tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5192250381057989170.post4114663507133413012..comments2024-03-26T16:53:48.618-06:00Comments on In the Company of Plants and Rocks: I, Naturalist .... You, Naturalist?Hollishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10788942181934895493noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5192250381057989170.post-42920884354570462672015-08-02T20:29:16.744-06:002015-08-02T20:29:16.744-06:00Thanks, Beth ... I hadn't heard about these pr...Thanks, Beth ... I hadn't heard about these programs. Pretty neat to have this level of commitment from folks!Hollishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10788942181934895493noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5192250381057989170.post-11850147066193370932015-08-02T16:47:07.578-06:002015-08-02T16:47:07.578-06:00Yes, to answer your original question. It's gr...Yes, to answer your original question. It's great to encourage more people to join the ranks! Another wonderful movement is the growth of formal master naturalist programs (many states have them now), where people can become certified and must devote volunteer hours to remain certified. That helps with the lack of budgets--getting volunteers excited to contribute to a larger purpose. I am a master naturalist, which means I took formal training and must devote 40 hours of volunteer service and take eight hours of advanced training per year. Here's info on some of the state's master naturalist programs: <a href="http://bit.ly/1N2OZ88" rel="nofollow">http://bit.ly/1N2OZ88</a>. Any citizen science, stewardship, or education program participation, though, at any level is so helpful.Beth at PlantPostingshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10473637655960119672noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5192250381057989170.post-85673897016564316192015-08-01T19:57:23.990-06:002015-08-01T19:57:23.990-06:00Thanks, Amy. I took a peek at Dave's garden ....Thanks, Amy. I took a peek at Dave's garden ... how nice to have that!<br /><br />Part of why I like blogging so much is because I "run into" people that are so enthusiastic about their bit of the biosphere. It's really encouraging.Hollishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10788942181934895493noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5192250381057989170.post-35013923591434926852015-08-01T01:02:52.075-06:002015-08-01T01:02:52.075-06:00I love it! So many of us are happy to build our k...I love it! So many of us are happy to build our knowledge in our "non-professional" fields, and I think it's important not to lose this component just now when data can be supplied in large quantity, checked, and cross-checked. Now if only more people were scouting botany in the southern Laramie Mountains... Best of luck with your project!<br />By the way, I use the gardening equivalent (dave'sgarden.com) all the time because it supplies detailed information I can get in no other way - especially very local information. <br />Finally, your DYC is larger than mine. Chinchweed (Pectis papposa) has just begun blooming here - it must be late summer now :)Amy@SmallSunnyGardenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02490564566463354419noreply@blogger.com