Graduation Night

Tonight is graduation night. I've been taking another Master Naturalist class for the past 5 weeks. My previous class was called Big Woods Big Rivers. This one is Northwoods Great Lakes. I gotta tell you, classes twice a week plus homework plus two 8 hour field trips on Saturdays has worn me out. Sometimes I get up at 5 a.m. and when class is over at 9 p.m. that makes for a l 0 0 o n g day. I've enjoyed the learning and the fellowship and I think I will miss that. In case you aren't aware, the mission of the Master Naturalist program are to increase knowledge of Minnesota's natural and cultural history, develop ability to convey the knowledge to a variety of audiences, promote ability to serve as a steward of the land, help you become more concerned and proactive about the natural environment, support growth as a life-long and self-directed learner. All good things, don't you agree? This takes 40 hours of classroom instruction on ecology and systems. We are expected to complete a capstone project. This time I am working with 3 other women to improve the appearance of the garden area at the entrance to the Wildlife Science Center in Columbus Township, near Forest Lake. We are going to add some shade loving wildflowers and shrubs. We will remove some non-native species. We'll try to get some more wood chips for the path. And we're going to try and disguise the appearance of a large white propane tank. The propane tank disguise will be difficult. We aren't allowed to cover it with a tarp, fabric, paint, or extra large tea cozy. We don't expect to finish our project until May of 2010. I'm glad I will get a chance to work with these three women in the future. The people in the class are really fascinating; tree huggers, each and every one of us.