“Thank you for your interest in becoming a certified Arizona Master Naturalist!”
Melissa Mundt Environmental Education Program Coordinator Pima County Conservation Lands and Resources
Become a Master Naturalist
The Arizona Master Naturalist Training Program is designed to train volunteers to be leaders, to complete tasks working on teams, to design programs, and to think about equity and inclusion in practice. Training to become a Master Naturalist develops skills to build relationships with community partners and to engage in projects that benefit the environment and our communities.
The training is interactive and consists of weekly meetings that include presentations by subject matter experts, team-building exercises and group projects. Field explorations provide the opportunity for hands-on learning.
Class assignments/projects and self-paced e-courses help participants to further understand natural and cultural concepts, including best practices in environmental education and justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion.
Master Naturalists are not expected to know everything about the natural world. In this context, “master” refers to a person who devotes time and energy to learning and practicing their skill. As master naturalists, we become more aware of our environment on new levels and seek new ways to engage with it.
Course Description
Chapter Sponsor
The Arizona Master Naturalist Pima County Chapter is supported by Pima County Conservation Lands and Resources (CLR) Department, Environmental Education Team.
Curriculum
The active and experiential curriculum is designed to help volunteers become leaders for our chapter and community partners. Presentations about the natural and cultural histories of the Sonoran Desert during class meetings and experiential learning during field labs help to expand the knowledge-base of our certified naturalists.
Schedule
The training program begins in January and runs into early May. The class meets on Wednesday evenings from 5:30-8:00pm. The format is hybrid, with some in-person class meetings at Brandi Fenton Park and others on Zoom. Participation in class meetings is required. Field labs on Saturday mornings are held at various locations. Some field labs are required while others are optional.
Assignments
A variety of assignments/projects that provide opportunities to gain additional knowledge are assigned periodically and are due within reasonable timeframes. Expect to devote approximately 3-5 hours each week to the class meetings, assignments/projects and field labs.
Volunteering
Volunteering is a required element of the course and ongoing certification. To become fully certified in the training year, trainees must contribute 20 hours of volunteer service (5 of which must be Association or Chapter Service) by December 31 of that year.
Advanced Training
Advanced Training is a required element of the course and ongoing certification. To become fully certified in the training year, trainees must complete 20 hours of advanced training (5 of which must be skills-based training) by December 31 of that year.
Technology
To effectively engage in the training program, participants must be willing to use software such as Google Classroom (online course management system), Volgistics (volunteer hours tracking system), and other applications. The program is supported by Training Champions who enhance the training experience by providing guidance and encouragement to the participants.
Information Sessions
To learn more about the training program, please join us for an in-person or Zoom Information Session. Applications who attend an Information Session will receive priority if more applications are submitted than the 25 participants that can be accommodated.
The dates and times for the sessions are listed below.
The Arizona Master Naturalist Association seeks to engage and serve a diverse group of participants and strives to make our programs accessible to an array of diverse ages, cultural backgrounds, economic strata, professional experiences and ethnic backgrounds.
We are able to accept 25 participants into the course. Based upon your responses on the application form and a subsequent conversation with one of our team, we will let you know if you are selected to participate. Selection criteria include:
desire to serve in a leadership capacity for the chapter and partners,
openness to discussing equity and inclusion in natural history programming.
availability to participate in the course,
your described reasons for taking the course.
The registration fee for the 2026 training program is $300. We provide financial assistance for those unable to pay full price for the program through a sliding scale for course fee payment.
A non-refundable $20 application fee is required in order to be considered for the program. You will receive instructions on how to remit the fee once you submit the application form.
Pima Master Naturalists 
You must be logged in to post a comment.