Put it on your calendar now as we prepare for our 22nd Texas Master Naturalist Program Annual Meeting, an event to gather, learn and celebrate another year of the Texas Master Naturalist Program. We’re preparing this year’s meeting as a HYBRID Event – both online and in-person at the Dallas/Fort Worth Airport Marriott in Irving, Texas. The event will be held the weekend of Thursday October 21st through Sunday the 24th, 2021 with plenty of activities throughout the event! Join us for a long weekend of greenspace adventures in the hideaways of our largest urban area in Texas.
This year’s Annual Meeting will be hosted from the Dallas/Fort Worth Airport Marriott near the center of the Dallas–Fort Worth urban metroplex. Ecologically, the host site part of the Blackland Prairie and Oakwoods and Prairies ecoregions and is just south of Grapevine Lake, within easy drive of numerous greenways and a short jog to the Lewisville Lake Environmental Learning Area and Nature Preserve. Centered within the metroplex providing easy access to these numerous naturalist sites, the Annual Meeting is looking forward to showcasing the hidden gems of these sister cities and their surrounding Texas Master Naturalist chapters.
Please have patience with us as we develop this year’s Annual Meeting in this NEW HYBRID format. We’re excited about the opportunities this meeting format presents for our program, accessibility to our Annual Meeting advanced training for our members across the state, and ways to continue to stay safe yet still get to take steps to gather for conservation and comradery.
What is a Hybrid Event?
We are planning to host this year’s Annual Meeting in a hybrid format. Participants will be able to register to attend the event as either an ‘in person’ attendee or a ‘virtual’ attendee. Certain aspects of the event will be made available for each audience type. For example, we are planning field sessions to be hosted for in-person attendees with limited capacities of the hotel and all relevant health and safety precautions taken to follow protocols for the time. Virtual attendees will be able to participate in the majority of advanced training sessions as available for streaming. All virtual aspects of the meeting will be available for ‘in person’ attendees. The look and feel of this new hybrid event format is evolving and as we develop this year’s meeting and agenda, more of what each type of registration will have access to will be shared on our website.
COVID Contingency
As a result of the uncertainty surrounding the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Texas Master Naturalist Program will continue monitoring federal and state health and safety guidelines. We are committed to creating a valuable and engaging educational and networking experience, while also keeping the safety of our membership and speakers at the center of our event planning. Any decision that may change the final format of the Annual Meeting will be shared immediately and travel/registration considerations will be made alongside these updates.
The Texas Master Naturalist Program maintains its responsibility to protect the health and wellbeing of its members, conference attendees and the general population while still serving its mission to provide education, outreach, and service dedicated to the beneficial management of natural resources and natural areas.
Call for Proposals!
The Texas Master Naturalist Program welcomes your proposals as contributions to be considered for our new HYBRID meeting and agenda! Individuals wishing to present are invited to submit their proposals via the “Submit Abstract’ button below. Additional information about our Call for Proposals can also be found linked below.
As a workshop presenter at the Annual Meeting, you will have the opportunity to inform and train TMN members from across the state on various natural resource topics providing more in-depth information than their initial core training and curriculum. You are also encouraged to make this an opportunity to enlist and train our program volunteers to assist you, your program, and your work as part of their annual volunteer service commitment.
Advanced Training Sessions Requirements
Advanced Training (AT) Sessions include training on a specific skill, technique, or process and may involve one or more instructors. Sessions are intended to emphasize learning through participation, discussion, and hands-on interactive presentations on natural resource topics that model good interpretive methods. AT Sessions should aim to provide participants with new skills to apply in their area of service or in the topic area you are teaching. These could include presentations introducing a natural resource topic or program to solicit the interest of TMN volunteers or to present resources and partnerships that may assist chapters in their communities.
More information can be found on our Full Call for Proposals Guide
The deadline for submissions is Monday June 1st. A notice of receipt will be automatically generated and sent by e-mail. If you do not receive notification of receipt within 10 days or have any questions about proposal submission, please contact Mary Pearl Meuth, (mpmeuth@tamu.edu). Proposals received after the deadline and before registration opening may be considered if space is available.
View the past 5 Annual Meetings:
- 2020 Annual Meeting – October 14-17, 2020, Virtual
- 2019 Annual Meeting– October 18-20, 2019, Hilton Dallas/Rockwall Lakefront Hotel, Rockwall, TX
- 2018 Annual Meeting – October 18-20, 2018, Sherton Austin Georgetown Hotel and Conference Center, Georgetown, TX
- 2017 Annual Meeting – October 20-22, 2017, Omni Hotel, Corpus Christi, TX
- 2016 Annual Meeting – October 20-22, 2016, La Torretta Lake Resort and Spa, Montgomery, TX