Become a Certified Tennessee Naturalist

To become a Certified Tennessee Naturalist students must complete both the classroom and field portions of all classes and perform 40 hours of approved volunteer service. They must also complete a pre- and post-assessment.

Volunteer hours must fall within these five categories of service:

  1. Environmental Education (e.g., lead guided hikes or activities, develop educational materials)
  2. Citizen Science (e.g., species monitoring, bioblitz, data collection)
  3. Stewardship (e.g., stream cleanups, trail maintenance, habitat restoration)
  4. TNP/Chapter Support (activities that do not fall within the other categories but still supports specifically the Tennessee Naturalist Program and TNP Chapters in other ways.)
  5. Administrative/Other (activities that support environmental organizations outside of the Tennessee Naturalist Program and TNP Chapters; restricted to 25% of each milestone.)

Sponsoring organizations of TNP chapters typically have many needs for volunteers, as do state and local parks, environmental non-profits, federal, state and local government agencies, and others.  TNP advertises volunteer needs in our quarterly newsletter.  For a suggested list of volunteer opportunities click here.

Missed Core Classes: Students missing a core class must make up that class within the certification deadline (registered before June 2025: 2 years after last class; registered after June 2025: 2 years after first class). Two make-up classes may be taken at the home chapter for no charge; additional classes will incur a fee of $40 per class. Make-up classes taken at another chapter will require a $40 fee to be paid to the hosting chapter. Students must receive permission from the chapter coordinators of all involved chapters before attending a class.