Dear Texas Master Naturalists:
Spring is a busy season for the Texas Master Naturalist Program with so many conservation and stewardship events taking place as our program’s heralds of spring. April also brings many opportunities to celebrate and share what our Texas Master Naturalist volunteers are doing throughout this month’s Global Volunteer Month and National Volunteer Week, April 21st – 27th.
We hope you take the time to celebrate your Texas Master Naturalist accomplishments this month through any, and all of these celebrations! In our minds, April is always Texas Master Naturalist Volunteer Month! The work done by Master Naturalist volunteers this month – and in fact every day of the year – is worthy of celebration on a state, national and global level!
During National Volunteer Week (April 21st – 27th), watch our Texas Master Naturalist social media channels as we highlight the work of you, our incredible volunteers. Follow us at Facebook & Instagram!
Throughout the state, many of our chapters and partners will be hosting events that serve as opportunities to recognize the impact of your volunteer service and the power of the Texas Master Naturalist Program. Don’t forget some major naturalist events in the coming week too – Earth Day on the 22nd, Arbor Day on the 26th and the City Nature Challenge the 26th through the 29th. Enjoy the celebration and opportunity to spend time outdoors! Your ability to tackle our communities’ and society’s greatest natural resource challenges is unrivaled. As a Texas Master Naturalist, you’ve heard us say before that when you put on the dragonfly badge, your name tags, your pins, or your Texas Master Naturalist shirt – you are part of something bigger. You are part of our state’s largest conservation and stewardship movement. YOU ARE our Texas Master Naturalist family!
As part of the Texas Master Naturalist program, you have made considerable impact over the past 25 years of the program. In 2023 alone, our Texas Master Naturalist Program volunteers conquered service projects, developed conservation partnerships, changed landscapes, and enlightened your communities in record numbers! To see the whole of your impacts, check out our 2023 annual report attached and shared on our website. And. . . . stay tuned at the end of this month; we’ll be releasing our 25th Anniversary Program Report that shares the stories and impacts of our program’s 25-year history. We invite you to share these resources with other people you know too!
The impacts you and the entire Master Naturalist family make on behalf of our two state agency sponsors, Texas Parks & Wildlife Department and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, are noticed, felt, and appreciated more than can ever be expressed. Our agencies recognize the power of conservation stewardship and your volunteerism – and the fact that “it’s needed now more than ever”! We hope you and your chapters utilize this month-long celebration as an opportunity to inspire others to join your ranks as you shout from the rooftops how amazing you are!
We appreciate you! We celebrate you! We have so much to look forward to with you!
You make a difference! You make everything possible! Thank YOU!
Texas Master Naturalist Program State Office,
Michelle Haggerty
Mary Pearl Meuth
Hannah Ferguson
2023 Annual Report
