Evolution of a Texas Master Naturalist – Jan Redden won the third place award in the 2008 State TMN Meeting Art Contest with this entry.
Untitled Poem
By Linda Kay Behrend
Texas Master Naturalists, Class III—all sitting around tables;
Visiting members of the last class sit on the outside of this formation.
Deja vu: The outsiders formed the formation the same time last year.
This Class III sit relaxed,
Having made the major commitment in time and money
To learn ecosystems, flora, fauna, insects, birds, mammals, reptiles—
The importance of balance.
Each one of Class II can pick a counterpart in Class III.
More people with each class each year gain awareness into “Knowledge is Power”—
Only if it is used.
Knowledge to touch, smell, taste, feel—
Making it personal must be processed and returned to pass on to the next naturalist class,
To the public education, to work on restoration of native balance of wildlife.
The range expert emphasizes change’s impact,
Reverberations of bad management, mainly.
“Every plant is attached to several animals.
Every animal has several plants attached to it.”
Barron Rector, TAMU professor and TMN guru
Balance in all of life—that is the fulcrum.
