Renee Dowhaniuk, Class of 2023 – Plant bushes, trees, and vines next to your fence to allow the opossum to climb down into your yard for a visit. Once your trees mature, allow some branches with leaves to hang down upon the fence, which will become the opossum’s highway along its nightly route, visiting different yards.
Current News
Kingbird Highway by Kenn Kaufman: A Book Review by the Chapter Librarian
Linder Orourke, Class of 2023 – This story is one long tale of Kaufman’s obsession with birds and the magic he experienced when finding rare ones. Every one of his forays into the wilds of America and Mexico and Canada in search of ornithological wonders was funded by his odd jobs like apple picking.
Thank you! Imelda Everett, HOME Program Leader
We celebrate our Blackland Prairie Chapter of Texas Master Naturalists for National Volunteer Month with a spotlight on our new Project Leader, Imelda Everett of the Blackland Prairie HOME Program. Read more about her latest initiative to provide resources to our home and land owners in Collin County.!
Introducing…the HOME Program
Are you interested in introducing native plants to your yard or attracting butterflies? Would you like to save time and money watering your plants? If so, we encourage you to explore Program HOME.
Thank you! Mary Abercrombie
We are celebrating our Blackland Prairie Chapter of Texas Master Naturalists for National Volunteer Month, starting with Mary Abercrombie, Class of 22!
Rare Coyote on trail cam
Paul Napper, Class of 2015 – Black Coyotes (melanistic) comprise about 5.7% of the coyote population.
The first one I’ve ever seen appeared on my trail cams this year. Over the years, I’ve had many coyotes on trail cams but never a melanistic one. I set up three or four trail cams on deer trails and deer scrapes yearly. The goal is to find where and when the bigger bucks are moving.
Eco Explorers in Frisco & Raptor Center: Girl Scout Program with the Blackland Prairie Texas Master Naturalists
Vicki Sanders, Class of 2022 – Eco Explorers in Frisco and at our Partner Blackland Prairie Raptor Center.
Members this is an excellent opportunity to interact with and encourage Girl Scouts to get outside and learn more about the Blackland Prairie and all its components.
Erwin Park 2025 Prairie in Bloom Guided Tours
Mary Abercrombie, Class of 2022 – These guided tours will highlight Erwin Park’s spring blooms and the role of native plants in water filtration, wildlife support, and air quality improvement, while also emphasizing the importance of preserving our natural greenspaces. I am particularly excited to see the prairie after the controlled burns.
Class of 2025 Week 6 – Topic: Botany Speaker: Dr. George Diggs
If plants are your special interest – you would have loved our Week 6 training class on botany. Dr. George Diggs taught us about coevolution and using a dichotomous key. We’ll also never look at flowers the same way.
Let It Grow
Kathy Boys, Class of 2023 – In April 2020, while in the midst of the pandemic shut down, like many nature lovers, we spent an abundant amount of time in our back yard. One day a stray plant appeared growing in our pot of colorful snapdragons. Being curious, we let it grow, and grow, it did, flowering a dusky pink cluster in late summer. It actually looked ridiculous towering above the snapdragons, but numerous insects fought over this cluster of flowers, so we let it be. While we had no idea what it was, we assumed it was a native plant and had arrived by the wind or via a bird.