Tips on becoming a Statewide Master Naturalist

Ah yes, that beautiful green gem that marks a Statewide Master Naturalist. It seems that for many, myself included, pursuing the Statewide Master Naturalist educational goal appears as a logical progression once they have graduated from the local MN program. After all, there are still three different biogeographic regions of the state that we didn't really cover!  There are only three requirements to become a certified as a Statewide MN and they are pretty simple to understand.  The full version is on Clemson's Master Naturalist Training page, but here is my shorter paraphrased version (emphasis is mine):

1. Complete your required 22 hours service and 8 hours advanced training after MN graduation.
2. Get 16 hours additional training in each of two of the three biogeographic regions not covered in your initial class.
3. Take a 6-hour Interpretation for the Master Naturalist training (which doesn't count as any of the above advanced trainings).

Let's lump those requirements into three different classes of things: volunteer service, advanced training (local and "other biogeographic region"), and one very specific class.  That doesn't seem all that difficult, does it?  It isn't---at least to understand.  But the confusion seems to turn up as one starts to ponder the details: What counts as advanced training? What are the different biogeographic regions? What locations are in which regions? How do you find out about advanced trainings? Why do Statewide trainings get filled up before one even reads the email announcement?

Below, I'll share some knowledge that I gained as I went through the process.  Hopefully it will help with your journey.  And remember, the journey IS the destination!  The goal really is to be learning more about different areas, not just about getting a little green gem on your name tag.  Don't be in so much of a hurry that you don't enjoy the trainings!

OK, let's look at those requirements, last one first: the Interpretation for the Master Naturalist training.  In my opinion, this is the most difficult requirement, just because it is not offered very often.  I think it has been taught about once or twice a year since I graduated in 2019 (not at all in 2020 of course).  It seems to be taught at the Statewide folks in Columbia and it has been taught locally by Kristina and Keith.  My advice for those working toward their Statewide certification: when you see this class offered, make it a priority to quickly register.  They usually fill up fast.  Also, if it fills, be sure to get on the wait list (this goes for all Statewide-offered programs) and keep your schedule open if you can.  There are almost always openings at the last minute for folks on the wait list.

The next requirement is volunteer service.  What counts as volunteer service?  There is a good document on the Clemson MN site (link opens a PDF document) that lists the categories and many examples, but in general, your activity needs to help improve or manage SC natural resources, help people learn and/or understand about those resources, or help the MN program itself.  This includes a very wide range of activities, including everything from litter sweeps, to Christmas Bird Counts, to transporting injured birds, to helping analyze environmental data for presentation to the public, up to writing articles for this website!  I hope this requirement is an easy one for you, but if not, check out the long list of volunteer organizations on our website.  It is alphabetical, so be sure to scroll through the whole list to see the full variety of opportunities.

The third category of requirement, and the one that I seem to get the most questions about, is Advanced Training.   We each need to get 8-hours Advanced Training annually (and the 22 hours annually of volunteer service) to keep current as Master Naturalists and to get one of those purple gems!  For your Statewide Certification, you also need 16 more hours of training in two different regions than were covered in your MN training course.  For those of us trained at Caw Caw, we covered the Coastal Zone and the Coastal Plain.  That means we need training in two of the Sandhills, Piedmont, or Blue Ridge regions.  Note that it is 16 hours in each of the two regions for a total of 32 hours.  Also, you can't lump regions, i.e. 12 hours in Sandhills and 4 in Piedmont and 16 in Blue Ridge would not meet the Statewide requirement.

Where are these regions?  We received a map during our training that showed the regions, but I didn't find that too helpful for targeting training opportunities.  Here is a picture of the one from our manual.  You can find this in the page 27 to page 33 vicinity, apparently there are different versions of the manual.  On this map, consider the two Coastal Plans as one region:

Hmm, it is kind of hard to pick a location for training from this.  However, there is an excellent resource available on the Clemson MN site: A list of different parks, heritage preserves, etc. grouped by biogeographic region (link opens a PDF document) they are in. Here is a screenshot of part of that document:

This is what you really want, an alphabetical list of a lot of places in each region.  You can pick locations in the two regions you chose, then go on their website, or email list, and keep a eye out for training opportunities.

Cool, so what counts as Advanced Training?  Lots!  Although the training can be from Clemson, or from one of the "official" Master Naturalist host groups (Caw Caw is our local host), it doesn't have to be.  Here is a direct quote from the Clemson Master Naturalist Advanced Training page (the emphasis is theirs):

Advanced training opportunities will provide exposure to some aspect of natural history, natural resource management or nature interpretation, including any specific methods or skills used to study these things. In addition, the training should provide you knowledge or skills that you need to complete your volunteer service obligation. Potential skills include trail building, bird identification through song, GIS skills or others.

Great!  Not only can you count things like bird walks (where you are learning bird ID skills when leaders like Kristina say "Hear that 'chew, chew, chew-your-food' song?  That is a Yellow-throated Warbler!", but also trainings one might take to learn about doing controlled burns, trail maintenance and construction, and even GIS (Geographic Information Systems) class to learn how to map natural observations for conservation groups, like this map of dolphin sightings during June, 2023, created for the Lowcountry Marine Mammals Network:

My last suggestion, now that you know what is needed, is to sign up for email newsletters from the places you think you can target.  Maybe you have family you can visit and pick up a bird walk through a local garden?  Think about things like that.  I also strongly recommend signing up for the South Carolina Wildlife Federation's newsletter here. Be sure to visit their main web site as well, they've an upcoming class on snakes that would be fun!  Also, I find the Blue Wall Weekly newsletter from the Jocassee Lakes Tours folks to be a wealth of opportunities in the Piedmont and Blueridge. You can subscribe to their newsletter from their main page, just scroll down a bit.

I hope there is something inhere that helps you on your own journey.  I enjoyed mine and really appreciate the differences in the other regions of the state.  Good luck and have fun!