Chapter Approved Projects List
Volunteer hours are only recorded for those working on approved Projects or Committees. General membership meetings do not count as volunteer hours. Travel time of 30 minutes each way may be included for work on Approved Committee activities and Approved Projects.

As a guideline for the types of activities that would be approved by the board, see Volunteer Service Guidelines as produced by TPWD for Texas Master Naturalists.

The following 4 areas of projects and committees have been approved for Volunteer Service hours by the El Camino Real Chapter.

1.  Chapter Operating Committees
As defined in our Chapter Operating Handbook, the following constitute standard committees, with chairs approved by vote of the Officers, and offer great volunteering opportunities in managing and leading chapter functions:

  • Advanced Training
  • Communications
  • Host
  • Membership
  • Programs
  • Training
  • Volunteer Projects
  • Historian

Members are encouraged to contact any chair to get involved with the above committees.  See who they are here.

2.  Community Focus Major Projects
Projects with major community focus, interaction and outreach, where the chairperson is also a member of the Board:

  1. The Nature of Milam County – documenting our county’s natural resources in Nature Resource Book, contact Katherine Bedrich, project coordinator, or one of the section leaders.
  2. Milam County Nature Festival, 2011 contact Sue Taylor or Donna Lewis, project coordinators – or 2012 Paul Unger.
  3. Texas Seeds for Success, contact Katherine Bedrich, coordinator

These projects are featured in their own sections, along the right navigation panel of this site.

3.  Interest Committees and other projects
Our ever growing and changing list of active committees makes for a broad opportunity for involvement by chapter members.  Interest Committees are formed when any person or group wishes to organize for a special purpose, with Board approval.  Currently, these include the following:

  • Amphibians, Katherine Bedrich, chair
  • Bats, Cindy Bolch, chair
  • Birding, Ann Collins, chair
  • Entomology, TBD, chair
  • Fish, Sue Taylor, chair
  • Horned Toad, Lucy Coward, chair
  • Lichens, Phyllis Shuffield, chair
  • Mammals, Katherine Bedrich, chair
  • Native Plants, Open, chair
  • Public School Education, Toni Lafferty, chair
  • Photography, Don Travis, chair
  • Vegetable Gardening, Derrellene Zbikowski
  • Wildflowers, Debbi Harris, chair
  • Rockdale Forums, Paul Unger, chair
  • Trees, Paul Unger, chair
  • Highway Cleanup, Connie Roddy, chair

These committees can make up the heart and soul of our chapter, encouraging involvement and sharing in like interests.  Lots of fun to be had!

4.  State Master Naturalist, Master Gardener, and other Parks and Wildlife or AgriLife Extension projects may also qualify.
Just send a query to the Volunteer Projects Coordinator to find out!  Ones already included are all the Nature Tracker programs – mussels, horned lizards, etc.

Now, if you can’t find enough hours in the above projects and committees, well, I guess you are just not trying very hard!  :-D   Don