Over the last year I have become involved in several nature-related volunteer activities, and received my Minnesota Master Naturalist certification last year. Being a Master Naturalist involves taking a training course, and then committing to at least 40 hours of volunteer work a year, and ongoing training. Last year I participated in the Prairies and Potholes course, and managed to get all of my 40 hours of volunteer work in by the end of the year. It's a great way to meet and network with other naturalists, learn about new places and opportunities, and give something back to the natural world. For more information, see a presentation I did about my experience with the program.
My regular ongoing volunteer activities include:
- Raptor Center transport crew since September of 2008. This involves a commitment to being on call during scheduled times, and going out to pick up injured raptors reported by the public, and take them back to the Raptor Center. So far I've done some interesting things like
- Pick up a lead-poisoned bald eagle
- Chase a great horned owl around someone's back yard
- Help put two baby merlins in a tree to be adopted by foster parents
- Care for the resident education raptors at Richardson Nature Center at Hyland Park Preserve. They have three raptors, an American kestrel, red-tailed hawk, and barred owl. I volunteer the second and fourth Sundays each month to help feed, examine, and clean up after them. It also involves interaction with the public, as there are usually visitors at the nature center who will want to learn about the raptors. I started my volunteer training in October 2009, and it will last until June 2010 before I am allowed to care for them on my own!