Wisconsin Master Naturalists, Ho-Chunk Nation to host ‘Caring for Grandmother Earth’ volunteer summit

At the end of September the Wisconsin Master Naturalist program will be holding its biennial Wisconsin Summit for Natural Resources Volunteers. And this year, the event will be co-hosted by the Ho-Chunk Nation.

For more than a decade, the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Division of Extension has been offering the opportunity for people to become Master Naturalists by attending expert-led training sessions and volunteering their time to conservation efforts. Altogether, Master Naturalists volunteer over 25,000 hours of service each year to over 700 organizations across the state.

This year’s summit is part of an ongoing collaboration between the Ho-Chunk Nation and the Master Naturalist program. The theme of the event is “Mąąną Pįį Hirakara.” When translated from the Ho-Chunk language, the phrase means “Caring for Grandmother Earth.”

Master Naturalist instructor Tina Brown, who is also a member of the Ho-Chunk Nation, works with Wisconsin Master Naturalist program manager Becky Sapper to manage the partnership. Brown and Sapper see it as a way to provide volunteers for natural resource programs within the Ho-Chunk Nation while also infusing the program with valuable Indigenous knowledge.

“We talked about what some of the needs are for the nation, as far as plant surveys and bird surveys, and it seemed like it was just a really good match,” Sapper said in an interview with WPR’s “Wisconsin Today.” “Tina has opened my eyes up to some aspects of our training materials that might have been more heavily focused on Western science and saw a way that we could provide different perspectives based on some more traditional ecological knowledge.”

The September summit will include indoor and outdoor workshops, Native artisan vendors, a volunteer fair and a presentation from keynote speaker and federal tribal attorney Samantha Skenandor on the legal rights of nature. The event will also feature small group outdoor field explorations and volunteer activities.

“Whether it was the Master Naturalist training, or this summit, we really wanted to bring in Indigenous knowledge and cultural aspects, and that is a big draw. People want to know what the Indigenous knowledge is,” Brown told “Wisconsin Today.” “There’s a lot that people can learn about the Ho-Chunk and the land, and this summit is an excellent opportunity for people to come and do that, whether you’re Ho-Chunk or not.”

Any interested adult community members are encouraged to attend. The deadline to register is Sept. 15. The event takes place Sept. 26-28 at the Ho-Chunk Gaming Wisconsin Dells Convention Center. For more information, visit the Wisconsin Master Naturalist website.