Certification and Service Pins
On this page you will find
- Information on upcoming or current service hour pins
- Resources to replace your lost pins
Annual Service Hour Pin
The Annual Service Hour Pin is a unique collectible which features California native species designed by artists in UC Environmental Stewards community. Certified California Naturalists and Climate Stewards that log 40 or more volunteer hours in a calendar year in our Volunteer Portal are eligible to receive the Annual Service Hour pin.
To be eligible for the Annual Service Hour pin, you must:
- Be a certified California Naturalist or Climate Steward
- Have volunteered 40 or more hours in the calendar year
- Enter your 40 or more hours into the Volunteer Portal
Please note: We cannot honor any retroactive Volunteer Portal hours. You are only eligible for annual service hour pins from the year of your certification and the years after.
How to get your pin
Each year we ask our partners across the state to host on-site pin distribution. This helps us keep our shipping costs and carbon footprint as small as possible. Please know that not all partner sites can offer on-site pickup. We will send out a survey to eligible Naturalists and Stewards to see how many pins we need to send to each site. If there isn't a site nearby for you to pick up your pin, you can have your pin shipped to you for a nominal fee by Acorn Naturalist, our state-wide merchandise partners.
Replacement Pins
We are so sorry to hear that your pin went off on an adventure of its own. These pins symbolize our accomplishments through the courses and the service hours we log making California a better place.
If you are missing the pin you received from taking a course or a service hour pin, please fill out this survey. NOTE: As of June 1, 2023, there will be a $10 pin replacement fee. This fee can be paid through the pin replacement survey.
PLEASE KNOW:
- For you to receive a replacement certification pin, you must have an active account in our Volunteer Portal. This is the only way we can confirm your participation in and certification through one of our courses.
- For you to be eligible to receive a replacement service hour pin, you must have met and logged the hour requirements for that year.
- Older service hour pin inventory may be low. Let us know which pin you need and we will do our best to accommodate.
2021 Service Hour Pin
The 2021 and 2022 service hour pins are currently in production.
The 2021 pin was designed by Naturalist Margaret Gallagher. Margaret is an artist, illustrator, and naturalist based in Silver Lake, Los Angeles. Her detailed ink-and-watercolor illustrations highlight the intimate beauty of Southern California's native ecosystems.
The 2021 service hour pin features a Golden Trout (Oncorhynchus aguabonita), an endemic species to, and the official freshwater state fish of, California. We chose this organism to highlight UC California Naturalist's 10th year anniversary.
2022 Service Hour Pin
The 2022 pin was designed by Travis Johnson, a Climate Steward from the 2022 Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History course and features a California Golden Beaver (Castor canadensis subauratus).
Beavers are an important species in the fight against climate change. Please take a moment to review the CONES Beaver Episode with Dr. Emily Fairfax where she explains the beaver’s role in raising the water table in riparian ecosystems and how this helps combat the effects of climate change.