We have yearly Master Naturalist classes, volunteer opportunities and continuing education to keep learning about the environment of South Louisiana and share our knowledge with others.
Applications to be an Acadiana Master Naturalist are due in December for the following year’s class. The program consists of ten 6-hour workshops that take place in January through June. Workshops are held at a variety of natural locations throughout South Louisiana including Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge, Louisiana State Arboretum and Lake Martin. Visit our Master Naturalist page or contact us at acadianamasternaturalist@gmail.com for more information.
Please see our Application Form page for more information about applying to be an Acadiana Master Naturalist: Application Form
Applications for the Acadiana Master Naturalist Birding Program are open until filled. Program dates are August 26, 2017 – May 20, 2018. For more information about the program, please visit our Birding Program Page or send an email to AMNBirding@ gmail.com or phone (337) 291-8448.
PROGRAM SCHEDULE
INTRO – AUGUST 4 (FRI) – 6-8PM – NATURE STATION
WORKSHOP 1 – AUGUST 26 – 7AM-1PM – NATURE STATION
WORKSHOP 2 – SEPTEMBER 16 – 9AM-4PM – LSU MUSEUM IN BATON ROUGE AND LAKE MARTIN BOAT TOUR
WORKSHOP 3 – OCTOBER 14 – 7:30-2PM – PALMETTO ISLAND STATE PARK BIRD BANDING AND INTRACOASTAL BIRDING
WORKSHOP 4 – NOVEMBER 18 – 7:30-2PM – CADE FARM AND MATT’S PROPERTY
CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNTS IN DECEMBER, VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY
WORKSHOP 5 & 6 – JANUARY 20-21 – 7:30AM UNTIL NEXT AFTERNOON – I-49 REST AREA, CHENYVILLE, WOODWORTH (OVERNIGHT)
WORKSHOP 7 – MARCH 3 – PINTAIL LOOP AND THORNWELL
WORKSHOP 8 & 9 – APRIL 21-22 – TIME TBA – ROCKEFELLER, CAMERON PARISH (OVERNIGHT)
WORKSHOP 10 – MAY 20 – 7AM-1PM – INDIAN BAYOU WILDLIFE AREA AND GRADUATION
Photo courtesy of Cheri Soileau
While a group of children were looking through discovery boxes in our 3rd floor classroom, a hummingbird flew in through the single door and then headed to one of the skylights that is at the peak of the roof. I got a call on the walkie talkie from Loree, she was working with the children […]
The Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana (CRCL), Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA), National Fish and Wildlife Federation (NFWF) and Rainey Conservation Alliance invite you to participate in our Freshwater Bayou Marsh Restoration event on May 11th near Vermilion Bay. We will be preparing 18,000 plugs of native marsh grass for planting in the coming days and we need […]
We recently received a press release from “Louisiana’s Cajun Bayou,” a tourism promotion featuring Bayou Lafourche and its great birding, thanks to its position along the Louisiana Flyway. According to the release: This region welcomes hundreds of species of migratory birds – including an array of songbirds – each spring and fall. Millions of birds […]
Only 20 minutes from downtown Lafayette lies one of the most fascinating ecosystems in South Louisiana. Lake Martin and Cypress Island Preserve has remained a popular spot with locals for alligator and bird watching and for both hiking and getting on the water. During early spring (late February), tens of thousands of egrets, Roseate spoonbills, […]
Katherine C. King, philanthropy officer and Cypress Island Program Manager at Lake Martin wrote to tell us a few things of note to the popular reserve near Breaux Bridge, managed by the Nature Conservancy. Deer hunting is happening now and the Lake Martin preserve is in Area 9, which has slightly different dates than the […]
The Paw Loop trail in the Louisiana State Arboretum is named after the Pawpaw tree and is a hilly hike through a beech-magnolia forest. A gulley runs randomly through the trail system and has to be crossed to access the trail. The bridge crossing the gulley and the bottomland habitat associated with the trail system […]
As we’re writing this blog post, leaves aren’t changing here in South Louisiana. Temps are still flirting with 90 and we’re wondering if summer will never leave. But talk of a cold front coming this week has us hopeful that indeed temperatures will drop along with our leaves, although our evergreen trees will keep on […]
The Experience Louisiana Festival will be Oct. 22-23 at the LSU-Eunice campus in Eunice. Sponsored by the Eunice Rotary Club, the event will feature live music, folklife, arts and crafts, food, classic car and truck show and much more. There will be exhibits and displays presented by cultural and tourism representatives from across the state. […]
The Bayou Vermilion Preservation presents a symposium titled “Backyard to the Bayou: Understanding your role in the preservation of our river” Sept. 9 at Vermilionville Performance Center in Lafayette. You won’t want to miss this educational opportunity. Here is the lineup: 8:25 am – Welcome – Charlie Wyatt, Bayou Vermilion Preservation Association 8:30 am – […]
Katherine King, director of the Nature Conservancy’s Breaux Bridge office and the Cypress Island Program, had to this to say Aug. 26 about the Cypress Island Preserve and the Visitor’s Center at Lake Martin, following the devastating floods last month: “The Cypress Island Preserve took a pretty big hit, being the low point of the […]
Steve Barney of Lafayette has graciously given his time to instruct Acadiana Master Naturalists about regional insects, particularly beetles. The following article by AMN Cheré Coen appeared in Country Roads magazine of Baton Rouge in March 2013. Steven Barney of Lafayette likes playing in the dirt. He routinely digs beneath pieces of rotten wood […]
It’s hard not to have a smile on your face all day long when you hear the Northern Parula song. One or two Northern Parula’s have been in the Nature Station forest for the past couple of weeks. I am often out of town at this time of year and there is nothing better than […]
When you’re out in nature, you may stumble upon wildlife tracks and actual species. Here are some tips to record those moments. Record habitat, time and date. Focus on key characteristics to help in wildlife identification. For mammals, what are the general markings, facial patterns, size, and appendages such as tail length, shape and color? […]
What’s a class like for the Acadiana Master Naturalists? For the spring 2015 class, we were fortunate to get an insider’s look into the Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge along Louisiana’s coast between Pecan Island and Grand Chenier. The overnight trip included lectures the first evening on coastal land loss, sea creatures, birds, and stars when […]
Hello Everyone, AMN is off to a good start. We have completed 4 of our 10 workshops. We had an introduction to welcome our new members and explain how the program works. Our first workshop was at the Nature Station. Billy covered hydrology of the state in the past and present, Mike covered how soils […]
By Cheré Coen When I first moved into my home in the heart of Lafayette in 2004, the previous owners had landscaped the front to create curb appeal but the backyard was one giant lawn. To me, it was a blank canvas. I wanted to attract birds, butterflies, bugs and other wildlife to my yard […]
The Acadiana Master Naturalists Program is a unique opportunity for nature enthusiasts of all levels and 18 years and older to learn more about the ecological systems unique to Acadiana. Workshops are held in the spring usually beginning in January and ending with a Master Naturalist accreditation and graduation in May. You’ll learn about native […]
We welcome you to Acadiana Master Naturalist. Whether you are here to visit or to learn more or to become a master naturalist, we are excited to share our knowledge and our love of all things in South Louisiana-and more. Our site is fluid-we’re always adding more information because, as nature grows and changes, so […]
