Page 26 Volume 11, Issue 11Bloomingdale/FishHawk Edition

Have you ever

found yourself wanting to

learn more about the

plants and animals that

call our state home, but

just don't have the time

or money to dedicate to

traditional college cours-

es? The Florida Master

Naturalist Program

(FMNP), created by the

University of Florida,

might be the perfect

option for you.

The program started

more than ten years ago and

has blossomed in to a very rich

and rewarding program. Initially

the program was thought up

during the 1998 Florida Eco-

Heritage and national

Watchable Wildlife Conferences

held in Fort Myers, Florida.

Many involved with the confer-

ence noted the lack of well-

trained and knowledgeable peo-

ple who were in positions of

educating others about the

plants, animals and habitats of

the state of Florida. A survey of

almost 200 environmental edu-

cators was given, and the

results were favorable for a program to

properly educate people on the flora and

fauna of our state. Today there are three

core modules that you can take in the

FMNP. The Freshwater Wetlands module

was released in 2001, the Coastal

Systems module in 2003 and the Upland

Habitats module in 2005.

Recently I was able to take and suc-

cessfully complete the Coastal Systems

module of the FMNP, which was held at

Camp Bayou in Ruskin.

The instructor, Dolly Cummings, has

been facilitating the FMNP class since

2002 and has been with Camp Bayou

since 1999. During the class, which was

held from 8a.m.-4p.m. for five consecutive

Increase Your Knowledge Of Florida Wildlife & Plantlife With FMNPBy Alicia Squillante

Saturdays, we had open-book class time

with lecture slides and videos, but we

also had field trips and end-of-class pre-

sentations. The field trips were by far the

best part of the class for everyone. Each

class we visited a different area and

learned about the habitats that thrived

there. The Cockroach Bay canoeing trip

was the crowd favorite. "Cockroach Bay

is, by far, my favorite field trip," said

Cummings. " We have taken that trip in

every module because there is coastal,

wetlands and uplands areas all within

this local, very inspiring, preserve." The

group was also treated to Emerson

Point Preserve in Palmetto. The next

module to be offered at Camp Bayou

will be the Freshwater Wetlands mod-

ule, slated to be held in early 2013. Visit

www.masternaturalist.org or E-mail

Cummings at campbayou@gmail.com.

Seining at Emerson PointPreserve in Palmetto.

Photo by Marina ScarrThe 2012 Coastal Systems class of the Florida Master Naturalist Program at

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Photo by Kim RexRob Heath, Senior Ecologist of Wildlands

Conservation, shows the class the physical differencesbetween mangrove varieties. There are three types of

mangroves: red, black and white.