Florida Master Naturalist Program

(and Saturday with the Urban Butterfly Initiative!)

🦋 Help Celebrate Butterfly Big Day 2026 Tomorrow! On Saturday September 12th, join us in celebrating the inaugural annual Butterfly Big Day by helping document butterflies around the world.

🐛 Butterfly Big Day is an international event designed for people of all ages to find as many wild butterflies as they can, spread awareness of the importance of butterflies & other pollinators, and learn how we can help their populations.

❓ Participating is easy! Just download the free iNaturalist app and sign up for a free account. You can also use a web browser and access the iNaturalist web site (inaturalist.org).

📷 Take photos of free-living butterflies (not captive or from butterfly houses)
Submit your photos to iNaturalist. Photos of butterflies submitted anywhere in the world on 12th September will count for Butterfly Big Day! You do not have to be able to identify the butterfly in order for your observations to be useful.

🐞 For more information, links to quick iNaturalist tutorial videos, and to find the Butterfly Big Day regional partner in your part of the world, visit www.urbanbutterflies.org/big-day. To see all the Butterfly Big Day submissions, visit the iNaturalist project page during or after the event: www.inaturalist.org/projects/butterfly-big-day-2026.

🎙️ What does it take to build a program that reaches more than 31,000 graduates?

In a new episode of Streaming Science: Boundless Science, go behind the scenes with Dr. Martin “Marty” Main, founder of the Florida Master Naturalist Program, as he reflects on the program’s past, present, and future.

Hosted by FMNP Program Coordinator Caitlin Robison, this conversation explores why FMNP was created, how it has evolved over the past 25 years, and how decades of fieldwork, research, and extension experience helped shape the program. 🌿

Dr. Main also shares stories from his career—from filming FMNP videos across Florida to conducting fieldwork in places like Aldabra, Oregon, South Texas, and beyond—and reflects on the importance of community, collaboration, partnerships, and making environmental education accessible.

And his message for future Master Naturalists? You don’t have to be an expert. FMNP is about discovering what interests you, connecting with like-minded people, and becoming an emissary for conservation in your own community.

🎧 Curious about the story behind FMNP? Give the episode a listen!
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1651813/episodes/19718469 -notes

👉 Florida Master Naturalist Program: Past, Present, and Future with Dr. Marty Main

Florida Master Naturalist Program: Past, Present, and Future with Dr. Marty Main - Streaming Science This episode of Streaming Science explores the Florida Master Naturalist Program—past, present, and future—through a conversation with its founder, Dr. Martin “Marty” Main. Hosted by FMNP Program Coordinator Caitlin Robison, the episode exami...

🌿👀 Once you learn to identify invasive plants, you start seeing them everywhere.

That vine climbing a tree. That shrub lining a parking lot. That plant spreading through a wetland.

The Florida Master Naturalist Program's Palm Beach County Invasive Plants Special Topic Course will teach you how to recognize the species shaping Florida's landscapes, understand their impacts, and contribute to conservation efforts in your own community. 🌱

Through hands-on learning, plant identification challenges, and field exploration, you'll gain skills that transform every outdoor walk into an opportunity for discovery. 🔍🌿

🗓️ October 7-21, 2026
⏰ Registration closes October 1 at 10:00 AM

Click the link for more information and sign up now!
https://conference.ifas.ufl.edu/fmnp/IP26-07hybrid.php

We are extra excited to share this week's - a podcast interview with Marty and Caitlin!

🎙️ In a new episode of Streaming Science: Boundless Science, go behind the scenes with Dr. Martin “Marty” Main, founder of the Florida Master Naturalist Program, as he reflects on the program’s past, present, and future.

🎧 Curious about the story behind FMNP? Give the episode a listen!
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1651813/episodes/19718469

🌿Hosted by Caitlin Robison ( FMNP Program Coordinator), this conversation explores why FMNP was created, how it has evolved over the past 25 years, and how decades of fieldwork, research, and extension experience helped shape the program.

🍄 Dr. Main also shares stories from his career, from filming FMNP videos across Florida to conducting fieldwork in places like Aldabra, Oregon, South Texas, and beyond. Marty reflects on the importance of community, collaboration, and making environmental education accessible.

🫵 And his message for current & future Master Naturalists? You can make a difference! FMNP is about discovering what interests you, connecting with like-minded people, and becoming an emissary for conservation in your own community.

Have you ever noticed there are fewer FMNP courses offered during the summer? A few factors can help explain, the most obvious being... the Florida heat! There's good news: our lineup of Fall courses is looking just as hot! 😊🌴

This week, we move to Indian River County for an Environmental Interpretation course with Andrea Lazzari UF IFAS Indian River County Extension and Heather Stapleton One Lagoon - Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program. A graduate from the team's Upland Systems course in March described Andrea and Heather as a, "dynamite duo" for "one of my favorite classes if not The Favorite" 🤠

Sign up today, and spend your Tuesdays and Thursdays for 3 weeks learning how to become a more effective communicator and conservationist: https://bit.ly/45YPQan 🍄

📅 Remember: agendas are posted on a rolling basis, so your perfect class may be posted soon!

SEVERAL opportunities to learn with the Broward County FMNP team this Fall! Check out our Events page and website for more info!

Grab your seat in Sarasota County’s Freshwater Systems course beginning on Sept. 21!

Learn more about this important natural resource and the species that depend on it in our Florida Master Naturalist Program’s Freshwater Systems course.

Register today! https://conference.ifas.ufl.edu/fmnp/fs26-11inperson.php

‼️There's still time to register for the upcoming Environmental Interpretation course with the UF IFAS Brevard County Extension Service FMNP Instructor team, but registration closes at 10:00 AM on September 21, 2026! ‼️

📚Taking place over two weekends (September 25-26 and October 2-3), this course helps participants develop skills in interpretive presentations, guided interpretive programs, interpretive displays, group management, and environmental interpretation techniques through classroom instruction, field experiences, and hands-on practical activities.

🦋 One previous graduate described the experience as a "super class with interesting lectures from knowledgeable instructors with substantive field trips and projects!" Learn for yourself next month and build practical interpretation skills alongside fellow nature enthusiasts.

🌿Course sessions will be held at the UF/IFAS Extension Brevard County Office, Barrier Island Center at Doc Ehrhart Sanctuary, and Sam's House at Pine Island, providing opportunities to learn and practice interpretation skills in a variety of settings.

👉 View the full agenda and register today: https://conference.ifas.ufl.edu/fmnp/I26-07inperson.php

🐝 Today and tomorrow, join the Great Southeast Pollinator Census - a six-state citizen-science count run by University of Georgia Extension!

🦋 Each August, thousands of people watch a blooming plant for fifteen minutes and record the insects that visit. Together, those counts build a long-term picture of pollinator health across the Southeast.

🌺 Learn more about how to get involved on their website linked here: https://gsepc.org/

🌊 Living in South FL? Looking for a way to get in the water as Summer turns to Fall? Want to learn more about conservation efforts in your backyard? Join the FMNP Instructor team with UF / IFAS Extension Miami-Dade County Sea Grant for a Marine Habitat Restoration class starting next month!

🌴This course takes place over 3 weeks (Friday, Sept. 11 -- Friday, Oct. 2) with content presentations via Zoom and field trips in Miami & Homestead. In the words of a previous graduate, "this course gave me insight as to what is being done to turn the tide on habitat destruction and gave positive restoration effort stories to leave me hopeful about the future of our wonderful state."

🔍 View the full agenda and register here today: https://conference.ifas.ufl.edu/fmnp/MR26-02hybrid.php

(Photos taken on field trips during this same course in 2024!)