Highlights of 2019 NATA Annual Report

2019 summary

People in a forest — Workshop participants in a pine flatwoods ecosystem during *Conservation Site Assessment & Planning*.

We are pleased to share that 2019 was the 20^th year of operation for the Natural Areas Training Academy (NATA)! More participants attended workshops this year than ever before! We hosted 8 workshops this calendar year; a feat we hadn’t ever accomplished during the past 10 years. Workshops were attended by 227 participants, whom represented 52 organizations. This effort represents over 5750 instructor-student contact hours. To read more, click here to access our annual report.

New to NATA this year

Participants in front of a computer — Participants at RX-410 fire training.

We had a new addition to our fire trainings in 2019–RX-410: Smoke Management Techniques! The training was held at Disney Wilderness Preserve, a centralized location within Florida. 32 participants attend the training, traveling from as far as Texas and North Carolina.

Also new to NATA this year were added instructors to our core workshops. Craig Hedman (certified forester and senior ecologist with F4 Tech) and Kim Gulledge (community ecologist for the Florida Natural Areas Inventory) took part in the Conservation Site Assessment & Planning workshop held in April. In March, Matt Chopp (FWC) and John Griffin (USDA-APHIS) presented on feral hogs and demonstrated numerous hog trapping devices during the Managing for Diversity workshop.

Record year for CNAM recipients

People with certificates — 9 of the 12 CNAM recipients in 2019.

12 people earned their Certificate in Natural Areas Management (CNAM) this year! Not since 2008 have a dozen people completed the program and been presented their certificate during a single year. All total since the NATA program began in 2000, 165 individuals have earned their CNAM. Congratulations to past and present recipients!

Advancing into a new decade

It is hard to believe we’ve had over 2,700 people attend workshops since 2000. Thank you to all participants and instructors who have been part of the NATA experience these past 20 years! We are already planning for our 2020 workshops! The best way to stay informed on newly scheduled events is to join our NATA listserv.

Registration has already opened for one of our spring workshops, Conservation Site Assessment & Planning. Register here to be a part of this workshop at Austin Cary Forest on April 29-30, 2020. For more information on our trainings, visit the NATA website.

Questions, comments, suggestions?

Please contact the workshop coordinator with any questions or suggestions you may have about the NATA program at nata@ifas.ufl.edu or (850)875-7153.