Master Naturalists chapter formed; members wanted

Tom Nowlin squats as he looks up at trees in a wooded area in Clinton. Nowlin is an Arkansas 
Master Naturalist, and he hopes to find like-minded individuals to join a new chapter, the 
Foothills of Arkansas Master Naturalists, of which he is president. He said its goals are to keep The Natural State natural, extol the virtues of the state and to “plug Arkansans into nature.”
Tom Nowlin squats as he looks up at trees in a wooded area in Clinton. Nowlin is an Arkansas Master Naturalist, and he hopes to find like-minded individuals to join a new chapter, the Foothills of Arkansas Master Naturalists, of which he is president. He said its goals are to keep The Natural State natural, extol the virtues of the state and to “plug Arkansans into nature.”

CLINTON — When Tom Nowlin of Clinton decided to become a Master Naturalist, he had to commute 80 miles to be trained because there were no chapters close by.

“I said, my goodness, we’re leaving such a huge carbon footprint,” Nowlin said. His fellow classmates agreed. “They said, ‘Yeah — we need to start another chapter. We want you to be president.’”

The newly formed Foothills of Arkansas Master Naturalists chapter — of which Nowlin is the president — is taking applications for the class of 2017 for people in Conway, Fairfield Bay, Clinton, Heber Springs and the surrounding areas.

New-member classes will begin at 9 a.m. Jan. 28 with orientation at the Faulkner County Library in Conway. Graduation will be May 6 at Woolly Hollow State Park in Greenbrier.

First of all, Nowlin said, people need to understand what a Master Naturalist is — and isn’t.

“Arkansas Master Naturalists is a nonprofit, nonpolitical — nobody talks politics; it has no political alignment whatever — volunteer organization,” he said.

This is the 10th anniversary of Arkansas Master Naturalists, which started with the Central Arkansas chapter in Little Rock, he said. The Foothills chapter is the seventh in the state.

Nowlin said the group has three basic goals: To keep The Natural State natural; to extol the virtues of The Natural State; and “to plug Arkansans into nature — to get them involved, get them dirty.”

The way the group does that is to train people, first of all.

“Training sounds kind of hard and uninteresting and boring, but maybe a better way is to say we try to expose people to very passionate people in their respective fields,” he said. “We’re somewhat envied by many of the chapters of the state because we have three universities in Conway, so we have a lot of expertise to draw from,” he said, referring to the University of Central Arkansas, Hendrix College and Central Baptist College.

Those might be experts in Arkansas reptiles, fish, toads or insects, for example.

It’s not just college professors who do the training, he said. Experts come from the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, the Arkansas Forestry Commission and other state agencies.

In February, “we’re bringing in Dr. Dan Scheiman, who oversees Audubon

Arkansas, and we’re going to do a little eagle watch on the lake that day,” Nowlin said.

“Arkansas is real unique in a lot of ways,” Nowlin said. “A lot has to do with the diversity of terrain we have in the state. We’re moderate in climate, so it’s not one of those states that gets extremely cold or extremely hot. That creates a very unique habitat and an interesting mix of animals and plants.”

Nowlin said as many as 418 bird species have at one time been documented in Arkansas, although some are now extinct.

“Most Arkansas birders will agree that one can quite possibly see over 300 species of birds in Arkansas throughout the year,” he said. As far as fish, Nowlin said, there is a “rich diversity,” with about 300 species in the state.

And as far as frogs and toads — Arkansas, home to Toad Suck Daze in Conway, has 23 species.

He said the experts brought in for training will talk about subjects such as water quality and wildlife management.

“When you walk away, you’re like, ‘Oh, my gosh. I just thought I knew. ...

There’s so much to learn,” he said.

“We expose people to all of that, and they develop this deep appreciation for what we actually have out our front doors and out our back doors. It lights a fire.”

Volunteers perform activities such as cleaning up hiking trails, exploring creeks and creating landscaping.

“What happens is, once they get exposed to all those things, people tend to gravitate where their interests lie. They might volunteer with Raptor Rescue. … Some like to do trail maintenance.”

Nowlin said 60 hours of training is offered; Master Naturalists are required to undergo 40 hours of training and 40 volunteer hours the first year, then 40 hours of volunteering and eight hours of advanced training in subsequent years.

There are no exams, he said. “We learn by listening, observing and doing.”

Bob Verboon of Clinton is leader of the stream team for the North Central Arkansas Master Naturalists, but he also plans to join the Foothills chapter.

Verboon, a retired educator, said he joined the North Central chapter in 2013, which meets at the James A. Gaston Visitor Center in Bull Shoals.

“I joined because I like to fly-fish, so I go up there to the meetings, and when the meetings are over with, I go fly-fishing,” he said.

His wife, Kay, is also a Master Naturalist, and he said they enjoy hiking.

The stream team is sponsored by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, he said, and each Master Naturalist chapter has one.

“We check water quality in streams — we check five streams up there for water chemistry and macroinvertebrates that live in the stream,” such as mayflies and stoneflies, he said. Verboon said the team checks the streams three times a year. “We fill out a report, and that gives the Game and Fish an indication of the water quality.

“I just really like the Master Naturalists. I’m also a docent here at the South Fork Nature Center [in Clinton]. I just think there are so many people, especially retired people, looking for a group to join.”

Nowlin said seven people so far have signed up for the inaugural Foothills of Arkansas Master Naturalists class; the class is limited to 30 people. In addition to Conway, classes will be held in Fairfield Bay, Clinton, Mayflower and other locations.

He said people from all walks of life are Master Naturalists, and one of the best parts about the group is the people one meets. Nowlin is the office manager of Petit Jean Electric Cooperative in Clinton.

“You would be amazed. These are folks who say, ‘Hey, this is great — it gets me outdoors. I get to make a contribution to the community and to Arkansas,’” Nowlin said.

An application form and a schedule are available at

wordpress.arkansasmasternaturalists.org/how-do-i-join. Scroll down to FAMN. For more information, email Nowlin at twnowlin@artelco.com.

Senior writer Tammy Keith can be reached at (501) 327-0370 or tkeith@arkansasonline.com.

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