Jess: I think it's so interesting 'cause the people who know about the Naturalist program know about it, but a lot of people don't know about it. So what is it that drew you to it, and what is it that you love about it?

Jennie Lawrence: Just the whole idea of all the opportunities we have, like getting out. And one of my other passionate projects that I do with the Naturalists is the Wyoming toads, the endangered toads, and I have done everything from feed[ing] tadpoles to release adult toads. Every year I go out on surveys and help count toads to see how we're doing as far as reintroducing them.

Just the opportunities to get out and do different things and learn about different things. I volunteer at the herbarium, and I'm slowly learning my plants through volunteering up there. Just the opportunities that are out there.

Jess: Yeah. 'Cause it's like, you have to commit to be in the Naturalist program.

Jennie: You do.

Jess: What all did you have to do?

Jennie: We start once-a-week training online through Zoom in February, and that goes to mid-May. And then in mid-May we have a camp out where we emphasize everything that was learned over the Zoom meetings, et cetera, and put that into practice.

And then, to be a certified naturalist, you have to volunteer 40 hours a year and commit to, oh, how much? Eight hours, I think, of continuing ed[ucation]. I couldn't tell you, 'cause I jump on the opportunities when they come up. But I think we have to have eight hours of continuing ed[ucation] every year. So yeah, it's a commitment.

Jess: It's real. Yeah. It's not just like, "Oh, I just like some plants and I'm taking a walk."

Jennie: Exactly. It's like, yeah. We're out there doing a lot of conservation work, that sort of thing.

Jess: That's amazing. Amazing. I know I need to talk to Jacqueline more, because that was not a program... It's fairly recent.

Jennie: It is. They were gonna get started in 2020, and let's see, Mason, Zach, Jacqueline maybe. They were the originators, met in Casper and were gonna get things going, and of course then COVID hit. And so their first cohort was 2021, and you have to apply and be accepted into the program. You can't just say, "Hey, I'm gonna do this."

Jess: I wanna be a naturalist. Right.

Jennie: Right. And so I applied in 2021. There was a newspaper article. I'm like, "Yeah, I wanna do this," and was not accepted for whatever reason, I think probably 'cause [of] numbers, 'cause it was their first year and they were starting very small. And so then 2022 came and I was like, "Eh, do I wanna apply for this again?" And finally decided to and got accepted in 2022.

Note: The transcript above has been condensed from its original audio recording to improve the flow and readability of the story.