People join a Master Naturalist chapter because they have a strong interest in some aspect of the natural world. In the Hi Lonesome Chapter, which serves Henry and Benton counties, there is the prairie guy, the snake lady and even an edible bug expert.
Roxanne Stockdall is the exception.
“I know a little bit about a lot of things,” she said. “I love the birds, I like the plants. I even went on the frog and toad surveys, which were at night and a lot of fun.”
Roxanne is president of the Hi Lonesome Chapter, whose members are planning to celebrate Earth Day by participating in programs as varied as their interests.
On April 21, the chapter is presenting an International Dark Skies (IDS) night at Knob Noster State Park in conjunction with the Astronomical Society of Kansas City. One of three IDS events at the site, it offers night sky viewing and promotes awareness of light pollution. The ASKC will have telescopes, Roxanne said, and the Hi Lonesome Master Naturalists plan to lead an owl walk.
On Earth Day, April 22, they’ll be at an Earth Day fair on the campus of her alma mater, the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg, sponsored by the Citizens for Environmental Action.
On April 29, the chapter will be in Arrowrock, Mo., for the Birds, Bees and Blooms festival. The annual spring festival at the state historic site is sponsored by the Missouri River Bird Observatory (MRBO), which the chapter has been involved with since it started.
“We’ve helped with bird banding and bird surveys,” Roxanne said.
Roxanne will show her collection of pressed flowers and give out seed bombs at the chapter’s table at Birds, Bees and Blooms, she said. She’s not the chapter’s expert on native plants, but said she is her grandsons’ go-to person about them.
“They’ll pull something up and ask, ‘Grandma, is this edible?’ before popping it into their mouths,” she said.
Hi Lonesome’s native prairie expert is Donnie Nichols, who helped in the relocation of prairie chickens, going to Kansas where the birds were captured, and brought them back, to reintroduce them in Missouri prairies. The Hi Lonesome Master Naturalists also helped with a program to reintroduce black bears to southern Missouri, Roxanne said, helping tag bear cubs.
Paul Landkamer is the chapter’s “bug guy,” specializing in edible bugs. He gives programs that are popular with school-age children, Roxanne said.
Roxanne said both her daughters have taken the Master Naturalist course. Her daughter Elizabeth Duckwork is the chapter’s “snake lady,” interested in all things reptilian.
Marge Lumpe and Ryan Steffans are birding experts who are participating in the May 13 Global Big Day of Birding, sponsored by the Missouri River Bird Observatory.
Roxanne has two birding apps on her phone. “Merlin” has both a photo and a song identifier. She uses the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s app to record bird sightings on her cell phone and to send sightings in. The phone also sends in the coordinates of your location, she said.
Roxanne has also learned to identify amphibians — peepers, cricket frogs, bullfrogs — by sound.
Roxanne, who grew up in Odessa, has a bachelor of science degree from UCM. After she discovered a predilection for cooking, however, she worked at her aunt’s restaurant, Blackwater Bottoms, on Highway 50, in the ‘70s and ‘80s.
In 2009, she was working at the End Zone in Sedalia, she said, the year her boss was taking the Master Naturalist course.
“Every week after the class, she’d come into the kitchen and tell us about all these interesting things she’d learned,” Roxanne said.
So Roxanne thought, “I can do that,” and took the course the next year. She is now serving her second term as president of the Hi Lonesome Chapter, which meets in Cole Camp, and is named for a nearby prairie. The Hi Lonesome Chapter has 12 active members, she said, but would like more people to sign up for the course. But for the MDC to offer it, there has to be enough interest. The Master Naturalist course is a class one night a week for 11 weeks, plus three field trips. The cost of $110 covers materials, and the course is offered online, Roxanne said.
The Hi Lonesome Chapter meets at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Cole Camp on the first Tuesday of the month at 6 p.m. Members can attend meetings online, she said.
“If we have enough prospective members, the chapter will offer an orientation session,” she said.
After completing the course, Master Naturalists keep track of their volunteer hours. Extra training is optional, but if you take eight hours of advanced training and complete 40 hours of service a year, you can add “certified” to your Master Naturalist title, she said.
An upcoming program is Primitive Skills Day at Farrington Park in Windsor on May 6. People of all ages can come and learn archery, camping and fishing skills, including catching, cleaning and cooking fish. Sign up for it now on the MDC website.
