About this Habitat Evaluation Course

The UF/ IFAS Extension offices in Indian River and St. Lucie Counties are pleased to announce the upcoming Florida Master Naturalist Program Habitat Evaluation hybrid steward course which starts June 14, 2023. This FMNP course is a 24-hour educational program designed to provide training in principles and commonly used techniques for evaluating wildlife habitat. Previous Master Naturalist coursework is not required.  It is one of the Land Steward Master Naturalist courses.  People that complete this course will better understand the reasons for evaluating wildlife habitat at different scales and the methodologies used to do so.

Hybrid Format

This course is a hybrid formal which includes online Zoom presentations and in-person field trip experiences.  Field trips include nighttime sea turtle habitat evaluation in Jensen Beach/St. Lucie County, water quality monitoring at Egret Marsh in Vero Beach, and scouting for iguana and other wildlife in the Savannas Recreation Area in Fort Pierce.  This course will cover large-scale habitat evaluation, local-scale habitat evaluation, and water quality monitoring. Course details are posted online.

Upon completion of the course…

Upon completion of the course, participants receive Habitat Evaluation certification, complete with certificate, patch, and pin from the University of Florida. As a Land Steward course, Habitat Evaluation will provide participants with additional knowledge and skills to make them more effective educators, citizen scientists, and informed participants when engaging in conservation issues. The registration fee includes course materials, hands-on experience, and registration in an online database that can be used for verification purposes such as might be required for obtaining CEUs, in-service credits, or resume checks.

Instructors

Florida Master Naturalist Instructors: Ken Gioeli, Lead Instructor, Extension Agent IV/Natural Resources & Environment; Guest Instructor will be Andrea Lazzari, Indian River County Extension Director. Extension programs are open to all persons without regard to race, color, sexual orientation, sex, age, disability, religion, or national origin. People seeking accommodation can make requests two weeks prior to start of the course.

Synopsis

When:              6/14/2023 – 7/7/2023

Registration:    Registration is now open at FMNP – Habitat Evaluation (ufl.edu)

Cost:                $200 Attendee Fee – Includes electronic file (PDF) of manual; $220 Attendee Fee with Color Manual – Includes the PDF and a printed bound copy

Location:         Hybrid format with live Zoom instruction, in-person and self-directed field trips

Information:    Email course instructors for information Ken Gioeli ktgioeli@ufl.edu and Andrea Lazzari a.lazzari11@ufl.edu

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