Sign up now for Whale Museum’s Marine Naturalist Training Program

||| FROM TRACIE MERRELL for WHALE MUSEUM |||

The Whale Museum’s Marine Naturalist Training Program is a high-quality, immersive experience that leaves graduates qualified as a regional professional or volunteer naturalist.

The Summer 2023 Program will be entirely in-person here on San Juan Island. You can earn a Whale Museum naturalist certification by completing an extra 10-hour practicum, which can be arranged during this course. Completion of this course also entitles you to become a member of the Salish Sea Association of Marine Naturalists (SSAMN). The program begins with an evening welcome reception on July 26. It then runs full days (approximately 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Pacific time)
from July 27-August 2, with a day off on July 30. Additional optional activities will be offered to registrants.

The main focus of the training is the ecology, current status and conservation of Southern Resident Killer Whales and other local marine species as well as discussions about the environments they live in. The course includes presentations on cetaceans, pinnipeds, otters, intertidal invertebrates, seabirds, and a variety of other topics such as geology and marine conservation. Field trips are planned throughout the session and transportation will be provided from the classroom venue to all field trip locations. Faculty includes Whale Museum staff, professional naturalists, marine scientists, and environmental educators active in the region.

The cost of the program is $650 Member Rate (for members of The Whale Museum/Orca Adopters) or $700 Non-Member Rate (includes membership/Orca Adoption). Tuition includes lectures, field trips, class materials, transportation, opening reception, light breakfast fare, snacks and graduation lunch.

There are limited spots available, so don’t wait to register! Register HERE.

For more information, contact Tracie Merrill at tracie@whalemuseum.org or (360) 378-4710 ext. 23.