Minnesota Master Naturalist Chapters
Minnesota Master Naturalist chapters are regional groups of volunteers who meet to share experiences, learn together, connect with natural resource experts, cooperate in identifying local needs, and become more involved in environmental events and projects in their communities. Chapters are "officially" sanctioned through the Minnesota Master Naturalist state program, and agree to abide by certain standards and structures for operation. Active volunteers, participants in Minnesota Master Naturalist classes, and other members of the natural resources community can all join chapters. Different chapters serve different regions of the state. Chapter meetings usually take place at the site of a host organization like a regional nature center.
Map of Minnesota Master Naturalist Chapters
Established Chapters
The following chapters are registered with the program:
Bemidji Bogs & Logs Chapter of Minnesota Master Naturalist Volunteers
Janet Nelson President
Louis Jenkins, Secretary
Lake Bemidji State park
Last Wednesday of each month
Brainerd Lakes Area Chapter of Minnesota Master Naturalist Volunteers
President - Eleanor Burkett, prairiesmoke757@gmail.com
Vice President - Scott Ransom, scott.ransom@yahoo.com
Secretary - LeAnn Plinske, leann.plinske@gmail.com
Meeting location - Northland Arboretum, in person and Zoom
The Chapter meets the first Monday of the month at 5:30 PM - 7 times per year: Feb, Mar, April, May Sept, Oct & Nov
Cannon River Valley Chapter of Minnesota Master Naturalists
President - Breanne Wheeler, breannaw@gmail.com
Vice President - Laurie Hougen-Eitzman, aurie.hougen@gmail.com
Secretary - Heather McNabnay, hmcnabnay@gmail.com
Meeting location - Carleton College, Cowling Arboretum
The Chapter meets at 6:30PM on a Thursday - 6 times a year (every 2 months)
Central Minnesota Chapter of Minnesota Master Naturalists
President - Elizabeth Knuth, eknuth@csbsju.edu
Vice President - Sonya Gylsen, sonyagylsen@gmail.com
Secretary/Treasurer - Jeanne Dirksen jadirksen@frontiernet.net
Meeting location - Bremer Room, St. Cloud Library, 1300 W. Germain St., St. Cloud, MN 56301
The Chapter meets quarterly on the second Thursday of the month at 7:00PM
Head of the Lake Chapter of Minnesota Master Naturalist Volunteers
Co-President - Ariel Bonkowski, arielsmushroomco@gmail.com
Co-President - Barb Possin, barbara.possin@gmail.com
Secretary - Mandie Johnson, mandie@mac.com
Meeting location varies, sometimes Boulder Lake ELC
The Chapter meets monthly on a Sunday
North Metro Volunteer Naturalists
(It is best to open the website in Google Chrome and not Internet Explorer)
Beth Girard, beth_girard@msn.com
Carlos Avery Game Farm
3rd Wednesday of each month except May and July
Membership form link - Annual membership dues are $20 and are due the month in which you join/joined. For questions about dues, please contact Mark Larson at larsonmarkd@me.com
North Shore Chapter
Co-President - Sue Fuad, sue@fuad.com and Lesa Hofer, lesahofer@gmail.com
Secretary - Jane Alexander, jalexander813@icloud.com
Meeting location: Cook County Community Center in Grand Marais
Meet on the 3rd Tuesday of the month from 6:30-8PM
Prairies & Potholes Chapter
Peg Furshong, peg@cureriver.org
Rochester Chapter of Minnesota Master Naturalists
Chapter email address: rochestermnat@googlegroups.com
President - Barb Hudson, HudsonBarb1@gmail.com
Vice President - Barbara Fleischman, barbarahopef@gmail.com
Secretary/Treasurer - Joan Leof, jleof@charter.net
Meeting location - Quarry Hill Nature Center
The Chapter meets monthly at 6:30PM on a Thursday, May through October
Twin Cities Chapter
Cathy McCoy, catherinemccoy@yahoo.com
Fort Snelling State Park
West Metro Chapter
Mary Beth Pottratz
Minnetonka Community Center
2nd Tuesday of every month
Contact a chapter representative for more information on their chapter
Starting a Chapter
Starting a Minnesota Master Naturalist Chapter is easy. As a chapter you can work together on service projects, get quality speakers, and meet others who have similar interests. If there is a core group interested and has a host location, download the forms below and get started!
Contact Amy Rager at rager001@umn.edu for current information on all of the Minnesota Master Naturalist chapters.
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Minnesota Master Naturalist Chapter Basics
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Starting a Minnesota Master Naturalist Chapter
More chapters are being added throughout Minnesota.
Chapter Resources
Annual Membership Form - This allows you to record chapter members from year to year.
Annual Finance Form - This form allows you to create a yearly budget for the chapter
Chapter By-Laws - This form contains the chapter by-laws, required for each chapter to adopt. CURRENTLY under revision.