ornithoptor's Journal

It’s not my style to share much on social platforms. That said, I help recruit for my Texas Master Naturalist (TMN) chapter’s training class. I’d like to share my story to inspire others to consider the program. I hope you apply! I’m speaking for myself here and not for the program or chapter. Go here to find your local Texas chapter and find out about training and requirements to become a certified volunteer: https://txmn.tamu.edu/chapters/.

We are often at our best as people when we share experiences that rekindle childlike wonder, curiosity, and kindness. Despite volunteering more than 350 hours to the program in fewer than two years, the TMN program has served my family far more than I have served it as a volunteer. It has been a place to find home in nature and with people. As I learn the names of all our living and nonliving neighbors such as cheerful prairie coneflowers and chalky Edwards Plateau layers of rock, I have bonded with people of all ages and backgrounds. Together, we find joy in the pockets of nature within the urban sprawl and we find hope in efforts that result in pollinator gardens, clean parks, counted species, and nature-excited youth.

My homes growing up were the Caribbean and Florida. Spanish was my first language. My family lived in a densely urban area. On weekends, I escaped to rain forest, shoreline, and coastal prairie as a mostly unsupervised child of the 1980’s. Like many other Master Naturalists, I was a Scout. I developed a passion for coral reefs and karst caves, as well as people in the past. I applied those early experiences to study, travel, and work around the world as an anthropologist/archaeologist, scuba diver, volunteer, and flight attendant. Settling into suburbia as a mom upon relocating from Connecticut/NYC Metro to Texas/Dallas Metro was a challenging transition. I struggled to find like-minded people and ways to harness my passion and quest for novelty as I became a “stay at home mom”.

At first, I found TMN as a way to attend free or low-cost, high-quality nature programming. As a doctoral student, I held a science fellowship to teach grade schoolers. We gallivanted about the playground testing student hypotheses and learned quite a bit about spider and pillbug behavior. Rather than simply learning subjects from teachers, now my children similarly directly collaborate with scientists and experts. Most naturalists, even the ones with degrees, are self-taught as they continue to nerd out on their niches. In addition to iNatting everything I can in our area, my interests have branched to geology and paleontology, and I will be teaching mammalogy to our chapter’s 2025 training class.

TMN helped make Texas feel like home. In the spring of 2023, I completed the 13-week training program for my chapter, including a class project at a pollinator garden in which we taught preschoolers about butterflies, flowers, and birds. I have met strong leaders, generous colleagues, and creative nerds. I encourage you to consider joining this unique set of wonderful people; unleash the inquisitive kid in you to find awe in the everyday and protect our beautiful natural spaces here in Texas.