(Photo provided) Mary Murin holds a mushroom in the 2025 Master Naturalist Program in Wood County.

PARKERSBURG — The 2026 Mid-Ohio Valley Master Naturalist Program begins in March and will be preceded by an introductory program from 1-2:30 p.m. Feb. 21 at the Vienna Public Library.

Program Coordinator Emily Grafton will present How to Become a Master Naturalist with information about the program and how to join available. Brochures about the program that were designed by Adam Weaver, an expert on reptiles, are available at the public libraries in Parkersburg, Vienna and Marietta and at Mother Earth Foods in Parkersburg, Grafton said.

“We have a wonderful brochure,” she said.

The Master Naturalist Program consists of 62 hours of required workshops and field trips and 30 hours of volunteer work to become a certified Master Naturalist. Instructors are experts from the West Virginia Department of Natural Resources, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, West Virginia University, Marietta College, Washington State Community College of Ohio and other local experts.

The mission is to provide enough exposure to local natural history that students develop a basic knowledge of the ecology, plants and wildlife of the region, Grafton said. Upon completion of the program, participants will be ready to lead nature walks, introductory nature classes for adults and children, and be able to continue learning every year by attending new workshops.

(Photo provided) Participants in the March 2025 vernal pool field trip in the Master Naturalist Program that will begin again next month.

Certified Master Naturalists may even get summer jobs working as park naturalists.

In addition to the course work, students must complete 30 hours of volunteer work to earn a certificate from the Department of Natural Resources. Multiple opportunities are available to volunteer including monitoring bluebird boxes, planting and maintaining pollinator gardens, a variety of ecosystem restoration projects, planting trees and environmental education programs at the Ohio River National Wildlife Refuge, Mountwood Park and Broughton’s Nature Preserve.

“We have a special opportunity for our Master Naturalists to work with Mark Krivchenia on his ecosystem restoration projects in several locations,” Grafton said. “He teaches folks about invasive species and invasive species removal, collecting native plant seeds and propagation of native plants.”

Cost is $125. For more information or to join the program, call Grafton at 304-906-7846 or email emily.grafton@icloud.com for a brochure.

More information about other Master Naturalist programs in West Virginia is available at the Department of Natural Resources website mnofwv.org.

(Photo provided) Andrew Walker of the Master Naturalist Program presents a program on nature photography.

The first session is in March, with the date to be announced, and will be a field trip to Johnson T. Janes Park in Parkersburg to view the vernal pools with Weaver, Grafton said.

The schedule is:

April 18: Wildflowers; Recording and Preserving What You Have Learned.

May 23: Reptiles and Amphibians; Geology

June 6: Birds; Ecosystem Restoration

(Photo provided) Participants in the March 2025 vernal pool field trip in the Master Naturalist Program that will begin again next month.

June 19-20: Astronomy; Wetlands; Nature Interpretation; Moth Night.

July 18: Mammals; Nature Writing and Journaling

Aug. 8: Mushrooms.

Aug. 15: Aquatic Habitats

Aug. 22: Medicinal Plants; Insects and Other Invertebrates

Sept. 12: Names and Classification; Lawns to Meadows

Oct. 10: Trees, Shrubs And Woody Vines; Terrestrial Habitats

Nov. 14: Ecology; Fish