Program Information

Format

The Michigan Naturalist Program offers a certification based upon successful completion of the online course including short unit assignments and open book knowledge checks; and full attendance to in-person, monthly sessions covering essential natural resource and conservation topics.

The program is built in a flipped classroom style. A flipped classroom means that textbook instruction moves from group instruction to individual learning to maximize interactivity when in-person. This format will depend heavily on the participant doing dynamic pre and post learning activities in the online course while group time will be spent with live presenters reinforcing the readings and other lessons. In-person sessions are scheduled for one Saturday or Sunday each month for four hours of coordinated classroom and field-based experiential learning.

Program Topics

Each session studies one or more of the following core subjects: (1) air, including weather and climate change; (2) land, including geology, spatial ecology and coastal regions; (3) water, including lakes, rivers, and wetlands, and the Great Lakes; (4) flora, including trees, plants and invasive species; (5) fauna, including ornithology, herpetology, entomology, ichthyology and mammalogy; and (6) humanities, including conservation, traditional ecological knowledge and interpretation. 

Learning Objectives for Michigan Naturalist Program

After successfully completing the course, Michigan Naturalists will be able to:

  • Develop an appreciation of the natural world through direct experience with local habitats.
  • Distinguish between biomes, ecosystems, and habitats.
  • Explain how Michigan’s geology was formed and related habitats.
  • Define the human and invasive stresses of the environment.
  • Define climate and distinguish it from weather.
  • Understand and identify the unique relationships between native plants and animals.
  • Explain the importance of conservation of native plants and animals in Michigan.
  • Be able to define and discuss various habitat conservation practices.
  • Articulate and share what they have learned with others.