"A living tapestry of the wild places and creatures we work to understand and protect." Greater Baton Rouge Rendezvous 2025 Celebrated

Photos and text by Anne Lutz of  Louisiana Master Naturalists Northwest

 What a weekend at the 2025 Louisiana Master Naturalist Rendezvous ! A big thank you to ​LMNGBR!

From the first bird walk at dawn to the last call of frogs at night, this weekend was a living tapestry of the wild places and creatures we work to understand and protect.

Saturday was packed with discovery:

• We tracked early migrants on foot with Alex Landry, listening not just with our ears but with our instincts sharpened.

• Jane Patterson showed us how even a backyard, thoughtfully planted, can stitch itself back into the fabric of the larger ecosystem.

• Kevin Langley opened the world of bees — secret lives structured by pheromones, sisterhood, and ceaseless labor.

• Janine Kharey and Katherine Gividen inspired us to look closer at the winged travelers among us, tagging monarchs and cataloging the fluttering pulse of our landscapes.

• Dr. Chris Woodward turned myth into science during his seminar on snakebites — reminding us that education and respect are the true antidotes to fear.
• Hands were in the soil with Lori Radunzel-Davis as we reclaimed ground from invasive species, while Rees Conce led us through the silent architecture of fungal networks.

• The Wild Ones of Greater Baton Rouge and Janie Braud reminded us that every observation — each butterfly, each native bloom, each iNaturalist post — is a data point in the story of conservation.

• Chris Austin took us across oceans and into the dense unknown of Papua New Guinea, where entire species await first description.

After a full day of learning, we shared dinner and honored the Caroline Dormon Award winner, then split paths — some for nocturnal hikes, others for naturalist trivia, but all under a canopy of spring stars.

Sunday brought a new kind of energy — the BioBlitz at Frenchtown Conservation Area, where every bird, insect, and bloom was part of a living census.

Bird banding at Bluebonnet offered an intimate glimpse at migration in motion — tiny ambassadors of resilience and instinct.
Throughout it all, the best part was the people — Master Naturalists from across Louisiana sharing knowledge, swapping stories, and renewing the spirit of stewardship that brought us all here.
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I hope these photos capture a fraction of the beauty, the curiosity, and the passion that defined this Rendezvous. Here’s to another year of learning, growing, and protecting the natural world we love.
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