Minnesota Master Naturalist

Course Registration

PP - River Bend Nature Center - Prairies and Potholes

River Bend Nature Center, Faribault, MN website

1000 Rustad Road
Faribault, MN 55021

Summer camp isn't just for kids! We are so excited to invite you to join us for a Prairies and Potholes Minnesota Master Naturalist Class..... summer camp style! This course will take place at River Bend Nature Center in Faribault, MN. River Bend Nature Center is situated on the Straight River, with 743 acres of beautiful Maple Basswood forest, prairie, wetlands. We are just under an hour south of Minneapolis/St. Paul - the perfect spot for a week of learning, community building and fun! The class will run for one week, Monday through Friday, with classes typically from 9:00am to 5:00pm, with graduation the following week.

This week-long course will include a little bit of everything - a chance to learn about the Prairies and Potholes biome, to connect with others who enjoy the outdoors and are excited to learn more about the natural world, and a chance to get outside (with activities that are accessible for all activity/mobility levels)! We will spend time in the classroom, outside exploring River Bend and will take a couple of field trips to discover the geology, plants and animals, aquatic systems and human history that makes up and helps shape Minnesota's tallgrass prairie ecosystems. A really neat part of the Minnesota Master Naturalist training is a capstone project. In addition to the 40 hour course, participants will get the opportunity to dive a little deeper into a project in their area of interest at RBNC! Completion of the course and capstone project will be achieved before graduation. We hope to see you at MNAT Summer Camp! Contact River Bend Nature Center at (507) 332-7151 or email info@rbnc.org with any questions.

The week from July 31st to August 11th will be quite busy as we'll spend those days covering the course materials and participating in outdoor training sessions and field trips.

Capstone teams will have time to plan their projects during the full week, but will have little time to actually work on them. The days following (August 8th through the 10th) are intended to provide the extra time needed to finish their projects. Friday August 11th will only be a few hours (9:00 a.m. - noon) and is reserved for capstone presentations and graduation.

The course cost is $295 and includes course manuals and supplies.

If the course cost is a hardship, please fill out the scholarship application. After the scholarship is fully processed, you will receive a code to be entered in the on-line registration process. Please wait until you receive that code to complete registration.

Course Dates:

Meeting from 9:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. on:

Instructor Information

Jim Platt

Jim has been a Master Naturalist since 2018, an instructor since 2019, and has been a member of the instructor team for all three biome courses. Jim spent his career as a Geographic Information Systems Manager, working primarily on large-scale landscape conservation projects, most recently for The Nature Conservancy. An avid student of nature, Jim can usually be recognized as the guy looking up at the weather (and for birds he can hear but not quite see), or down at plants, bugs, ponds, streams and really cool rocks.

Molly Olson

Molly is a professional naturalist at River Bend Nature Center in Faribault, MN. Her favorite outdoor hobbies are hiking and kayaking. You can also find her visiting museums and restaurants.

Erin Tone

Sponsor Information

River Bend Nature Center

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