Mogollon Highlands Naturalist Certification Program

Spend a season learning the land from the ground up. The Mogollon Highlands Naturalist Certification Program blends field-based study, creative practice, and community learning into an immersive experience for those seeking a deeper connection to place.

The Mogollon Highlands Naturalist Certification Program is a collaboration between the Natural History Institute (NHI) and Prescott College. This program cultivates a deep connection to nature, place, and community through the practice of natural history with firsthand engagement with the Mogollon Highlands.

Participants build skills in observation, identification, interpretation, and creative expression while building mentorship relationships and a strong cohort community. Learning unfolds in the field, in dialogue with mentors and peers, and through reflective and artistic practice.

This field-based program explores the Mogollon Highlands ecoregion through formal class sessions, weekly practice circles, extended weekend field experiences, and mentored independent work. Together, we investigate the region’s diverse ecosystems, including:

• Conifer forest
• Evergreen woodland
• Chaparral
• Grassland
• Riparian communities

Weekly topics include natural community concepts, evolution, place-based ecology, botany (trees, shrubs, forbs, and grasses), zoology (birds, mammals, reptiles, and insects), geology, human history, and creative expression through the arts.

Core natural history practices include:

• Structured naturalist field journaling (writing and illustration)
• Creation of species accounts grounded in life histories
• Compilation of systematic species lists
• Interpretive and expressive arts practices

Participants engage in regular weekend field trips and ongoing mentored practice throughout the field season.

The Mogollon Highlands Naturalist Certification Program includes two successive seasons, Spring and Fall. Each season:

• Spans three months
• Includes 60 contact hours and approximately 60 hours of independent work
• Begins and ends with an in-person naturalist retreat

Following the opening retreat, the season unfolds through a series of extended weekend sessions. Each thematic weekend includes:

• A Thursday evening lecture or speaker presentation
• Two full days of related field trips (Saturday and Sunday)
• In addition, full-season participants meet weekly on Wednesday evenings for a practice circle and class session focused on discussion of readings, written work, journaling, and process.

Participants should expect to spend an average of 7–8 hours per week on readings, field journals, species accounts, and species lists.

Full-season Spring Seminar participants receive guaranteed admission to all core program components, totaling approximately 25 days of programming across the spring field season, including:

• 2 full-day naturalist retreats (opening and closing)
• 8 Wednesday evening practice circles/class sessions (5:00–6:30 pm)
• 5 special topics weekends offered (participants attend 4 of 5 to complete certification). Each weekend includes a Thursday evening speaker presentation and two full days in the field (Saturday–Sunday, 9:00 am–5:00 pm)
• Ongoing mentored natural history practice throughout the season

This structure provides continuity, depth, and a cohesive cohort experience across the spring field season.

Participants will develop:

• A deep connection to nature, place, and community through the practice of natural history
• A strong sense of place in the Mogollon Highlands region of the American Southwest
• Fluency in identifying regional flora and fauna and understanding their life histories
• Field observation and identification techniques
• Description and interpretation skills through structured natural history field journaling
• Interpretive skills through illustration and expressive arts
• Documentation skills through the creation of species accounts and systematic species lists
• Exposure to place-based literature, including creative writing, poetry, and scientific articles
• Community through shared practice alongside fellow naturalists and qualified mentors

• By the end of the program, participants will be able to:
• Identify five distinct natural community types within the Mogollon Highlands: conifer forest, evergreen woodland, chaparral, grassland, and riparian
• Identify dominant woody vegetation within these community types
• Identify dominant bird species of the region
• Identify major regional rock types and their characteristic landforms
• Conduct secondary research and create high-quality species account sheets with illustrations, descriptions, habitats, ranges, and life histories
• Conduct primary field research using identification, description, and interpretation techniques, documented through mentored Grinnell-style field journal entries
• Demonstrate a growing emotional and aesthetic connection to place through expressive arts practice

Total Contact Hours: 120 hours

• 60 hours of direct instruction
• 60 hours of guided practice and reflective process

Equivalent to 4 lower-division academic credits.

Spring Seminar Tuition:

$1,825 — Certificate Track (Non-credit)

Buyer total on Eventbrite: $1,949.26(Save on fees by paying by check. Call 928-863-3232 or email [email protected] to reserve your spot.)

Full participation in the program and a certificate of completion from the Natural History Institute.

$2,305 — College Credit Track

Buyer total on Eventbrite: $2,461.45 (Save on fees by paying by check. Call 928-863-3232 or email [email protected] to reserve your spot.)

Full participation in the program and a certificate of completion from the Natural History Institute, plus 4 lower-division academic credits through Prescott College.

Tuition includes all instructional sessions, retreats, field trips, speaker events, and mentored practice. Transportation to field sites and personal supplies (journals, art materials) are not included.

Participants may enroll in:

• The full Spring Seminar (required for certification or college credit), or
• Individual weekend sessions (space permitting; pricing and availability listed separately)

Enrollment is limited to maintain a small-cohort, mentored learning environment.

Mid-March – May 2026

Weekly Wednesday evening practice circles and class sessions occur throughout the season.

March 14 – Opening Retreat (Full Season Participants)

9:00 am–5:00 pm | Natural History Institute & Field

March 19 – Thursday Evening Speaker Series (7:00–8:30 pm)

Geology of the Mogollon Highlands

March 21–22 – Weekend Field Trips

Geology Field Trip

April 2 – Thursday Evening Speaker Series (7:00–8:30 pm)

Biogeography of the Mogollon Highlands

April 4–5 – Weekend Field Trips

Natural Communities of the Mogollon Highlands

April 16 – Thursday Evening Speaker Series (7:00–8:30 pm)

Field Arts as a Practice of Natural History

April 18–19 – Weekend Field Trips

Nature Journaling in the Field

April 30 – Thursday Evening Speaker Series (7:00–8:30 pm)

Birds of Arizona

May 2–3 – Weekend Field Trips

Birding Field Trip

May 14 – Thursday Evening Speaker Series (7:00–8:30 pm)

The Practice of Natural History

May 16–17 – Weekend Field Trips

Forests of the Mogollon Highlands

May 30 – Closing Retreat (Full Season Participants)

9:00 am–5:00 pm | Natural History Institute & Field

Most sessions are based at the Natural History Institute, with field trips throughout the Mogollon Highlands. Specific field locations will be shared in advance.

This program is designed for aspiring and practicing naturalists, educators, artists, land stewards, and lifelong learners seeking immersive, place-based study. No prior certification is required.

Select your preferred enrollment track during registration. Participants receiving college credit will receive follow-up instructions for Prescott College enrollment.

For questions about program fit, enrollment, or credit options, please contact the Natural History Institute.

Cancellation Policy:

1. Participants who cancel more than 7 days before the Program (on or before March 07, 2026) will receive a full refund, minus a 10% administrative fee of the program cost.
2. For cancellations with less than 7 days left before the 1st day of the Program (after March 7, 2026), no refund will be issued.
3. Any refund under this Agreement will be paid within 14 business days of NHI’s receipt of the refund request.
4. No refund for the Program will be available solely because of dissatisfaction with the presentation or contents of the Program. I understand and agree that no credit or refund for the Program shall be available if I cancel on the arrival day, if I do not show up, or if I leave the Program early for any reason.
5. All notices of cancellation and refund requests shall be made by contacting NHI via email [email protected] or by submitting notice in person or by mail to: NHI, 126 N. Marina Street, Prescott, AZ, 86301.

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