

Off the Shelf
 
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!
 
Plant a Pocket of Prairie by Phyllis Root

Age Range: 6 to 10
 
Readers learn the history of prairies which originally covered much of the US. And learned about ecosystem interactions.
 
 Send book suggestions to littrel@uark.edu.
ONSC_03082026

Interested volunteers for tabling/children's activities contact carebutler@aol.com

Naturalist in Training
Upcoming Naturalist in Training Courses
[List represents a rolling one-month in advance known events]
 
 

Note: All Saturday Zoom classes are from 9:00am to noon. All Tuesday classes are from 6:00pm to 9:00pm. All In Person classes/days are 9am to 3pm. Links for

Saturdays and Tuesdays are different, but all Saturdays use the same link, and all Tuesdays use the same link. These will be provided and should be saved.


Options for Accumulating Required 40 Hours:

  • Zoom and In-Person Classes: 51 hours possible
  • Zoom Classes Only: 21 hours (all Zoom classes are recorded and may be viewed in place of absence)
  • Volunteer Days: up to 6 hours (schedule will be provided for signups in late February/early March)
  • Visits To My Backyard: up to 10 hours (schedule will be provided for signups in late March)
  • Combination of any of these to total 40 required hours

Volunteer Opportunities
ARRiverValleyNatureCenter_Feb

from the Arkansas River Valley Nature Center

Upcoming Volunteering Opportunities

[List represents a rolling one-month in advance known opportunities]
                                                                                 
Members can proactivity reach-out to NWAMN Official Project Leaders for focused interests. Find listing of official NWAMN projects Document Library - Arkansas Master Naturalists, or manually navigate via Arkansas Master Naturalists website > log in as a member > Resources > Documents > Document Library/ Document Folders > NWAMN Documents/ Educational Resources/ NWAMN Projects > 2024 NWAMN Projects List. 
IRWP1
IRWP2
IRWP3
IRWP4
Continuing Education

Upcoming Continuing Education Events

[List represents a rolling one-month in advance known events]   
 

Save The Date
Ozark Natural Science Center (ONSC)
 
NWAMN is participating in the Leopold event at ONSC on March 8th, and there's more info at the link provided. If you could get the event on the calendar, that would be great. Once we've shaped up exactly how NWAMN is participating, either Care or Miranda will provide something for a future Weekly Update.

Mark Your Calendars for March 3, 7 and 8 for Arkansas Reads Leopold. This summer, AAS received a grant from the Aldo Leopold Foundation to host a community reading event. I contacted the Arkansas Master Naturalists, Audubon Delta, Ozark Society, Sierra Club, Central Arkansas Library System, Ozark Natural Science Center, the Audubon Society of Central Arkansas and a few others about partnering with us for events in central and northwest Arkansas. Everyone has come together, and on March 3, CALS will show Green Fire, a documentary about Aldo Leopold's life and work. The following weekend, seven community reading events will be offered in Fayetteville, Conway, and the Little Rock area. See https://arbirds.org/AASPage.aspx?pg=16 for more details. We hope you'll join us!

Mark Your Calendars for April 25-26, for our spring convention in Fort Smith! Look for the Call to Meeting around the end of February.

Mark Your Calendars for May 9, which will be the dates of the BirdAR Birdathon! The Birdathon is back! Many thanks to Ragan Sutterfield, the planner-in-chief! He and a planning team are working on a terrific statewide event. Sponsors include Audubon Delta, AAS, ASCA and NWAAS at this point. BirdAR will be in conjunction with the Global Big Day. Both teams and individuals can participate. Registrations will be through Eventbrite with an option for t-shirts. The cost will be nominal to participate. We want this to be a community building activity! During the week following the Big Day there will be a zoom meeting where the winners will be announced. Watch for the details on our website.
BWA_03182026
WesrFork_03292026
Future NWAMN Chapter and Board Meetings
[Limiting to two known months in advance]
                                             
ATTENTION NWAMN Project Leaders
 
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

 
Weekly Update Format:
• Event statements must be provided
• Statements must be concise to minimize email length
• Bullet points are highly encouraged
• Please keep media, commentary and influential statements on fliers, websites, or reference material that can be referenced
• Calendar of Event postings may have tool limitations
• Add Category:
HOME  *work from home WEEV *weekend & evening FAMF *family-friendly  INTV *introvert-friendly TECH *tech-savvy folks 

Weekly Update requested statement content information (content used for both Calendar link and/ or the Weekly Update):
• Name of Event
• Name of NWAMN Project/ Organization hosting the event
• Location of the event, including full address
• Contact name and number
• Date (start and end)
• Time (start and end)
• Is it a volunteer opportunity OR continuing education?
• Event Category:
     HOME  *work from home
     WEEV *weekend & evening
     FAMF *family-friendly 
     INTV *introvert-friendly
     TECH *tech-savvy folks
• Any pertinent information about the event including the nature of the event, intended audience, and what participants need to bring, directions, etc.
• Link to event or organization website, if available
• Link to Virtual Meeting, if available
 
 
The NWA Master Naturalist Weekly Update is compiled by Susan Eagleson with support from Sarah Roberson, Troy Warfield, and Erica Holthus.  If you have a volunteer opportunity or continuing education event, please email 
 nwamnevents@gmail.com and we'll share with the whole chapter. 
 
Let us know of other Community activities as your fellow NWAMNs might be interested too!
Join our chapter's Facebook group for cool photos, questions, and more!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/NWAMN
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State and National Agency Partners
https://www.agfc.com/
https://www.arkansasheritage.com/arkansas-natural-heritage/anhc-home
https://www.arkansasstateparks.com/
https://www.astate.edu/


https://www.uark.edu/
https://arbirds.org/
https://www.usace.army.mil/
https://www.fs.usda.gov/

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