Grow Native! Professional Certification Program
Continuing Education

NOTE: Grow Native! Continuing Education units are earned by individuals who have received Grow Native! certification by passing all four sections of the Grow Native! certification test. If you are interested in becoming certified, see the Grow Native! Professional Certification Program webpage.

Questions about the Grow Native! Professional Certification Program?
Email erika@moprairie.org or phone (573) 567-0259.

Grow Native! Professional Certification is valid for three years. Program participants maintain their certification by earning 30 continuing education units (CEUs) over a total of three years and paying a $75 renewal fee every three years. Of the 30 required units, 10 units can be earned by viewing recorded content; the remainder must be earned by viewing a live webinar or master class session or an in-person event that has been designated for inclusion in the GNPCP. Grow Native! will maintain records to track CEUS earned by Certified Pros, but Certified Pros should maintain their own records to track their individual progress as well. CEUs can be earned in four ways, listed below.

1)

If you are a Grow Native! Certified Pro and you’d like to earn 1 CEU for participating in a live MPF or GN! webinar or master class, you can register for the opportunity via the link provided on the opportunity’s individual webpage, and enter your certification number in the chat during the live session. Upcoming webinar and master classes are listed on the MPF calendar and the GN! calendar.

2)

You can also earn credits by watching past recorded Missouri Prairie Foundation and Grow Native! webinars and master classes, and submitting the “GN! CEU Submission Form” provided to you upon award of your certification and upon request (subject to the 10 credit limit). You can select from the sessions on the 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, or 2021 Webinar Series on the Missouri Prairie Foundation’s YouTube channel. A link to past master classes will be provided to Certified Pros upon certification and upon request.

3)

New in 2025, Certified Pros can also earn CEUs for virtual or in-person educational presentations they make to groups about native plant topics.
Generally, 1 CEU will equate to approximately one hour of instruction with each credit subject to individual approval by Grow Native! staff. To apply to earn credit after giving a presentation, please submit via the “GN! CEU Submission Form” form provided to you upon award of your certification and upon request.
Note: There must be a formal educational component to receive CEUs for delivering a presentation. Service projects, board meetings, or participation in other non-education focused programs are not applicable. CEUs also cannot be granted for preparation time when researching and preparing an educational event.

4)

The following upcoming in-person opportunities will earn CEUs. There will be an opportunity to sign in or check in at the event to earn CEUs:

Grow Native! invites organizations that offer educational programming relating to native plants in nature or in the built environment to apply to offer GNPCP CEUs for their programming, subject to the following stipulations:

— Only opportunities that are educational in nature and in person, not virtual, will be considered. Further, the topic(s) must directly relate to native plants in nature or in the built environment.
— Prior to approving an outside CEU opportunity, Grow Native! staff will review the topic of the session and the trainer’s credentials. Generally, 1 CEU will equate to approximately one hour of instruction.
— Approval of outside CEU opportunities are contingent upon compensation to Grow Native! Grow Native! requires compensation at the rate of $50 per CEU offered (or in-kind compensation of equal or greater value, such as a complimentary exhibitor booth and event registration worth $200 for 4 CEUs). A maximum of 10 CEUs will be approved from any one event.
— The approved organization must agree to submit materials as requested by Grow Native! for the purpose of tracking earned CEUs. This may include registration information and proof of attendance for those earning GNPCP CEUs. The approved organization must confirm attendance of those earning GNPCP CEUs at the educational event and provide attendance records to the GNPCP coordinator. The approved organization may accomplish this by confirming that a CEU earner has registered for the event and by collecting signatures at the end of the event. A copy of the collected signatures must be submitted to the GNPCP coordinator no later than two weeks after the event. Attendees may be offered the option to self-report attendance at the end of the event if GN! provides a QR code for the approved organization to display for this purpose. Grow Native! reserves the right to require additional materials that may also include proof of education in the form of a test or written explanation of a lesson learned by each attendee seeking a GNPCP CEU.

Please contact Erika Van Vranken (erika@moprairie.org) if your organization would like to apply to offer GNPCP CEUs for educational programming.