Nebraska Master Naturalist is a statewide volunteer conservation program. Our program recruits, trains, manages, and provides resources for our volunteer naturalist members.
We use four strategies to meet Nebraska’s conservation needs, Habit Stewardship, Community Science, Environmental Education & Interpretation, and Outdoor Recreation & Skills.
This free webinar series will host a variety of presenters and subject matter within these four conservation strategies. Master Naturalist Mondays is a space to connect us to our conservation motivations and inspirations, and our naturalist community across the state of Nebraska.
For questions regarding this free virtual series contact Jamie Bachmann, jamie.bachmann@nebraska.gov
Save the Dates (Check back for updates)
Monthly on Mondays 12:30pm-1:30pm CST
All webinars will be recorded and found HERE. After viewing a recording, if you would like to contribute feedback, follow the link HERE, to the MNM Evaluation Form.
January 13th, 2025| 12:30 pm - 1:30 pm (CST) Register Here
A Year in Review
The 2025 season of Master Naturalist Mondays will kick off with a Year in Review. Your friendly Master Naturalist Coordinator will review how our first year together went. You can expect many photos, heartfelt tangents, some of the quantifiable data, and what is coming in 2025.
Presenter: Jamie Bachmann, Nebraska Master Naturalist Program Coordinator
February 10th, 2025 | 12:30 pm - 1:30 pm (CST) Register HERE
Oak Woodland Management
Due to several factors including suppression of fire, oak woodlands have been degraded and lost. This presentation will delve into what oak woodlands are, methods for their restoration, and the continuing management needed to retain this unique habitat.
Presenter: Hanna Barnes, Project Biologist, Northern Prairies Land Trust
Presenter Bio: Hanna works in northeastern Nebraska on public land and with private landowners to restore oak woodlands and further habitat management. Off the clock, she enjoys reading, playing music, and spending time with family.
March 10th, 2025 | 12:30 pm - 1:30 pm (CST) Register HERE
Nebraska Big Butterfly Count
Nebraska Big Butterfly Count is a community science project in partnership with Nebraska Master Naturalist, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, and the Nebraska Natural Legacy Project. Joanne, will discuss the training required for the project and why it is so important to survey the state of Nebraska's butterflies.
Presenter: Joanne Langabee, Nebraska Master Naturalist
Presenter Bio: Joanne is a retired science teacher and has been a Nebraska Master Naturalist since 2011. She has been doing butterfly surveys for Lauritzen Gardens and Fontenelle Forest since 2015 and has been working with Nebraska Game and Parks since 2022.
April 7th, 2025 | 12:30 pm - 1:30 pm (CST) Register Here
Biodiversity in State Parks
There is still a lot we don't know about the flora and fauna in our state parks and we need your help. During this presentation we will cover the why behind this community science project and how you can get involved!
Presenter: Brianna Nugent, Community Science Program Manager, Nebraska Game and Parks
Presenter Bio: I developed a passion for community science through the NMN program which led to me work for Nebraska Game and Parks as a seasonal educator in the spring of 2022. My love for making scientific research accessible has only deepened since then!
June 23rd, 2025 | 12:30 pm - 1:30 pm (CST) Register Here
Nebraska Fungi and Their Ecology
The presentation will show what macrofungi are and their ecological roles in nature. We will also go over the basics of mushroom identification, and then tie into our Nebraska Fungal Diversity Project at the end.
Presenter: Chance Brueggemann, Oak Woodland Ecologist, Northern Prairies Land Trust (partnered with NPGC)
Presenter Bio: Chance Brueggemann is an ecologist with about a decade of experience restoring oak woodland habitat in southeast Nebraska. He has a strong interest in fungal diversity and their interactions within woodland ecosystems.
July 28th, 2025 | 12:30 pm - 1:30 pm (CST) Register Here
Using Native Plants to Attract Pollinators
Using Native Plants: The Why, What, and How
Presenter: Cathy Prettyman, native plant gardener, Nebraska Master Naturalist, Native Planters of Blair, Pollinator Alliance of the Heartland
Presenter Bio: I've always had a love of nature. As a child I collected butterflies, kept caterpillars as pets and explored the woods behind our home. I have been birding and gardening for over 30 years. I moved to rural Blair in 2015 and I fell in love with the prairie and learned about its plants. I became a Nebraska Master Naturalist in 2018 with the desire to learn more about our great state and to teach others the importance of the natural world. I am involved with the PATH, Pollinator Alliance of the Heartland, a Nebraska based organization promoting the use of native plants in our landscape. I have helped design, plant and maintain pollinator gardens at Ft Atkinson State Park in Ft Calhoun. I created and led the charge to plant a pollinator garden at Black Elk-Neihardt park in Blair and with the help of volunteers, continue to maintain. I am involved with other Blair projects. Last year was the Blair Main Street revitalization. I helped with selection and design of sidewalk beds using native plants. This year I'm designing native planting beds for the new dog park and an Art Alley project to be installed hopefully this fall. Another project, at the historic Florence Mill in Omaha, is using native plants and trees to educate the public on the uses of the plants. This spring we added a native tall grass bed behind the mill.
August 18th, 2025 I 12:30 pm - 1:30 pm (CST) Register Here
Perceiving Coyote’s Many Angles
How people perceive the natural world matters in their interactions with it. Join Education Program Specialist Rob Briwa in exploring the ways cultures across time and space perceive one of North America’s most adaptable species, the coyote (Canis latrans). These perceptions – sometimes overlapping, sometimes divergent, and waxing and waning in their importance over time – entwine with human decision-making about wildlife management in unexpected ways.
Presenter: Rob Briwa, Education Program Specialist, NPS- Homestead National Historical Park
Presenter Bio: Rob serves at Homestead NHP. His past NPS work includes ranger and education roles at Voyageurs and Theodore Roosevelt national parks and Mount Rushmore. Before the NPS, Rob taught geography, and he loves thinking through landscapes to elevate learning.
September 15th, 2025 I 12:30 pm - 1:30 pm (CST) Register Here
Mussel Monitoring at Homestead National Historical Park
A conversation at a Nebraska Natural Legacy Conference regarding reintroduction of mussels to Cub Creek set in motion a series of questions that could be only answered through monitoring. In this presentation Resource Management Specialist Jesse Bolli will take you through those questions while introducing you to the mussels of Homestead National Historical Park and why they matter.
Presenter: Jesse Bolli, Resource Management Specialist, NPS-Homestead National Historical Park
Presenter Bio: Jesse Bolli began his position as the Resource Management Specialist at Homestead National Historical Park in September 2002. His duties at Homestead include the management of the Nation’s second oldest restored tallgrass prairie, a lowland bur oak forest, Cub Creek and the wildlife within. He is happiest when he is mentoring others, helping them to see the delicate details of the natural world.
Prior to arriving at Homestead National Monument of America, he worked in Florida, Nebraska, and Kansas as a federal wildland firefighter.
Jesse received his Bachelors of Science in Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences from South Dakota State University in Brookings, South Dakota.
He grew up near Burwell, Nebraska on the homestead that his great granddad proved up on under the Homestead Act of 1862 in 1905. It was on the homestead that he developed his love of the prairies and wildlife.
October 20th, 2025 | 12:30 pm - 1:30 pm (CST) Register Here
Wild Herbs for Food and Medicine
A general discussion of ethnobotany with information on wild plants considered food and medicine in Plains Native American, Alaska Native and Celtic cultures.
Presenter: Rachel Liester, Herbal Educator, Master Naturalist - owner of Red Road Herbs Retreat & Learning Center
Presenter Bio: Master Naturalist - owner of Red Road Herbs Retreat & Learning Center, www.redroadherbs.com
November 17th, 2025 | 12:30 pm - 1:30 pm (CST) Register Here
Check back soon for details and to register.
December 1st, 2025 I 12:30 pm - 1:30 pm (CST) Register Here
Check back soon for details and to register.
