The mission of the Florida Master Naturalist Program (FMNP) is to promote awareness, understanding, and respect of Florida’s natural world among Florida’s citizens and visitors. We’re putting a spotlight on graduates of the Florida Master Naturalist Program (FMNP) as part of a series. This blog features my interview with Florida Master Naturalists Steve Berry and Carol Cash-Berry. You can reach me for additional information at ktgioeli@ufl.edu. Learn more about FMNP, check out the program website HERE.
Spotlight on Steve Berry and Carol Cash-Berry, Florida Master Naturalists
Ken: I think your first FL Master Naturalist course was the Freshwater Systems course I taught March – April 2024? Is that correct?
Steve and Carol: Yes we attended the Freshwater Systems course. It was our first.
Ken: I know you both love Florida’s natural resources. Why is conserving nature so important to you?
Steve and Carol: We are all a part of nature and all connected in the network of life on this planet. As humans, we have the potential to completely upset the balance of nature. We need to do our best to preserve that balance.
Ken: Please give a brief explanation of the hiking programs you are involved in with St. Lucie County.
Steve and Carol: St Lucie County holds guided nature programs (hikes) with Master Naturalists and/or subject matter experts. We support those programs by volunteering as program assistants. In addition to supporting the naturalists by helping to supervise the participants, we also share our own knowledge – much of which we have learned in the FL Master Naturalist class.
Knowledgeable Florida Master Naturalist Graduates
Ken: You recently graduated from the Florida Master Naturalist Freshwater Systems course conducted in Spring 2024 in St. Lucie County. How will you use this new knowledge?
Steve and Carol: Aside from the personal satisfaction of being better able to understand and identify things within the local environment, we will be better informed to assist with the county’s guided nature programs and possibly lead some one day. Steve also runs the county kayak program and this enables him to make the program more informative when out in our freshwater systems. We also use the insights we learned as we hike in other parts of the US, sharing information with fellow hikers and encouraging conservation.
Spotlight on Bioblitzing and Geomatic Science Applications
Ken: For our Freshwater Systems course, you bioblitzed using iNaturalist. Was this your first time using iNaturalist? How will you use geomatic science applications in the future?
Steve and Carol: Yes, this was our first time using INaturalist. We use this program, and others like it, to help us identify plant and animal species in our environment both here in FL and elsewhere. We can also use these applications to help the county and places like the Oxbow Eco-center to conduct species surveys for various reasons.
Ken: View Steve and Carol’s Bioblitz of the Oxbow Ecocenter HERE.
Benefits of Being Florida Master Naturalist Graduates
Ken: How has participation in the Florida Master Naturalist Program helped you?
Steve and Carol: It has made us more informed and thus more comfortable in understanding our environment and being able to share that environment and information with the visitors to our county parks.
Ken: What impact has participation in the Florida Master Naturalist Program had on you and the people you reach?
Steve and Carol: We feel like it has made us more informed and given us a broader understanding of our local environment and other areas which we visit. This newfound knowledge and confidence gives us an advantage when assisting others within our preserves and we believe it makes for a better experience for those visitors.
Ken: Can you describe one or two of the most memorable things you did in our course?
Steve and Carol: We enjoyed the bioblitz’s, especially during the two field trips. Preparing for our joint presentation, taking all the photos and entering them in iNaturalist was both educational and enjoyable.
Ken: Where in Florida is your favorite place to go hiking that is also publicly accessible? Why is it your favorite place?
Steve and Carol: We enjoy all of the county’s preserves but our favorite place to hike is Oxbow Eco-Center because of the multiple trails and diversity of the biospheres – upland forests, freshwater systems and a river to kayak.
Personal and Societal Impacts of Florida Master Naturalists
Ken: After participating in the Florida Master Naturalist Program, can you estimate how many people you’ve been able to teach about conservation?
Steve and Carol: Shortly after completing the course, we took a 6-week vacation and by the time we returned, the county’s guided hike program had ended until the fall. We did use some of the knowledge we had gained to speak about conservation with folks we encountered on hikes and in state and national parks on our trip.
Ken: Do you think you’ve made an impact as a Florida Master Naturalist?
Steve and Carol: Because the guided hike and kayak programs are in hiatus until the fall, our impact has been limited; we are eager to share our knowledge when they begin again in the fall.
Ken: Is there anything else you would like to add?
Steve and Carol: Whether you plan to use the knowledge gained in a Florida Master Naturalist class as a volunteer or in a career or just someone who desires to learn more about our environment, these classes are extremely worthwhile. We look forward to the other two core classes and then more after that.
An Equal Opportunity Institution. UF/IFAS Extension, University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, Andra Johnson, Dean and Director. Single copies of UF/IFAS Extension publications (excluding 4-H and youth publications) are available free to Florida residents from county UF/IFAS Extension offices.
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