Dear California Naturalists,
We tallied your #CalNat2016 nominations for the 2016 service pin and we're announcing a winner: Stagmomantis californica, the California mantis! In exchange for logging at least 40 service hours in the 2016 calendar year, certified California Naturalists will receive a beautiful 18k gold and enamel pin service pin as our thank you. The link to the volunteer portal will always be available on the top yellow menu of our home page under “Record Service Hours.”
Want to start collecting the CalNat Annual Service Pins?
Step 1) log your 2016 hours into the Volunteer Portal by January 15. Here's a guide that explains the categories of service and how to log your volunteer hours.
Step 2) update your capstone project title and mailing address in the "Edit your profile" section of the volunteer portal.
We'll take care of the rest! And we'll remind you again in January. (Pepperwood and Tejon Ranch stewards only, we'll get your hours from your instructor, but we still need you to update your address in the portal, please)
Why log hours? Our community of over 1600 certified California Naturalists has volunteered over 71,000 hours in five years! We suspect that is a HUGE under representation of the time you actually spend volunteering. And we understand- logging in and reporting isn't likely your motivation or the most rewarding part of your efforts. But the bottom line is that when you report your activities, we have a metric we can share with our colleagues at UC and the UC Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources, our partnering organizations, and beyond that demonstrates that our collective efforts are making a significant impact in this state. That metric eventually translates into allocations of resources from collaborators and sponsors to keep offering and expanding programming (like the Statewide Conference that ALL Naturalists received a discount and/or scholarship to attend!) that will keep our network growing, connected, and learning together. You are part of a larger, longer UC legacy of stewardship. Please help us measure your impact!
What are the rules for volunteer hours? Volunteer hours are defined as any time spent for which you are not paid tending nature, teaching others, doing environmental science, or taking action on behalf of conservation. Volunteer hours should take place in California and fall into the four categories of restoration/conservation, education/interpretation, citizen science, or program support. Hours also need to be attributed to an institution- please choose your organization in the drop down menu of partner institutions that offer the course, or specify “other” institution. Volunteer work you've already done in 2016 can be counted today! Your 8+ Capstone Project volunteer hours should be logged and will count toward the pin, however class time doesn't! Here's a guide that explains the categories of service and how to log your volunteer hours. We offer a new pin design every year to qualifying Naturalists, so if you can't make it to 40 hours this year, you'll have future opportunities!
Need help? Issues gaining access to the site or logging hours? Here's a guide that explains the categories of service and how to log your volunteer hours. Please e-mail canaturalist@ucanr.edu for further troubleshooting. We can re-send your portal invitation or help if you're having trouble gaining access. We'll be on a short vacation Dec 19-Jan 2, but please be patient and we'll get you the help you need!
We look forward to celebrating your service and sending your new pins in late February/early March!
Thanks for all you do!