Master Naturalist, Crane Trust make partnership

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Lincoln, Neb. — Nebraska Master Naturalist is pleased to welcome the Crane Trust Nature & Visitors Center to the team. Certified Master Naturalist (2011) Matt Jones will serve as the Master Naturalist Training Coordinator and will be located at the Crane Trust Nature & Visitors Center near Alda, Neb. His position is part of a new partnership between Nebraska Master Naturalist and the Crane Trust.

“We’ve had a great relationship with the Crane Trust since the beginning of our Master Naturalist program three years ago,” said program coordinator Annabel Lee Major. “As our program matures, we’re building on existing relationships with wonderful partners like the Crane Trust. The successes of these partnerships are the foundation on which we are expanding our program, particularly in western and central Nebraska. They create the opportunities for our Master Naturalists to volunteer. In a very real sense, they are why we exist as a program.”

Jones has a deep love for the natural world. For the last two years he has served at Audubon’s Rowe Sanctuary as an AmeriCorps volunteer, where he assisted Keanna Leonard, Program Partner and Education Director at Rowe Sanctuary, with education and programming. He eagerly looks forward to maximizing the partnership between the Master Naturalist program and the Crane Trust Nature & Visitors Center.

Since 2010 the Crane Trust Nature & Visitor Center has provided resources, including meeting space and instructors, to Master Naturalist program.

“This partnership is a natural”, center director Brad Mellema said. “Facilitating the Master Naturalist program at the Center will help provide well qualified volunteers to our organization and others throughout the state.”

Certified Nebraska Master Naturalists have become part of an essential volunteer network dedicated to conserving Nebraska's natural resources. Master Naturalists have impacted more than 90,000 Nebraskans and provided volunteer service equating to more than $150,000 in conservation value to Nebraska. Visit http://NATURALIST.unl.edu to find out more.