Our website is dedicated to keeping members and interested members of the public up-to-date on opportunities for learning and volunteer service in our area. The strength of our program is in its nature as a mutually-supportive community of highly-motivated and independent individuals. This site hopes to empower that community by promoting communications about what the members have been doing and what they can be doing to serve Central Texas.

CAMN volunteers continue to make a difference in the stewardship of natural resources across our area. We are proud of all the great projects that are happening and want to share them with you. Take the time to share our pride in your hard work, the learning that occurs and the sharing of your knowledge with others. The evidence of this great effort can be seen in our Hill Country surroundings, our streams and rivers, our thickets and woods, prairies and parks, and finally our schools.

Pictures courtesy: Lynne and Jim Weber

CAMN Meeting—March 27, 2013

Urban Trees

Myrtle

 

At 6:30 (for social hour) and 7:00 (for program) on March 27, we will gather for our regular Monthly Meeting. Our speaker will be April Rose, Executive Director of TreeFolks, speaking on “Urban Trees.”

Regular Monthly Meetings are normally the last Wednesday of each month (except December when we do not meet) and are held at 6:30, at the Austin Nature and Science Center, Zilker Park (Map to Austin Nature Center http://bit.ly/hJ2Pli)

All meetings are open to the public, so bring a friend!

 

Upcoming Meetings:

  • February 27 — Our adviser Kelly Conrad Bender of TPWD on “Wildlife in Urban Areas.”
  • March 27 — April Rose, Executive Director of TreeFolks, on “Urban Trees.”
  • April 24 — Dennis Reis, environmental attorney, on “Environmental Superfund Sites.”

The 2013 Class Has Been Filled!

We have now received well over 40 applications for the 30 available spaces in the CAMN Class of 2013. Even allowing for dropouts, that is more than enough to fill both the class and the wait list. Accordingly, we will not be accepting applications postmarked after September 15, 2012. Those who have been accepted will be receiving notice before October 1, as will those on the wait list.

It is a tribute to our program that so many people were willing to commit to attending classes on most Saturdays between January and April, to completing an additional 8 hours of advanced training, and performing 40 hours of volunteer service within 2013.

For others who are interested, you may wish to check for class availability with other Master Naturalist chapters in the region, or investigate programs such as Go Native U at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. Thank you for your interest.

Elections

Just a reminder… the May elections are right around the corner and you should be thinking of people who are able to lead our organization in 2013-14. We need a new President, as the incumbent has reached or surpassed every reasonable term limit. If nobody steps forward to take responsibility for the mundane tasks of administration, CAMN cannot continue to operate.

Become a Master Naturalist

Texas Master Naturalists not only get their feet wet and their hands dirty, but while doing so they spend time in a natural setting, learn about different plant and animal species, and maybe even find something new: One member, in fact, discovered a new plant species.

To become a Texas Master Naturalist, each volunteer:

  • Goes through an approved training program with at least 40 hours of combined field and classroom instruction, plus 8 hours of approved advanced training
  • Donates 40 hours of volunteer service back to the state and community. Trainees can complete their 40 hours of volunteer service and 8 hours of advanced training within a year after their initial training.
  • Completes another 8 hours of advanced training and donates 40 hours of volunteer service every year after the first one.

Interested in joining? If you can’t find a chapter near you, contact the Texas Master Naturalist coordinator, a local office of Texas Parks and Wildlife or a local county Extension agent.

Become A Master Naturalist

Want to know more?
Here’s some facts:

Since the organization’s founding in 1998, Texas Master Naturalists have contributed more than 1,003,409 hours of service on 90,000 acres of wildlife and native plant habitats, and reached more than 1.2 million Texas residents of all ages. These volunteer efforts are worth more than $20 million.

Currently 5,306 Texas Master Naturalist™ volunteers serve in 39 local chapters across the state, and new chapters are opening all the time.

The program has earned the Wildlife Management Institute’s Presidents’ 2000 Award, the National Audubon Society’s 2001 Habitat Hero’s Award, the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission’s 2001 Environmental Excellence Award, and Texas A&M University’s 2001 Vice Chancellor’s Award of Excellence in Partnership. In 2005 program earned the U.S. Department of Interior’s “Take Pride in America” award.