Catawba Master Naturalist Spring 2025

The Catawba Master Naturalist Class, hosted by the Anne Springs Close Greenway ℠, is a 12-week course held on Wednesdays from 9:00am to 3:00pm, late February through mid-May.

The goal of the course is for participants to develop a reasonable understanding of environmental and ecological concepts, which they can then apply toward developing community relationships through volunteering and environmental stewardship. Taught by local experts in ecology, natural history, botany, forestry, wildlife biology and other related disciplines, participants will learn identification skills and ecological concepts, and will explore local, national and cultural historical points of interest. While much of the instruction will take place on the 2,100 acres of preserved land at the Anne Springs Close Greenway, the course includes field trips to locations around the South Carolina Piedmont area, including Forty Acre Rock, Landsford Canal State Park, the Museum of York County, Congaree National Park and more (subject to change). Participants will be responsible for their snacks/meals and transportation to and from study sites. The course fee covers all entrance fees, a complimentary full-year membership to the Greenway, and all course materials, including course manual, hand lens with lanyard, field notebook and several field guides.

The only prerequisite for this course is curiosity and a desire to learn about the natural world - no prior knowledge is required.

The Catawba Master Naturalist Class is an outdoor program. As such, participants must be in good physical condition and meet the physical demands encountered in this course. Participants should be able to walk 1-2 miles, without difficulty or assistance, over uneven terrain in various conditions including rain, heat, insects, etc. In addition, several sites do not have restroom facilities requiring the use of woods.

For more information about the program, please contact [email protected]

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