Welcome to the Northwest chapter of Arkansas Master Naturalists!
Northwest Arkansas Master Naturalists (NWAMN) are an active group of volunteers who enjoy working together on many types of projects. These include invasive species removal, presenting public nature programs, native plant seed collection and propagation, plant sales, and wildlife habitat restoration. We also partner with many area agencies to provide help or volunteers for special events. These include Hobbs State Park, Illinois River Watershed Alliance, Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission, and Botanical Garden of the Ozarks.
To get an idea of what we are doing, please check out our chapter page Northwest AMN and our Facebook page NWA Master Naturalists.
We'd love to have you join us in keeping Arkansas Natural!
What happens when I apply to join the Master Naturalists?
Once your application is accepted, you will be a Naturalist in Training (NiT) and join the training sessions that begins in January. When you graduate from the training program with at least 40 hours of education time, you will be promoted to full Master Naturalist status. Every year that you log 40 hours of volunteer time and 8 hours of continuing education (separate from NiT hours), you will be a Certified Master Naturalist. A few Master Naturalists achieve Certified Master Naturalist status after only one year, but most achieve it during their second year.
What is involved in the Naturalists in Training sessions?
For 2025, the NWAMN Naturalists in Training session will begin on January 11th and will finish in late April. A total attendance of 40 specific lecture and field/lab hours is required to complete the course. Over 80 hours of NiT training will be offered, so attendance at each event is not required.
Naturalists in Training sessions will utilize a variety of formats.
- Eight classes will meet in person, including the first class of the training program. Each class is offered at multiple locations around the NWAMN area. These classes offer a total of 48 hours towards graduation.
- Zoom lectures will be offered on Saturday mornings and Tuesday evenings for subject matter presentations. To accommodate work and weekend schedules, each week NITs may choose to attend either the Saturday morning (9am to noon) or Tuesday evening (6-9pm) session. A total of 7 weeks (21 hours) of Zoom lectures will be offered.
- Small group lab/field opportunities called “A Visit to My Backyard" may be offered by NWAMN members on a wide variety of subjects and in a wide variety of locations. These visits allow NiTs to meet chapter members and discover different volunteer opportunities. These events will occur in March and April and will supplement lecture materials. Trainees can attend as many “Backyard” sessions as they want and are able to count a maximum of 15 hours toward the 40 required hours needed for graduation.
- Training will also include two Volunteer Days. These will be designed to give hands-on instructions on various types of projects and will be scattered around the NWAMN territory. These introduce NiTs to the real work of NWAMN and also help them find the projects they'd like to join after graduation. These offer between 6 and 12 hours towards graduation.
- Graduation will be at the May NWAMN Chapter Meeting
NWAMN's classes and their formats are listed on the
2025 Class Schedule which will be sent to you once you are fully registered.
Remember, graduating requires 40 hours of training, which is a serious time commitment. While we would love to have you, please consider whether your schedule can accommodate the classes before you apply.
What will I do as a Master Naturalists?
Whatever you find most interesting!
Once training is behind you, you’ll be ready to jump into the real goal of NWAMN - working to improve the natural world. NiT training has exposed you to the wide variety of NWAMN projects, so you’ll be able to choose the ones that speak to you. You can also take advantage of NWAMN’s many continuing education opportunities. Through it all, you will enjoy meeting and working with people who share your passion for nature.
The application window runs from October 1 to December 15 for the next year's classes.
Apply to join NWAMN