Opportunities To Help Our Chapter

We are a large chapter of about 375 members (including the new class members). It takes a dedicated team of dedicated members to make it run smoothly. We have a few positions which need the right people to assume their responsibilities. Many of these can be performed from any PC on your own time.

Serving on a committee is a great way to learn more about our Chapter, our members, and all the great work we do. To find out more about all of our committees to see if one is right for you, please see this page of the site.  

Please read through these descriptions to find out if one is just right for you!

Data Buddy

Are you good at reporting your VH and AT hours in VMS? Would you like to help other members who struggle with using the system? You can earn VH by reporting hours for other members in VMS. Please contact Russ Olivier if you are interested. activities@ntmn.org

Amphibian Watch Project Leader

Barbara Turner would like to hand over the leadership of our Amphibian Watch project to another Master Naturalist. This is an important Citizen Science project which is conducted from March until October on the last Friday of the month for about 90 minutes, beginning at sundown at Sunset Bay at White Rock Lake.

It’s really an amphibian “listen,” because we ID the frogs by their croaks. Barbara sends the data to TPWD for their statewide amphibian monitoring efforts.

If you might be interested, please contact Barbara Turner for more information at 972-222-7321.

Announcements Organizer

Every month we assemble the important announcements for each General Meeting into a file which is shared during the meeting and sent to the members the next day. We are looking for someone to assume this responsibility from Bruce Stewart. The job would require someone who is computer literate and can dedicate the time the few days before each monthly meeting to collect the information from members, prepare the file, and share it with the President and Programs committee the day before the meeting. Familiarity with PowerPoint or the willingness to learn how to use it is part of this job. PowerPoint is included in the Microsoft Office package (like Office 365, a subscription) and should be available to anyone who also has Word and Excel on their system.

If somebody wanted to improve their PowerPoint skills, we have access to free online tutorials through TechSoup.

If you are interested in learning more about this job, please contact Bruce Stewart at pastpresident@ntmn.com or Carol Garrison at communications@ntmn.org 

Dragonflyer Proofreader

Are you great at proofreading? We are looking for a new proofreader for our Dragonflyer because our member who handled this for years has moved. We publish the Dragonflyer about every two months. If you are interested in being our proofreader, please contact Carol Garrison at communications@ntmn.org.

Yahoo! Group Administrator

We need someone to watch the Yahoo! Group to ensure that all of our members who want to be included are on our distribution list. Most of the activity required for this position occurs at the first of the year when the new class starts so that we add new students. When we purge the list of those who haven’t renewed their memberships later in the year, more attention is required to the list. If you are interested in knowing about this position and what is required please contact Bruce Stewart on pastpresident@ntmn.org.

Scrapbook Team

Do you like to scrapbook? Are you interested in helping us capture our history – either in a scrapbook or digitally – for the future? If you want to help assemble our history, please contact Connie Koval at secretary@ntmn.org.

Community Education Committee Chair

We are currently without a Chair of the Community Education Committee which is responsible for Community Education (Outreach) activities for public events. The chair assists the director with organizing community events, recruiting volunteers and leading committee projects. Spring is our busiest time for public events so it’s a great time to join this team.

This position is open to Certified Master Naturalists. If you are interested in learning more about this position, please contact Ginger Greatens, communityed@ntmn.org

Membership Committee

We are seeking a few members to serve on the Membership Committee. After going through VMS training, they would help the Membership Director, Susan Walters, with managing our records and reports. They can also help members restore forgotten passwords, etc. The training takes about 2 hours and would be handled in an online session with the trainer. If you’d like to learn more about this opportunity, please contact Susan at membership@ntmn.org. 

Dallas County Herbarium

We need someone to organize the collecting process.  This includes scheduling expert plant people to lead walks, collecting specimens and training volunteers in how to collect and press plants.

In the past we had not collected much on weekends because we were usually digging many plants and didn’t want the public to think that was something they could do.  However, now that we are only collecting plants which are not in the collection, there is less digging. Weekend collecting walks would probably be acceptable. If you are not generally available on weekdays don’t let that discourage you from considering this position.

Please contact Carolyn Rozier at herbarium@ntmn.org if you are interested and want to know more about what is involved in this process.

With Sara Beckelman’s move to Missouri, we have a couple of projects in search of a leader.

Historic Tree Coalition Project Lead

The Historic Tree Coalition is a local citizens’ group concerned with the identification, preservation, and public acknowledgment of historic trees in our area, including Indian marker trees. The group also participates in public education events, tours and guided nature walks.

Ways to participate include working outside among the trees, doing research, studying maps, and helping with general organization and record keeping. If you are interested, please contact Russ Olivier at activities@ntmn.org

Irving Ecotourism Project Lead

Website:  www.ci.irving.tx.us/parks-and-recreation/Eco-tour.asp

The Ecotourism project provides nature experiences and education for the public. Most activities are located within the Campión Trails system, a greenbelt along the Elm Fork and West Fork of the Trinity River. The Campión area includes wetlands, prairie and riparian forest.  Some Ecotourism activities are Nature Encounter (guided walks), Nature Bicycling, Bioblitz, and Night Hikes. The NTMN chapter received a Community Service Award from the City of Irving for its work for the Ecotourism program.

Volunteers help with the various outreach and education programs, lead nature walks, participate in bird counts and other biological surveys and censuses. If you are interested, please contact Russ Olivier at activities@ntmn.org