Texas Master Naturalist

5 QUESTIONS ABOUT

TEXAS MASTER NATURALISTS

A Q&A with MARY PEARL MEUTH

STORY BY LORIE A. WOODWARD

Since the mid-1990s Texas has been growing fast—and the population growth just keeps picking up speed. Attracted by the state’s lack of income tax, strong job market, lower cost of living and thriving cities, people from across the nation and around the world have moved (and are continuing to move) to the Lone Star State.

In 1995, the state was home to about 18.7 million people. By 2010, the population had climbed to 25.1 million. Ten years later, the population was 29.1 million, a 15.9% increase since 2010. By 2022, Texas surpassed 30 million residents and became the second most populated state in the nation. In 2023, just one year later, residential rolls swelled to 30.5 million, a 4.7% increase from April 2020 to July 2023. Projections estimate the population will continue to grow, potentially reaching 32.5 million by 2030.

These new Texans bring a higher demand for land, water, food and other natural resources. This, in turn, is taxing our natural resource infrastructure.

Most of these new Texans, who have no connection to the state’s rural lands or its natural history, settle in the state’s major metropolitan areas, increasing the divide between urban and rural Texas. This influx of new residents strains the ability of natural resource agencies to meet the ever-growing need for conservation education and outreach as well as boots-on-the-ground conservation action.

The Texas Master Naturalist Program, which trains volunteers to put conservation to work in their communities, was born from this need. Since the program’s founding in 1998, more than 17,000 Texans have completed the 40-hour training necessary to earn the title Texas Master Naturalist.

I sat down with Mary Pearl Meuth, Program Coordinator for the Texas Master Naturalist Program, on the Land.com Podcast to discuss TMN and its impacts on Texas and its citizens. You can listen to Episode 32 of the Land.com Podcast where we dive deep “On Conservation’s Front Line”.

1. From your perspective, why is conservation education, engagement and advocacy important?

MPM: Because we humans are all part of the same community, and that community is based on the natural resources that are outside of our doors. Those same resources are combined and utilized to feed us, clothe us, shelter us and provide wildlife habitat and recreational opportunities.

As members of that shared community, it’s important to know about the natural resources that we live with and that we steward, either directly or indirectly. These resources contribute to our lives in different ways, so conservation education is important to help us see and understand how we are part of the whole system.

Personally, I think it’s a great way to reconnect to our base as human beings and reignite our passion for other living things. I am always thrilled when I see a kid get excited about a creepy, crawly bug or harmless snake for the first time. When they encounter those insects or reptiles, their eyes get big as saucers and they say, “This is so much more than reading a book or listening to my parents or teachers talk or watching a video.” Making those hands-in-the-dirt, boots-on-the ground connections is vital for children—and adults. Making those connections is equally important from a landowner’s perspective. Looking at the land and the water and considering the truth that what you do on the surface impacts the water that is infiltrating to the aquifer to be used by your children, your grandchildren and your great-grandchildren as well as your fellow Texans. It reinforces the value of putting in the work to enhance the resource for the good of everyone.

2. What is the Texas Master Naturalist Program’s origin story?

MPM: The inspiration for TMN came from Fort Collins, Colorado. The city had an initiative that trained docents at some of its parks about natural resource engagement and stewardship services to provide clean, natural spaces for the public. Several Texans attended a conference alongside Fort Collins residents who were involved in that program and their conversations sparked the idea of a master naturalist program.

Then, as Texans tend to do, they made it bigger and better. In 1997, the Alamo Chapter of the TMN was launched as a pilot program,

and then, in 1998, the statewide program, which is a partnership between Texas A&M AgriLife Extension and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, was launched. The Texas Master Naturalist Program was the nation’s first statewide master naturalist program.

Since its inception, TMN has served as a template and resource for similar master naturalist programs in 29 states and two countries. Because each program is tailored to its local environment, they are all slightly different, but they share the singular focus of equipping volunteers to deliver conservation outreach, education and action in their communities, benefiting the local environment and the people who live there.

Looking at the land and the water and considering the truth that what you do on the surface impacts the water that is infiltrating to the aquifer to be used by your children, your grandchildren and your greatgrandchildren as well as your fellow Texans. It reinforces the value of putting in the work to enhance the resource for the good of everyone.

3. How is the organization structured so that it puts conservation on the ground in local communities?

MPM: Texas is big and diverse. Our state office coordinates and facilitates, but we use a chapter system to provide direct local impact. Currently, TMN has 49 chapters spread out across the state, some of which serve a single county while others serve multiple counties. Collectively, our 49 chapters cover about 80% of the counties in Texas.

Our smaller chapters have 30 to 50 members, while some of our larger urban chapters have 250 to 300 members. The local chapters select the projects that they become involved in. The projects run the gamut from planting pollinator gardens and providing conservation education to kids to helping maintain wetlands, clearing invasive species and collecting species population data as citizen scientists.

The beauty of our model is that it is not onesize-fits-all for chapters or individuals. Our Master Naturalists can engage in efforts that flame their passions. Some of our volunteers just want to crank up their chainsaws and take on stands of invasive Chinese Privet, while others only want to visit elementary school classrooms and introduce kids to nature using “Skins and Skulls” Discovery Trunks. Regardless, they are all making a difference in their local communities on behalf of the environment.

TMN is a conservation multiplier. Currently, the Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife and the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service have about 5,000 full-time employees, some of whom are administrative. Those employees can’t

be everywhere and do everything that needs to be done.

Currently, TMN has 7,000 active members, who provided more than 500,000 hours of volunteer service, the equivalent of 12,500 40-hour work weeks, just in 2024. The dedication and passion of our volunteers is humbling, inspiring and priceless.

( EDITOR’S NOTE : According to the Independent Sector of the Do Good Institute, an hour of volunteer time is valued at $34.79. Using that number, TMN volunteers’ 500,000-hour time donation in 2024 was worth almost $17.4 million.)

4. How does someone become a Master Naturalist?

MPM: The first step in joining the program is finding your local chapter. Go to our website (txmn.tamu.edu) and click on your home county to be taken to the chapter that serves your county and the surrounding area.

Join its next training class. Some chapters offer one class per year, usually in the spring or fall, while others host two training classes per year.

Complete the 40 hours of basic training that covers everything from range management to ornithology, entomology and the water cycle and will include information on projects that the chapter is involved in. Pick your project and get busy.

To remain active, each Master Naturalist must contribute at least 40 hours of volunteer service per year. Many volunteers choose to contribute many, many more. In fact, we have a couple of individuals in the coastal region who each have contributed more than 20,000 hours over the lifetime of their involvement in the program.

In addition, Master Naturalists are asked to complete eight hours of advanced training annually. Those hours can be dedicated to your specific areas of interest and can be acquired at field days, workshops and numerous other places where people are learning about natural resource conservation and management.

5. What are the benefits of being a Master Naturalist?

MPM: First, it’s the people. When you get involved with your local chapter, you tap into our network, our community. . .our family. You’re surrounded by people who are as curious and as passionate about the natural world as you are.

On top of that, TMN gives you a place to engage in your passion and put it into service where you live and work. That, in turn, allows you to give back to yourself by seeing the difference that your efforts make. You get to watch pollinator gardens blossom, restored prairies thrive and children discover the outdoors.

We’ve had Master Naturalists who discovered new plant species or were the first wave observers to note the arrival of invasive species such as emerald ash borer and the cactus moth in Texas. Being on the front lines of conservation and making a noticeable, profound difference is something that you can take home with you.

Join the Conversation

To listen to Episode 32 “On Conservation’s Front Line” (and all the other episodes) of the Land. com Podcast, click here or tune in on Spotify or Apple.

For more information, check out the following online resource: Texas Master Naturalist Program