The Potomac Valley Master Naturalist Program celebrated its 10th anniversary with a reception and dinner at the National Conservation Training Center in Shepherdstown. Speakers included Karene Motivans, chief of the Conservation Science and Policy Branch of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Training Division; local naturalist Clark Dixon, who spearheaded the Program’s creation in 2006; Michael Sullivan, the President of the Potomac Valley Audubon Society; Potomac Valley Audubon Executive Director Kristin Alexander; and Peter Smith, a former Potomac Valley Audubon president.

About 60 Master Naturalists and friends attended. Music was provided by the Berkeley County Strings, a seven-member ensemble composed of Berkeley County high school students and their instructor.

The Potomac Valley Master Naturalist Program is sponsored by the Potomac Valley Audubon Society and is a chapter of the State of West Virginia’s Master Naturalist Program.

The Master Naturalist program is patterned after the long-established Master Gardener program. It trains individuals in the fundamentals of natural history and nature interpretation as a way of promoting responsible stewardship of natural resources.

Graduates of the program become part of a corps of highly qualified volunteers who assist government agencies, schools and non-government organizations with research, outdoor recreation development, and environmental education and protection.

For more information, go to the Potomac Valley Audubon website at www.potomacaudubon.org.

Master Naturalist group celebrates anniversary