by Pat Avery
Hi, I’m a newbie in the 2021 class for the RGV Master Naturalist certification. How in the world did I get here?
I’ve lived in Colorado, Kansas and Missouri before moving to the RGV sixteen years ago. My husband and I spent five or six years before that as Winter Texans.
I loved Colorado for the mountains, blue skies and clean air. What’s not to love about Colorado? As a kid, I didn’t always appreciate its beauty, but as an adult my love for the state continues to blossom.
Missouri, I loved for the trees, the flowers and the Ozark streams. I joined the Missouri Outdoor Communicators as well as the Association of the Great Lakes Outdoor Writers. I learned so much from the knowledge, passion and kindness of the members of both organizations.
Kansas, while I only recently learned to appreciate its beauty, I grew up hearing about soil conservation. My dad was one of the first in Eastern Kansas to build a business on Franklin Roosevelt’s Soil Conservation Program. I heard almost daily stories about the need to conserve the land and utilize crop rotation.
I fell in love with the Texas coast and especially the pelicans, but I only discovered bird watching when I interviewed John Bax, a well-known cinematographer and wrote his story.
John taught me by the best method possible – by example. He took me on multiple trips to Brownsville and around the area looking for birds. I’m still amazed that, in his 80s, he stood silently for hours at a time waiting for the birds to come to him. He had an uncanny knack for knowing where they were as well as the patience of Job.
He didn’t talk much – he simply waited. At first I would get tired and take trips back to the car, but I soon found it impossible to not get caught up in his passionate love of nature. I started interviewing him in late 2009 but by the time the book saw the light of day in 2012, we had lost him.
The beautiful thing is that I still feel him within me every time I pick up my camera or watch a bird soaring above me.
A long introduction to be sure, but he was the catalyst for my interest in joining the class. I had considered it for several years, but it was this year that I asked my good friend, Diana Lehmann, if she’d be interested in taking the class. It’s a definite motivator to know you have someone with whom you can share the whole adventure.
Make no mistake – the Master Naturalist Program is an adventure. Only a couple weeks into our training, I’m learning more that I dreamed possible and am discovering folks who are passionate about conservation in all its forms. I came without a science or environmental education or work background, but with a love I’ve developed through the influence of incredible people like John Bax and the outdoor writers I’ve known.
My goal for this blog is to interview experienced naturalists and newbies like me. I can’t wait to discover how they came to be in this place at this time. I know that each of them will teach me something new. I look forward to the challenge.
Stay tuned!
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