Training

Basic Training | Advanced Training

Basic Training

Naturalists-in-training will receive on-line instruction on natural history topics including botany, entomology, herpetology, and ecology of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems of Wyoming, as well as nature journaling, and outdoor education and interpretation. Classes will be taught by professionals from Audubon Rockies, University of Wyoming and elsewhere.

Classes meet on Wednesday evenings, over 15 weeks, for 1 3/4 hour, starting at 6 pm (see schedule below) . Participants are expected to attend all classes, and to complete additional assignments between meetings. Most participants report spending a minimum of four hours per week on assignments outside of class. The final, in-person field experience is scheduled for May 20 & 21, 2023, at Sinks Canyon State Park; attendance is required to complete the basic training course.  Details are available in the Volunteer Handbook and Policy Guidelines.

Participants should also plan to attend the Annual Meeting on Saturday, September 23, 2023, to honor the service of Wyoming Naturalists. Location of the 2023 meeting is yet to be determined--but plan for a fun weekend of learning and service.

                                                                                                       The fee is $175. Scholarships are available; for information contact Wyoming-Naturalists@uwyo.edu.

2023 Schedule (tentative)

All classes begin at 6 pm, Mountain Time.      

Advanced Training

To maintain annual certification, Naturalists must complete eight hours of advanced training and 40 hours of volunteer service each year. See below for 2022 advanced training options.

Advanced training policies

Naturalists are encouraged to take advantage of trainings available beyond those offered by the Wyoming Naturalist Program. However, only 4 hours of non-WNP training may be applied towards advanced training each year. Keep in mind that trainings that are required for a volunteer service project count towards volunteer hours.

To determine if a non-WNP training will count towards your 8 hours, use this key.

Advanced training options

Non-WNP

Certified Interpretive Guide Training, March 22-25, Wyoming Territorial Prison State Historic Site, Laramie. https://www.interpnet.com/nai/nai/_events/Event_Display.aspx?EventKey=GI032222. $10 to attend, $160 for certification.

Wilderness First Aid, May 21-22, with CPR on the evening of May 20, University of Wyoming Campus. https://www.longleafmedical.com/may22-wfa-laramie.html. $300 (reduced for UW students)

WNP sponsored

Plant Families Workshop, June 4, Wyoming Native Plant Society Annual Meeting, Thermopolis. Two-hour workshop taught by TNC and BLM botanists. Membership in the WyNPS is not required, but registration is. http://www.wynps.org/activities/2022-annual-meeting/

Get To Know Your Plant Families, June 10, Wyoming BioBlitz, Guernsey State Park. Two-hour workshop taught by the pros from the University of Wyoming Rocky Mountain Herbarium. Registration is required. https://rockies.audubon.org/naturalist/wyoming-bioblitz

What is That Bug?! An Insect identification Workshop, June 10, Wyoming BioBlitz, Guernsey State Park. Two-hour workshop taught UW PhD candidates (and insect enthusuasts) Meg Wilson and Mel Torres. Registration is required. https://rockies.audubon.org/naturalist/wyoming-bioblitz

Nature Journaling Workshop, June 10, Wyoming BioBlitz, Guernsey State Park. One-hour workshop taught by Wyoming Naturalists Moe Cairns, Michelle Sidun and Jackie Hauptman. Registration is required. https://rockies.audubon.org/naturalist/wyoming-bioblitz

Bird Walk, July 30, Wyoming Territorial Prison State Park, Laramie. Two-hour walk with Zach Hutchinson along the Laramie River, starting at 8:30 am.

Wildlife Diseases, July 30, 11 am, Wyoming State Veterinary Lab, 1174 Snowy Range Rd., Laramie. Two-hour interactive workshop on wildlife daseases taught by Jessica Jennings, Wyoming Game and Fish Department veterinary scientist.

Wyoming Archeology, June 8, 7 pm

Presented by Dan Bach, Wyoming State Parks, Historic Sites and Trails, Registered Professional Archeologist

Overview: This class will provide a brief overview of Wyoming's archeology, focusing on its rich prehistory. Chronological time periods from Clovis, 13,000 years before present, up to contact 1700 A.D., will be discussed. We will review different archeological site types, such as rock art, habitation sites, buffalo jumps, medicine wheels, et cetera. There will also be a brief discussion on subsistence strategies (hunters/gatherers). Last but not least, there will be a discussion on the ethical aspects of what to do when you find an artifact while out in nature. This will be a 1-hour zoom meeting with time reserved for questions and answers.

Dan is preliminarily planning to provide an in-field hands-on opportunity (4 hrs) to learn how to record a prehistoric stone circle (titpi ring) site at Glendo State park. This will be considered volunteer hours. During this time you will be able to apply what you have learned and help record the local biodiversity (plants and animals), learn about archeological soils, and learn how to draw and document an archeological site and any artifacts. There will be no excavations, only minimal soil probing with a small auger per the Bureau of Reclamation permit.

Field session is tentatively scheduled for July 9, 11-3, Glendo State Park.

Plan to attend the Annual Meeting on Saturday, September 23, 2023, to honor the service of Wyoming Naturalists. Location to be determined.

Please be sure your service hours are up to date two weeks before the meeting, so that you can be properly honored!