Experience the Magnificent Ozarks…a Naturalist Gathering!

A three-day event brought together Master Naturalists from across the State of Missouri for advanced training, networking, and interacting with natural resource and education professionals.  The host for 2015 was the Springfield Plateau Master Naturalists.  There are 12 chapters in Missouri.  I have been with the Lake of the Ozarks Master Naturalists about a year.  Each chapter has one scholarship provided to cover full cost of registration (does not include lodging).  I was fortunate to have been the recipient for my chapter.

Special features included Chapter Exhibits so everyone can see a display of other chapters activities such as stewardship, citizen science, and education projects that support conservation in their local communities.  There was an ImagiNature Art Contest which provided a venue for Master Naturalists to share talent with peers.  The imagination and creativity describe some facet of nature.  Top three vote getters are awarded cash prizes and are People's Choice.  Then there's the popular silent auction where anyone can donate a treasure and bring home a new one.  The proceeds from the auction help support scholarships for future conferences.  It is always fun and interesting to see what is available and the 24-hour period of bidding strategy.

The Pre-Conference Sessions were field trips on Friday.  As with all sessions, each individual requests their top three and finds out shortly before the conference weekend what their schedule will be.  This is important so class sizes can be optimum.  Again, I was fortunate to receive ALL my first choices!  Of course the choices were ALL awesome!  Here's a brief summery of what was offered:

Friday 

Stream Ecology Float - canoes & lunch were provided for 6 hours on the James River (my choice!)
Caves, Karst, and Bats - visit Fulbright Cave & Giboney Cave
Living Efficiently - visit to state-of-the-art energy-efficient, contemporary, concrete home built in 2013
Practicing Permaculture - visit a farm that works with rather than against nature
Linden's Prairie - 171-acre original native prairie landscape
La Petite Gemme Prairie - a biologically valuable grassland near Bolivar
Rocky Barrens Glade - unique glades

Stream Ecology Float on the James River - Beti in front and Caroline in back

Beti at the gravel bar for lunch break and advanced training.  This is where the James and Finley Rivers meet and eventually become an arm of Table Rock Lake

Instruction by Joe Pitts, Executive Director of the James River Basin Partnership.  We looked at riparian borders, stream dynamics, water quality indicators, and impacts of human activities.

At the end of the day, everyone checked into their hotels.  The Ramada Plaza Hotel was the site for the conference but rooms filled up fast as they also hosted several other conventions that weekend!  It was fun to see the variety of people all over the place which included a parking lot full of "Spyder" motorcycles.  We used to just call them 3-wheelers or trikes.  Strange.

I have a gold-status with Holiday Inn which was next door and that is where I stayed as well as many others did from our event.  Several of us met for breakfast each of the two mornings before going next door to the classes.  My suite was as wonderful as expected in a quiet corner.  It was good to have a break from the noise and extra activities at the host hotel.  Conference registration was concurrent with the Social which went on until 7:00 p.m.  Here we got our schedules and packets which included a T-shirt.  A group of us only stayed a short while for the opening then met by the pool with refreshments as the conference food provided was minimal and plain.  Soon we were joined by many others from our chapter and the party went on long after I left.  It was a fine wine time!


Saturday Morning Sessions

Archeology & Primitive Tools - classroom on hotel site
Discover Nature Fishing - field trip to Valley Water Mill
Fire Ecology - classroom on hotel site
Forest Health & Urban Forests - field trip to MDC Regional Office
Fungi & Lichens - classroom on hotel site
Mussels & Endangered Aquatic Species - classroom on hotel site
Marvelous Mushrooms - classroom on hotel site (my choice!) - Jay Justice, Mycologist, was quite a character and REALLY knows his 'srooms!  Very informative with great photo power point presentation that included complete handouts and excellent reference sources and field guides.  I like Jay's summary:  "All mushrooms are edible…at least once."

Saturday Afternoon Sessions

Bat Awareness, Energizing a Sustainable Future, Flintknapping, Hiking in the Ozarks, Outdoor Survival Skills were all done in classrooms on the hotel site with the Outdoor Survival Skills continuing at the nearby Valley Water Mill area. There were field trips to River Bluff Cave Natural History Museum and Wilson Creek National Battlefield.  My choice was Wild Edibles & Medicinal Plants which took place only 2 miles away from the hotel at the new Valley Water Mill Pond area.

It was about a 1.5-mile hike which we did in about 3 hours.  Bo Brown (Founder and Director of First Earth) teaches "Stone-Age Survival Skills & Nature Education." This class, he taught about many plants' fascinating life histories concerning edible and personal uses, folklore or medicinal qualities.  We learned to identify, collect, and prepare wild edibles and medicinal plants as well as how to insure sustainable populations for the future.

This dedicated group stayed to the very end of the hike learning from Bo Brown.  It was at this point that his personality and skills made the class especially worthwhile.

This relatively new area is only about 2 miles from north Glenstone just across I-44.  I will come back for a peaceful walk again as it is a wonderful natural area refuge away from the busy city.

The pond is for fishing and the 1.5 mile trail weaves through the area.

Here is Bo Brown showing us how to harvest wild ginger root without harming the plants and ensuring more will grow in the same spot.  It likely will help it to produce more!

The evening activities included the final voting for the art exhibits and final bidding for the silent auction.  The social and dinner were about two hours with the dinner fairly good this evening. The entertainment was probably well rehearsed and planned but it was not moving very well and not smoothly coordinated, so people began leaving.  Our group ended up in a married couple's room with an outdoor patio.  Here we brought our own beverages and the husband was a wonderful guitar player and singer.  We had a wonderful and cosy evening listening and signing along to some vintage '60's -'70's songs.  Way cool time!

Sunday Morning Sessions

All classes were on site except Bird Banding which was at the Springfield Nature Center.  My choice was Hellbenders and Turtles.  It turned out to be my favorite class of all!  The other choices were American Burying Beetles & Aquatic Macroinvertebrates, Bears/Feral Hogs/ & Mountain Lions, Educational Partners, Flying WILD, Karst Geology, and Perfection Presentations.

The little fella is a Mud Puppy  who lives in both water and land. The big guy is a Hellbender who lives in clean streams and is similar to trout in habitat and what they eat.

The Hellbender is also known as the Snot Otter or Allegheny Alligator.  Missouri is the only state that has both the 18" Eastern and 16" Ozark Hellbenders.  They can live up to 40 years, has lungs but breaths through skin.  They are a good Indicator Species which can be compared to the "canary in the mine shaft." If it is healthy, so is the environment.
"When you are feeling tender…think about the hellbender."

John Miller, Interpretive Center Manager for the MDC shows a live baby alligator turtle.  This was the best instructor!  His humor, knowledge, and ability to engage the audience was great.  He appears to be having so much fun, you want to get in on the party.  

The turtle races consisted of plywood cut out painted turtles with a hole near the head to which a heavy string was put through.  One end of the string is tied onto a bench and the other is tied onto a stick that can be handled by the participant.  Here there are 3 wood turtles racing (excuse the ornate rug).  The handler just needs to raise the string up and down (somewhat) and "walk" the turtle forward across the finish line.   This can also be done with frogs.  There we're many participants taking notes to reproduce for their kid's group projects.   And NO live animals were removed from their environment!

There are 17 species of turtles in Missouri.  There is actually a Missouri law that says residents can only have 5 reptiles as pets; not widely enforced unless there is another problem issue addressed.  It is expected that reptiles will be returned to within 1-2 miles of their original home.  The word "Embargo" is from the word "Ograbme" from when early settlers would grab big turtles to take home on ships and had to be regulated.  Many turtles can live 80-100 years or more!

I am especially fond of turtles and my favorite jewelry is a rainbow moonstone turtle necklace pendent my husband, Keith, gave me years ago.  A great deal of mythology exists in regard to the turtle.  In the Far East, the shell was a symbol of heaven and the square underside was a symbol of earth.  The turtle was an animal whose magic united heaven and earth.  The turtle is a creation of nature that carries its round shell over the ground, like heaven, and has a flat bottom, like earth.  With a profile resembling a mountain and the turning motion of its toes, it seemed to be a depiction of heaven and earth changing constantly through the seasons.  A symbol of the turtle is an invitation for the blessings of both heaven and earth.  Turtle totems hold the mystery of awakening the senses - on both physical and spiritual levels.  Rainbow moonstone can bring flashes of insight, increase intuition, and enhance one's creativity, compassion, endurance, and inner confidence.  It enhances the power of the feminine.  A moonstone turtle magnifies a good sense of intuition and promotes longevity.