A statewide corps of highly qualified volunteers assisting government agencies, schools, and other organizations by providing education, outreach, and service to the beneficial management of natural resources and natural areas within their communities.
Applicants should have been notified of their status by February 1, 2026, and specific details about the classes were send to cohort participants. Please note that all fees should have been paid by March 1, 2026.
Please note that the schedule is subject to change.
Relatively new on the scene, Master Naturalist programs are patterned after the Master Gardener Program that has been offered in numerous states for many years by local extension agents. The basic approach for both programs is to combine education with public service. West Virginia’s Master Naturalist Program is one of the first in the nation. It was established in 2003 by the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources (WVDNR), and it is administered by that agency. It is open to persons age 16 years and older. The Potomac Valley Audubon Society (PVAS) partnered with WVDNR in 2006 to establish the Potomac Valley Master Naturalist (PVMN) program, which is the official Master Naturalist Chapter for the Eastern Panhandle.
Enrollment in the Potomac Valley Master Naturalist program is limited to 20 persons a year. Participants receive 62 hours of classroom and field instruction in a broad range of natural history and environmental education topics. Instructional sessions are held one weekend a month from March through October in areas around the WV Eastern Panhandle, often at Cool Spring Nature Preserve (near Charles Town), the National Conservation Training Center (just outside Shepherdstown) and Cacapon State Park (near Berkeley Springs). Classes only can be attended by PVMN candidates (i.e., Students). Certification also requires completion of 30 hours of approved volunteer service.
Those who complete the Potomac Valley Master Naturalist program are certified by the state as West Virginia Master Naturalists. This qualifies them to assist with natural resource activities in various ways, such as volunteering in state parks, assisting educators with instruction, participating in wildlife surveys, and other community science activities.
Applications for the Potomac Valley Master Naturalist program are made available on this website in late October or early November, and applications must be submitted by January 21. Applications are competitive; enrollment is limited to 20 persons a year. Those selected for enrollment are notified by February 1.
Cost for the program is $300 which covers all classes and instruction. Partial scholarships are available. Applications for scholarships must also be submitted by January 21. Full payment is due by March 1.
For more information about the program, please send an email to PVMN@PotomacAudubon.org.
Here is an article by one of our very own founding members Clark Dixon! Clark shares some information on flagging. What is flagging? Is this connected to those noisy cicadas? Read all about it in Flagging: Nature’s Natural Pruning.
Additional reading: A Bittersweet Story from Wonderful West Virginia magazine (October 2020)
Are you a PVMN student or member? If you have an interesting tidbit of knowledge, an article, or an event highlight that you would like to share, please contact PVMN@PotomacAudubon.org. We’d love to hear from you!
Sadly, Clark Dixon, died on December 8, 2022. In 2006, after completing the requirements for the West Virginia Master Naturalist certification, Clark, along with his wife Ora and classmate, Cheryl Jennings, established the Potomac Valley Master Naturalist Chapter in partnership with Potomac Valley Audubon Society.
Since that time, Clark had continued to serve on the chapter’s coordinating committee and was its chair emeritus. His favorite place in nature was Cacapon State Park where he inspired many young people through his Natural History workshops in campfire cooking, flint and steel, and vernal pools.
Thanks to the generosity of our PVMN members, we raised the money needed to purchase a memorial bench with a dedication plaque for Clark nearby the campsite of the nature center at Cacapon State Park, a place that was very special to Clark.
Thank you again for your generosity with this fitting tribute to Clark Dixon, a great man who gave us so much, and who will be greatly missed.
Cheryl Jennings passed in October 2024. Cheryl was both a Master Gardener and a Master Naturalist. She was an active member of the Potomac Valley Audubon Society and happily shared her knowledge by teaching classes and leading walks on subjects ranging from mushrooms to insects to vernal pools.
Cheryl traveled across West Virginia conducting dragon fly and butterfly studies as a volunteer for the state Division of Natural Resources. She was recognized in the spring 2006 West Virginia Odonate Atlas Newsletter for collecting the largest number of species of dragonflies in a statewide study. In 2022, she was recognized as a Lifetime Member of the PVMN.
Cheryl epitomized the heart and soul of a Master Naturalist through her love of all things in nature. She will be missed, but her spirit of adventure will live on.
PVMN installed a memorial bench for Cheryl at Stauffer’s Marsh.
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