A man wearing a hat, binoculars, and backpack stands in tall grass in front of a young pine forest. — Northwest Piedmont Master Naturalist program instructor and co-founder, Chris Marsh, talks to students about how this location at the Cane Creek Mountains Natural Area in North Carolina has changed over time.

The launch of my new Roving Nature Podcast and this website coincides perfectly with my completion of the new Northwest Piedmont Master Naturalist program here in North Carolina. So it seemed fitting to write about that experience as my first blog post on the new site!

I completed the inaugural course this November with 23 other students, who all come from a wide variety of backgrounds and from locations all around the Piedmont region of North Carolina. The course was led by two instructors, Chris Marsh (shown above) and Ken Bridle, who is featured in Episode 3 of the Roving Nature Podcast. With tireless support by the program’s North Carolina State University Extension representative Rebecca Craps as well as the amazing Ann Robertson, these four wonderful people have created a remarkable opportunity for citizens of the region to gain a solid understanding of the key natural features of the Piedmont region of North Carolina.

This new program was something I had been looking for. As someone without a formal science education or background, I wanted and needed a way to establish a foundational, baseline understanding and knowledge about the natural world where I live. I was of course doing the self-taught route, reading all I could and participating in any relevant events, activities, workshops, and the like. But I needed something more that could provide a thoughtful, broad, and structured overview of how all the things I was reading about fit together. And to do so in the very place where I reside.

I’ve always been a nature lover, and I grew up roaming the deep woods and swamps of East Texas, where I would often explore, hike, fish, and camp solo. Those early adventures in the middle of nowhere provided me with a sense of independence, freedom, and connection to my natural surroundings.

A boy standing on a partially wooded lot with trees and palmettos holds a young fallen pine tree over his head. — A *very* old photo of 10 year old me displaying my superhuman strength on a partially cleared lot in an unincorporated rural area fondly referred to as Lake Run-A-Muck near Shepherd, Texas.

Fast forward to the current decade. Over the last 8 or so years, I have really gotten into kayaking, hiking, nature photography, and reading all I can about the natural world. So when I discovered the new Master Naturalist program focused on my region of the state, I signed up immediately.

And the program has proven to be exactly what I needed: a foundational exposure to understanding the natural aspects of the place where I live and explore. Learning to read the landscape, identify fauna and flora, understand geological formations, analyze creek and river health and behavior, and dive into the cultural and historical factors of our region which have impacted the natural aspects, are all key themes we have explored over the one-year course.

What is especially unique about the program is that it doesn’t matter your background, training, or level of understanding of these themes. You can enter the course where you are, and then build upon your existing knowledge and interests. You can cover a lot of ground very quickly, especially with all of the tools and resources you are exposed to in this course. What’s more, the students also learn from each other, and it was inspiring to see everyone bring their unique perspectives, knowledge, and skills to the class and to their volunteer and impact projects.

A man wearing a hat, sweater, and hiking boots holds a walking stick as he rests his food on a rock and talks to a group of students on a forest trail. — Master Naturalist program instructor Ken Bridle stops at points along a hike with students through the Ridges Mountain area, near the Uwharrie National Forest in North Carolina, to point out notable features of the natural landscape.

My experience of the course was a balance between online lectures, day trips to various locations around the Piedmont region, and supplemental reading materials and resources. All of these provide entry points into new topics of investigation, exploration, and learning, or to build upon knowledge and interests that students already have. For me, there were plenty of “a-ha!” moments when I could connect the dots or better understand how different aspects of the natural world are intertwined, change over time, and influenced by human activity.

The course has been a great complement to other related activities I was already involved in, such as learning to do water quality monitoring and sediment pollution observation with my local stream watch team, learning to identify birds through my local Audubon and Piedmont Bird Club and participating in local lake and creek clean-up events. And it is a great guide for understanding better the features of the natural landscape I observe when I am out and about on foot or on the water in my kayak, and to have a way to more effectively share and explain the natural wonders of the Piedmont to others.

And of course this class was an inspiration and catalyst to bring into being what I had been thinking about for some time, which was to start a new nature related podcast! The topics and issues we learned about, along with the people, organizations, and initiatives we were exposed to, have helped inform who and what I want to feature on the podcast, and helps inform my line of discussion and questioning when I interview guests or research a subject.

Even though I have completed the Master Naturalist course, this new podcast will continue indefinitely. I plan to feature a wide variety of guests who are working in, thinking about, or otherwise engaged with nature and conservation throughout our state and even beyond. In addition to naturalists, scientists, and educators, there are many possibilities for who will show up on this podcast: artists, writers, musicians, filmmakers, designers, activists, policymakers, park rangers, arborists….the list goes on.

Of course this blog post would not be complete without some show and tell! Here are some highlight photos taken throughout the year-long course: