It’s time to register for the 2012 CLASS of the Mississippi Habitat Stewards Program!  

 Habitat Stewards is a program designed to train volunteers to understand our coastal natural areas and how to manage those resources.

Mississippi Habitat Stewards Program is a project of Mississippi Wildlife Federation and National Wildlife Federation.  The 2012 class is sponsored by BP.   In exchange for 24 hours of training, each participant will commit 100 hours of volunteer service on partner lands: working to build nature trails, monitor existing nature trails, public relations, management and monitoring for invasive species, planting native plants and many other exciting projects.

 Mississippi Habitat Stewards Program Partners are the owners and managers of important natural areas where we work.  In 2011, the inaugural year of Habitat Stewards Program, volunteers contributed approximately 700 hours of class training and 400 hours of labor caring for Partner properties:

1.      Mississippi Department of Marine Resources Coastal Preserves Program

2.      Mississippi Sandhill Crane National Wildlife Refuge

3.      Land Trust for the Mississippi Coastal Plain

4.      USM Marine Education Center, Cedar Point

The program is now recruiting for classes to begin March 9. Click  HERE  for more information.  Check out our new website: www.mshabitatstewards.org

If you are interested in learning more or would like to sign up for this program, please call or email: Cynthia Ramseur at 228-875-1032 or cynthia@naturalcapitaldevelopment.com

2012 Mississippi Habitat Stewards Class Schedule:

• Spring Fling – Habitat Stewards and Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College students – volunteer work day on Pascagoula River Coastal Preserve, Indian Point Coastal unit, Gautier:  February 25, 2012
• First Five Classes will be held on Friday afternoons from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm:  March 9, March 23; April 13, April 27, May 11.
• The final class will be held with individual students to mentor on site at the work site of their choice.
• Graduation and awards celebration is scheduled for Thursday evening, June 7.

CONTACT INFORMATION for Habitat Stewards Program in Coastal Mississippi

Local contact in coastal Mississippi:       

Project coordinators – Cynthia Ramseur or Leah Bray

Natural Capital Development (NCD)

1004 Government Street

Ocean Springs, MS  39564

228.875.1032  Cynthia@naturalcapitaldevelopment.com

Mississippi Wildlife Federation

Cathy Shropshire, Executive Director

517 Cobblestone Court, Suite 2

Madison, MS  39110

601-605-1790  cshropshire@mwsf.org

 

National Wildlife Federation

Eliza Russell, Director of Education Programs

National Wildlife Federation
11100 Wildlife Center Drive
Reston, VA 20190-5362
www.nwf.org

703-438-6439  russell@nwf.org