Class Materials
Readings, resources, and journal activities will be posted at least one week before the scheduled class.
3/7/23 Week 1: Class Overview and Introductions
Host and Instructors:
The Executive Committee
Andrea Fountain, Black Hills Parks & Forests
Anne Lewis, SD Discovery Center
Amanda Bachmann, SDSU Extension
Kayla Miller, Dakota Wesleyan University
Jen Stahl, SD Game, Fish, and Parks
Journal Activity:
No journal activity is required for 3/7. Please have a journal for Week 2 3/14/23
Pre-Class Readings:
No readings for week 1
Class Agenda:
Welcome and Overview
a. Vision, Mission, Values
Course Structure
a. Overview of course content
b. Template Agenda
Break
Course Requirements
a. Attendance
c. Journal Entries
c. Field Trips
d. Payment
d. Credit options
Volunteer Development
Activity
Questions
What's going on in Week 2?
Porch Time
Further Exploration:
The South Dakota Master Naturalist Handbook
The Nature Journal Connection, Episode 2: I notice, I wonder, It reminds me of
Padlet Signup & Posting Instructions
Join the Master Naturalist Padlet!
3/14/23 Week 2: Know Your State, Physical Geography & Watersheds
Host and Instructors:
Host: Jen Stahl
Instructor: Carrie Gray-Wood, Instructor of Geography, Black Hills State University
Journal Activity:
There are many ways to define regions within SD to better understand the state as a whole. In preparation for the coming lecture, journal about the following questions:
Do you have a spatial sense of the variations in the regions of South Dakota? What region do you think you are in? How would you describe it?
How do you think precipitation patterns vary from location to location throughout the state?
How do you think geology varies from location to location throughout the state?
What examples demonstrate how human activity plays a role in influencing natural features or processes in South Dakota?
Within the region you live/work in, can you define and identify micro-regions? What are the defining attributes you used and what are the micro-regions?
Can you identify micro-regions existing within the region you live/work in?
What attributes would you use to define them?
Remember to upload your journal to Track It Forward
and join the Master Naturalist Padlet Link!
Pre-Class Readings:
None
Class Agenda:
Welcome/ announcements by host (10min)
Nature Journal Break Out (20 min)
Know your State with Carrie Gray-Wood
a. Regional climates
b. Overview of regional geology
c. Review some of the ways indigenous behaviors affected the geography of the state
d. Review some of the ways European behaviors affect the geography of the state
e. Understand South Dakota’s physical features are a compilation of human and environmental interactions.
f. Questions for instructor
Wrap up and plan for Week 3 (5 min)
Porch Time
Further Exploration:
Book List:
"The Great Race" by Paul Goble: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Great-Race/Paul-Goble/9780689714528
"Beaver, Bison, Horse - The Traditional Knowledge and Ecology of the Northern Great Plains" by R. Grace Morgan: https://nyupress.org/9780889777880/beaver-bison-horse/
"Ecology of Dakota Landscapes Past, Present, and Future" by W. Carter Johnson & Dennis H. Knight: https://prairieedge.com/all-products/ecology-of-dakota-landscapes-past-present-and-future-book/
"WAITING FOR COYOTE'S CALL - AN ECO-MEMOIR FROM THE MISSOURI RIVER BLUFF" by Jerry Wilson: https://www.sdhspress.com/books/waiting-for-coyotes-call-an-eco-memoir-from-the-missouri-river-bluff
"HEARTLAND RIVER: A CULTURAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL HISTORY OF THE BIG SIOUX RIVER VALLEY" by Edited by Jon K. Lauck: https://www.augie.edu/heartland-river-cultural-and-environmental-history-big-sioux-river-valley
Not a book, but part of the discussion: https://www.startribune.com/could-the-mississippi-river-actually-begin-in-south-dakota/387864512/
3/21/23 Week 3: Indigenous Perspectives
Host and Instructors:
Host: Anne Lewis
Instructor: Tony Ten Fingers
Journal Activity:
Pick a spot about a meter square outdoors. Reflect in your journal on the following:
Describe the spot using various perspectives (e.g., an insect, bird, or buffalo). Use words, numbers and pictures.
How is your spot connected to the space and features around it? Can you make a connection between your spot and a far off location? Can you make a connection between your spot and yourself? Consider connections in the objective and subjective sense.
Using the language of Dr. Robin Wall-Kimmerer author of Braiding Sweetgrass what gifts does your spot bestow upon you? How can you reciprocate? Again, consider this question subjectively and objectively.
Pre-Class Assignments:
Read Revelations of the Kenow Wildfire by Cristina Eisenberg. About Place Journal. Volume V. Issue II. 2018. Explore the intersection of Indigenous and Western ways of knowing.
Watch Kiss the Ground Trailer (meet our speaker)
Watch Essential Understanding #1 - Joseph Marshall III. Wo Lakota You Tube Video
Class Agenda:
Welcome/announcements by host
Nature Journal Breakout
Lakota Perspectives on Nature Tony Ten Fingers
Wrap up and prep for next week
Porch Time!
Further Exploration:
Land Ethic by Aldo Leopold
Braiding Sweetgrass by Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer
Square Meter Photography Project by Chris Helzer
Getting Started with Nature Journaling (video) John (Jack) Muir Laws
3/28/23 Week 4: Climate and Phenology of South Dakota
Host and Instructors:
Host: Amanda Bachmann
Instructor: Laura Edwards
Journal Activity:
Daily weather and phenology observations
Spend about 5-10 minutes keeping a journal of daily maximum and minimum outdoor temperature, or daily temperature at the same time every day (like 7:00 am), and/or daily precipitation using equipment you have at home. This does not need to be a sophisticated digital system—even a simple outdoor deck thermometer or rain gauge in your garden or on a fencepost will work. If you have snow on the ground or get new snowfall, measure snow depth each day using a ruler.
If you don’t have an outdoor thermometer or rain gauge, or you’d rather use something else, you may use the SD Mesonet to find a weather station that reports in your area (Mesonet.sdstate.edu). Click on a station name on the map. Then go to “History” tab at the top. You may choose “7-day Tables” to get a quick look at daily temperatures (minimum and maximum) and also precipitation (under “Rain in” column).
Note any other weather that is interesting such as sky cover, wind speed or direction, or anything else of interest to you.
Also in your notes, mention any vegetation, animals or landscapes that show changes this week. Are there any buds emerging on trees or shrubs? Perennial bulbs emerging in flower beds? Any seasonal birds that are migrating through your area?
Reflect on how this week compares to a “typical” week in late March in South Dakota, based on your own experiences in both climate and phenology (plant stages) and other indicators (like birds).
Extra credit! If you want to explore more and have time, you can compare your daily temperature readings to the “normal” daily temperature for your area. Go to the NOAA NCEI’s U.S. Climate Normals page: https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/us-climate-normals/#dataset=normals-daily&timeframe=30&location=SD. Select a nearby location, then the month of “March”, and a graph and table will display below. How do your daily temperature measurements compare to normal?
Good luck and have a great week watching the skies in your backyard!
Pre-Class Readings:
Reading (4 pg): USA NPN: Phenology-linked indicators of climate change impacts on society and ecosystems: https://www.usanpn.org/files/shared/phenology-linked-indicators-green-4pg.pdf
Video (2 min): What do steroids in baseball have in common with climate change? https://youtu.be/MW3b8jSX7ec
Class Agenda:
Welcome/announcements by host
Nature Journal Breakout
Defining climate and phenology
Climate change and impacts on phenology
Observing and measuring changes in phenology through citizen science
Observing and monitoring South Dakota weather and climate
Wrap up and prep for next week
Porch Time!
Further Exploration:
PDF/online book (104 pages): “Phenophase Primer for Plants: Understanding Plant Phenophases for Nature’s Notebook” https://www.usanpn.org/files/npn/reports/USA-NPN-PhenophasePrimer_Section1-June2017.pdf
Video (1 min): Climate Trend and Variation https://youtu.be/e0vj-0imOLw
CoCoRaHS (Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow) network YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/cocorahs/featured Lots of videos here, including how to measure rain, hail and snow and share your measurements through CoCoRaHS.
4th National Climate Assessment, Chapter 7: Ecosystems, Ecosystem Services, and Biodiversity https://nca2018.globalchange.gov/chapter/7/
4th National Climate Assessment, Chapter 22: Northern Great Plains. https://nca2018.globalchange.gov/chapter/22/
South Dakota Mesonet, https://mesonet.sdstate.edu
4/4/23 Week 5: Biomes and Ecosystems
Host and Instructors:
Host: Andrea Fountain
Instructor: Dr. Kayla Miller
Journal Activity:
Next week we’ll be talking about ecosystems, which is the study of how organisms interact with their environment and other organisms. Spend some time in an environment and consider all the components and how they may be interacting. Don’t limit yourself to only things you can see!
Make sure to consider nutrients, oxygen/carbon dioxide, microorganisms, etc. – anything that may impact the functioning of your environment.
Specifically, consider…
How do different nutrients travel through the ecosystem from birth/germination to death (feel free to draw a “map”!)
How does climate (temperature and precipitation) affect these interactions?
Pre-Class Assignments:
Background on Ecosystems:
Background on Biomes:
Class Agenda:
Welcome/announcements by host
Nature Journal Breakout
Introduction to biological hierarchies
Ecosystem Ecology
Biomes
Wrap up and prep for next week
Porch Time!
Further Exploration:
Kahn Academy course on biomes and ecosystems: https://www.khanacademy.org/science/ap-
Kahn Academy course on Ecology: https://www.khanacademy.org/science/biology/ecology
Crash Course in Ecology: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8dPuuaLjXtNdTKZkV_GiIYXpV9w4WxbX
4/11/23 Week 6: Ornithology
Host and Instructors:
Host: Amanda Bachmann
Instructor: Dr. Jen Fowler & Julie Brazell
Journal Activity:
Gather your bird books, find your binocs, go out and identify three birds you find in your area. In your journal, write down any three characteristics you notice about that bird. Record any other observations you have about the bird and/or the habitat it was found in. What other questions do you have about those birds?
Pre-Class Readings:
South Dakota Ornithologists’ Union (SDOU) https://sdou.org/
SD Birding Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/groups/1705674179750465/
e-Bird https://ebird.org/home
Merlin Bird ID App
SD Breeding Bird Atlas II https://gfp.sd.gov/breeding-bird-atlas/
Class Agenda:
Welcome/announcements by Jen Stahl
Nature Journal Breakout
Ornithology for the Passionate Naturalist with Jen Fowler and Julie Brazell including breakout rooms and activities
Wrap up and prep for next week
Porch Time!
Recommended Resources & Links
South Dakota Ornithologists’ Union (SDOU) https://sdou.org/
SD Birding Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/groups/1705674179750465/
e-Bird https://ebird.org/home
Merlin Bird ID App
SD Breeding Bird Atlas II https://gfp.sd.gov/breeding-bird-atlas/
Alpha Codes https://www.birdpop.org/pages/birdSpeciesCodes.php
Bird Call Mnemonics http://birding-world.com/using-bird-song-mnemonics/
Further Exploration:
4/18/23 Week 7: Mammalogy
Host and Instructors:
Host: Andrea Fountain
Instructor: Carrie Hughes, Interpretive Ranger, Wind Cave National Park
Journal Activity:
Spring is a fun time to observe animal tracks! Head outside and find 2-3 wild animal tracks and sketch them in your journal. Be sure to record when and where you saw them. If you have a tape measure, measure the length, width, and stride. What story do the tracks tell? Follow them (if it is safe!) and note any patterns. Besides tracks do you see any other signs of animals? (Examples: scat, fur, bones) If you can not identify tracks that's okay, this is practice for observation skills.
Good places to look for tracks are near waterways (muddy river banks, sandy shorelines, etc), in snow, and on hiking trails.
Pre-Class Readings:
Mammals of Wind Cave National Park - a brief introduction to the mammals that we will be learning about during class. These mammals are endemic to the Great Plains Region, during class we will learn about their roles in the Wind Cave ecosystem and make connections to information we learned during previous classes.
Interactive story map of bison movement patterns at Wind Cave NP- this is an interactive map that shares how bison utilize the land at Wind Cave NP
A guide to animal tracking- this might be helpful information for your journal activity.
Class Agenda:
Welcome/announcements by Andrea Fountain
Nature Journal Breakout
Mammals of the Great Plains and Wind Cave National Park with Carrie Hughes
Questions for Carrie
Porch Time!
Further Exploration:
Ranger Carrie's Presentation Notes
Videos/Webinars
Tracking for Nature Journalers by John Muir Laws- Youtube Video
Epic Animal Tracking by Nature Tech Family- Youtube Video Series
South Dakota Nature Conservancy 2021 Annual Celebration Presentation: "Smokey the Beaver" with Dr. Emily Fairfax This is an engaging presentation about how beaver activity affects prairie ecosystems and helps to restore watersheds.
Books
Podcasts
Ologies: Mammalogy with Dr. Danielle N. Lee - A informative and fun listen with a mammalogist. She discusses background information about what makes a "mammal a mammal" and her groundbreaking research with rats. (Yes rats, but it is fascinating!)
NPR Morning Edition: Prairie Dogs!- A short listen (7min) about the language of prairie dogs
4/25/23 Week 8: Herpetology
Host and Instructors:
Host: Anne Lewis
Instructor: Dr. Drew Davis, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
Journal Activity:
Option 1: With the arrival of spring, South Dakota’s frogs will begin to emerge and start calling. At dusk, head down to your favorite neighborhood pond, stock tank, ditch, or still-water habitat (not a river, but river oxbows work) and try to listen for calling frogs. Do you hear any frogs calling? Can you try to describe the call? Is there another sound the frog call sounds like? How many “species” of frogs can you identify based on their calls? What aspects of their habitat do you think are most important for them to choose to reproduce there? If possible, try to do this on a warmer night or following rain.
OR
Option 2: On a sunny day, preferably midday when the sun is high, take your binoculars and visit a local pond to look for turtles. If you see any, watch them through your binoculars and describe what they are doing? Sketch them, record identifying features, and try to identify them. Where were these turtles a few months ago?
OR
Option 3: As you can imagine, life for reptiles and amphibians on the prairie can be remarkably difficult, especially during harsh winters. This week’s journal entry is about putting yourself in their place as winter is falling on the South Dakota landscape. Pick a reptile or amphibian, and in their “voice” imagine what process you might go through to prepare to survive sub-zero temperatures, thick snow cover, and frozen waterways. This can be a poetic reflection or a factual geek session.
Special Assignment Due Monday April 24:
Report your iNat user name using this form.
Pre-Class Readings:
Explore the Amphibians and Reptiles of South Dakota website: www.sdherps.org
What species have you seen at your home? What species have you seen elsewhere in SD?
Read Mapping Amphibians and Reptiles of South Dakota article: https://drewrdavis.files.wordpress.com/2019/08/davis.2018b.pdf
Class Agenda:
Welcome/announcements by Anne
Nature Journal Breakout
Herpetology with Dr. Drew Davis
Questions
Introduction to iNaturalist
Wrap up and prep for next week
Porch Time!
Further Exploration:
Kiesow AM, Davis DR. 2020. Field Guide to the Amphibians and Reptiles of South Dakota. Second Edition. South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks, Pierre, South Dakota. Available from: https://gfp.sd.gov/gifts/ ($20, shipped)
Introduction to Amphibia (video; 15 min): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2i8zPRLf-c2
Introduction to Reptilia (video; 15 min): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4Xrq_xCC503
Amphibians and Reptiles of South Dakota iNaturalist project: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/amphibians-and-reptiles-of-south-dakota
Reptiles and Amphibians of North Dakota (PDF): https://gf.nd.gov/gnf/conservation/docs/amphibian-reptile-brochure.pdf
Amphibians and Reptiles of Nebraska (website): https://herpneb.unl.edu
Midwest Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (MWPARC) (website): https://www.mwparc.org
Class iNaturalist project - https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/south-dakota-master-naturalists
5/2/23 Week 9: Botany
Host and Instructors:
Host: Kayla Miller
Instructor: Maribeth Latvis
Journal Activity:
Spring is here, and soon we will be surrounded by green vegetation! Please take a walk in a natural area and make 3 observations of plants in your area and sketch them in your journal. Things to notice: is the plant woody (i.e. a shrub or tree) or “herbaceous” (non-woody)? Do you notice any emerging buds at the tips of the branches? Do you notice any scars on the twigs where the leaves attached—and if so, notice their position on the twig.
Pre-Class Readings:
“Ode to a Flower” -Richard Feynman (video: ~1 min) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSG9q_YKZLI&ab_channel=CubStudio
“Now is a good time to get to know your buds (twigs, too)” – Pocono Record https://www.poconorecord.com/story/news/2004/02/22/now-is-good-time-to/51070445007/
“Plant Identification Basics” -Jane Mangold, Montana State Extension (6 pgs with lots of diagrams) https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5804eb039f74569692067655/t/5aeb007e0e2e725df96d287c/1525350535812/identification+basics.pdf
This provides a very quick introduction to the most important characteristics to approach plant identification.
“Project Budburst” (https://budburst.org/) Check out the website to learn more about community-driven research to understand plant responses to changing climate and plant-animal interactions.
Class Agenda:
Further Exploration:
South Dakota Wildflower App https://apps.apple.com/us/app/south-dakota-wildflower/id1104150602 A free phone app that allows you to look up plants in South Dakota based on their characteristics, location, and season.
“Botany in a Day” by Thomas Elpel https://mountain-press.com/products/botany-day (link to purchase book) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1DePlU15z4&ab_channel=ThomasJElpel (video overview of book)
“Grassland Plants of South Dakota” by James. J. Johnson and Gary E. Larson
https://openprairie.sdstate.edu/agexperimentsta_bulletins/764/
(289 pgs, scanned pdf with pictures, identification guide to SD plants)
5/9/23 Week 10: Entomology
Host and Instructors:
Host: Kayla Miller
Instructor: Dr. Amanda Bachmann
Journal Activity:
Journal about an experience you had with a bug (some sort of arthropod – it needs to have had an
exoskeleton and jointed appendages). You are welcome to go outside and spend some time observing
the insects and arthropods that are active now, but you may also work with a memory.
Questions to prompt your journaling: What happened? Where were you? How did the people around you react? How
did that experience impact your view of arthropods today. Feel free to use words, numbers, and
pictures in your journal entry.
Pre-Class Readings:
Bonus activity: Now that you have an iNaturalist account set up, take a picture of an arthropod in your yard/neighborhood. If you’d like to upload it as an observation ahead of time, you can, and we’ll see what people are finding across the state during class.
Class Agenda:
1. Welcome/announcements by Kayla
2. Nature Journal Breakout
3. Entomology with Amanda Bachmann, PhD
4. Questions
5. What’s on iNaturalist?
6. Wrap up and prep for next week
7. Porch Time!
Further Exploration:
There are loads of great insect resources on the internet or in print and these are some of my favorites
Extension websites (extension.sdstate.edu is SDSU’s)
Bugguide (https://bugguide.net/node/view/147)
Field Guide to Butterflies of South Dakota by Gary Marrone, published by SD GFP (ISBN: 0971246319 (ISBN13: 9780971246317)
Xerces Society library (https://www.xerces.org/)
• Attracting Native Pollinators by the Xerces Society (ISBN 978-1-60342-695-4)
• Gardening for Butterflies by the Xerces Society (ISBN 978-1-60469-598-4)
Pollinators of Native Plants by Heather Holm (ISBN 978-0-9913563-0-0)
Good Garden Bugs: Everything you need to know about beneficial predatory insects by Mary M. Gardiner (ISBN 978-1-59253-909-3)
The Bees in Your Backyard by Joseph S. Wilson and Olivia Messinger Carril (ISBN 978-0-691-16077-1)
More on Douglas Tallamy https://www.udel.edu/faculty-staff/experts/douglas-tallamy/ and https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/meet-ecologist-who-wants-unleash-wild-backyard-180974372/
5/16/23 Week 11: Aquatic Organisms and Ichthyology
Host and Instructors:
Host: Anne Lewis
Instructor: Liz Renner
Journal Activity:
2 options- pick your favorite prompt or do both!
Go visit some water in your neck of the woods, or think about a lake, river, or stream embedded in your memory. Which species of fish might live there? If you’re not sure, refer to the Fishes of South Dakota guide or look up the latest GFP fisheries survey report:
https://apps.sd.gov/GF56FisheriesReports/?_ga=2.169987367.622567719.1683811368-114931706.1657812153
What role do these fish play in that habitat, or what kinds of adaptations do they have to live in that body of water (e.g. what does it eat; how does it swim, reproduce, obtain oxygen and respire, etc.)? Draw the fish and describe any behaviors or physiological adaptations that help them thrive. Is this species native or introduced to South Dakota waters? Is it typically sought after by anglers?
2.Visit a local site with a water body (pond, lake, stream, river). We are going to revisit looking at connections from Week 3/journal entry 2. Reflect on how the water is connected to the land and sky and how that "shows up" in the water as a habitat and ecosystem. Diagram these connections from the general (Sun/Earth system) to the specific (critters and plants in your water body) and then from the specific to the general (a specific organism such as algae or plant through a fish or macroinvertebrate back to the Earth system).
Pre-Class Readings:
Aquatic Macroinvertebrates
Read these three articles: (Note: Although written for the Southwest, the general information is applicable to the Great Plains)
Ichthyology
Guide to the Fishes of South Dakota
https://gfp.sd.gov/userdocs/docs/guidetothecommonfishes_new_full.pdf
Nebraska Fish Guide
Class Agenda:
Further Exploration:
5/23/23 Week 12: Conservation and Human Impacts
Host and Instructors:
Host: Jen Stahl
Instructor: Emmett Keyser, Regional Supervisor, SD Game, Fish, and Parks
Journal Activity:
Write a short paragraph or poem about a natural place in South Dakota and why it’s special to you
Pre-Class Readings:
North American Model of Conservation: https://www.boone-crockett.org/north-american-model-wildlife-conservation?DGA&gad=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwpPKiBhDvARIsACn-gzBhYjWx2RC2_I2jqtPjKwBLPmiTwJ9xNmmxTiTMw81LQsehAhKzR8saAsrKEALw_wcB
New principles to effectively manage fish and wildlife resources into the 21st Century: https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/conl.12211