Members

Less well known than European Honeybees, Texas’ native bees are nevertheless vital components of a healthy environment, and can provide a new dimension of enjoyment in your home garden. This program will cover basic information on the current challenges all bee species are facing, and the tricks they use to survive natural challenges in Texas’ extremes. Learn why they are important to all of us, facts about gentle solitary native bees and their lifestyles, and photo examples of the many beautiful forms and colors of native bees. We will include tips on what to plant and provide to attract them to your home landscape and help them survive there, and basic identification hints. We’ll discuss simple homemade native bee nest sites and find out how to participate in nationwide citizen science tracking efforts.

Carol Clark is a Texas Master Naturalist, long-time member of the Native Plant Society of Texas, Chair of the Bring Back the Monarchs to Texas committee of NPSOT, and a Monarch Watch Conservation Specialist. She is also a co-administrator of the Texas Native Bee Co-op Facebook page. When she’s not busy teaching others about pollinators or native plants, she enjoys looking after her own colossal Monarch Waystation and private wildlife refuge in Cooke County. She is a frequent speaker on conservation topics around the state.

Creative Members Shaking of the Trees Post Shaking the Trees

Spring Is Coming!

By Sally Evans, Founder and Emeritus

Spring is coming!
Spring is coming, I can tell!
The elm tree buds are beginning to swell;
The willows by the creek have a reddish hue;
And the peach and pear trees have tiny buds too.
The incessant tapping of a woodpecker on a pole or tree
Announces he is establishing his territory.
A Carolina wren begins to build a nest
In a hanging basket – this one is just a test.
Patches of dandelions bloom in some places,
Their tiny ray flowers like sunshine faces;
And their puffy seed heads bow to a breeze;
They all lasted through the snow and the freeze.
I know spring is coming! I can tell!
The young green onions have their onion ‘smell’.
And in my garden which looked all dead,
Two tiny daffodils lifted their heads.
The March calendar announces SPRING IS HERE!
But I already knew that is was near.

Sally Evans 2/25/21

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion ONLINE

Dr. Drew Lanham: On Race and the Environment in the Age of the Climate Crisis

Thursday, February 18, 2021

In honor of Black History Month, join noted writer and ornithologist, Dr. Drew Lanham, along with Derek Sheffield and Dr. Joan Qazi and other members of the WVC Sustainability Committee, for a reading and conversation on the many intersections between race and the environment during this species moment when the life of the planet hinges on the decisions we make today.

Dr. Drew Lanham

A native of Edgefield, South Carolina, Dr. J. Drew Lanham is the author of The Home Place: Memoirs of a Colored Man’s Love Affair with Nature. He is a birder, naturalist, hunter-conservationist, and an Alumni Distinguished Professor of Wildlife Ecology and Master Teacher at Clemson University.

Link to Event Information

https://milkweed.org/event/drew-lanham-at-wenatchee-valley-college-on-race-and-the-environment-in-the-age-of-the-climate

Additional Links to read more about Dr. Drew Lanham

Dr. Drew Lanham, PhD is the author of The Home Place: Memoirs of a Colored Man’s Love Affair with Nature.

https://www.audubon.org/content/dr-j-drew-lanham

Forever Gone

Chapter Meetings Heard

The Heard Gardens: A History of Native Plants in Three Acres or So – Amy Monroy

Tuesday, March 9, 7:00PM

It’s easy today for many Master Naturalists to recognize that the flora of our region are tied to the soil of the Blackland Prairie and the climate of North Central Texas, but this wasn’t always widely taken into serious account in early gardening and even in some restoration attempts. Different factors and forces affected the growing, selling, and use of native plants in Texas. The Heard Museum gardens reflect the evolution of the understanding and use of native plants in Texas. Heard Native Garden Manager Amy Monroy will present a history of native plant use in our area by sharing historic documents and photos from the first plans in 1994 for the Heard’s front gardens to today’s current challenges.

Amy’s Bio: Amy Monroy began volunteering in the Heard gardens and butterfly house in 2014 as a Master Naturalist, and in 2016 raised money for, designed, installed, maintained, promoted and created events and education for the Windmill Garden at Brookhaven College in Farmers Branch. In October 2019 she took over the position of Native Garden Manager for the Heard Natural Science Museum and Wildlife Sanctuary.

AT Chapter Meetings

“From Quarks to You and Me: We are All In This Together” – Ernie Stokely

Tuesday, Feburary 9, 7:00pm
“From Quarks to You and Me: We are All in This Together” – Ernie Stokely

I came to Texas in 1959 with a BS degree in electrical engineering and went to work at Texas Instruments. In 1972 I completed the Ph.D. degree in biomedical engineering from a joint SMU-UT Southwestern program and joined UT Southwestern in the Department of Radiology. During my career in the university I had appointments in computer science at UT Arlington and in biomedical engineering at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where I retired in 2002. My wife and I returned to Dallas to be near our kids and grandkids.

I have always had an abiding interesting in the outdoors and birding. Retirement has given me the chance to return to some of my earlier interests in nature. Going through the training in the master naturalist program has been one of the most fun and satisfying things I have ever done. I can’t wait until we can lead kids on field trips and do group projects again in the field.

Short blurb – The talk will trace the story of the evolution of the universe through the present time, and will tell the story of how we all came to be. The emphasis will be on the need for our own species to be responsible stewards of our planet, and recognize how recent our species is on Planet Earth.

Long Summary – 13.8 billion years ago our universe sprang into existence from a gram of matter into the unimaginably vast universe we have today. While the early expansion of the universe was almost instantaneous, the expansion and the creation of stars and galaxies have continued since that early time. At some point about 5 billion years ago a giant star, our mother star, exploded in our neighborhood of the Milky Way, spewing the debris of the periodic chart out into space. That debris collected and began to form our Sun and our solar system.

Eventually Earth was born, and it wasn’t very long in geological time before we find traces of early life. How did it happen? We’ll talk about that. Life appeared first in the oceans, evolving from primitive single-celled organisms then to invertebrates like coral and jelly fish, and finally to vertebrate sea creatures, the relatives of today’s sharks. Plants arose, first as algae, then eventually plants escaped onto land. The game was on as the march of evolution quickly led to land animals. Over 200 million years ago to the dinosaurs appeared. When dinosaurs died off due to the asteroid strike in the Gulf of Mexico 66 million years ago, the evolution of mammals accelerated. Quickly (in geological time) our genus, Homo, evolved as the most intelligent of the line of primates. In the blink of an eye in time, only 200,000 years ago, our species, Homo sapiens, arose in Africa. As they say, the rest is history.

We now find ourselves overpopulating the planet. We have not always been good stewards of our Planet Earth, with climate modifications due to the burning of fossil fuels, a history of wars between human tribes, global extinction of many of Earth’s species in a very short time, and the creation of large social systems, e.g., economics, that we sometimes do not seem to be able to control. Will we be able to survive as a species without modifying our behavior? Only time will tell the story.

AT Chapter Meetings

BPTMN Chapter Meeting – “North Texas Trees Highly Prized by Wildlife” – Rick Travis

Tuesday, January 12, 7:00pm
“North Texas Trees Highly Prized by Wildlife” – Rick Travis

We’ll take a virtual walk through our North Texas woodlands, focusing our attention on native north Texas trees that are most valuable to wildlife as a haven, food source, and host for reproduction. In our review, you’ll also learn keys for identifying these valuable tree species, their native range, habitat preferences, natural history, and additional values they provide our ecosystems.

Rick owns a Bachelors’ Degree in Forest Management and an MBA, both from Stephen F. Austin State University. With retirement from his business career, Rick is fulfilling a long-deferred desire for involvement in the environmental sciences. He is an active member of the Blackland Prairie Master Naturalist Chapter, a member of the City of Frisco’s Urban Forestry Board, and a volunteer trail guide at several places, including the Heard Wildlife Sanctuary, the Lewisville Lake Environmental Learning Area (LLELA), and Frisco parks and nature trails. Rick is also the Forest Ecology/Trees instructor for the Blackland Prairie, North Texas, and Elm Fork chapters’ new member training classes.

AgriLife Extension Chapter Meetings

Rick Travis – The Junipers of Texas by Chase Brooke

Tuesday, December 8, 7pm Monthly online “Zoom” Meeting

Chase Brooke – The Junipers of Texas

Junipers are a ubiquitous sight across Texas. From the trans-Pecos to the piney woods, most ecoregions in Texas have at least one species naturally occurring within it. Chase will discuss the five most commonly occurring native juniper species in the state, their unique characteristics, how to manage them, and how to identify them.

Chase Brooke is the Agriculture and Natural Resources County Extension Agent with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension in Collin County. In this role, he provides high-impact, research-based information and educational opportunities to residents, landowners, and agricultural producers in Collin County. Chase owns both a B.S. in Spatial Science and an M.S. in Ecosystem Science and Management from Texas A&M University. Chase is a native to the DFW area, and has previously worked in forestry, research, and higher education before starting as a County Extension Agent in 2018.

President’s Slides in PDF covering new COVID-19 Guidelines.

AT Frisco

Linda Nixon – (AT) “Symbiotic Relationships and How to Teach Them” – Dave Powell

Our Chapter member, Dave Powell, is taking his “show” on the road! Dave presented “Symbiotic Relationships and How to Teach Them” at the 2020 Texas Master Naturalist Annual Meeting in October. Now Play Frisco is providing another opportunity for Dave to share this great online presentation with the residents of Frisco and beyond! If you missed Dave’s presentation at the Annual Meeting, here is your second chance to watch and learn!

Program: Symbiotic Relationships and How to Teach Them

Presenter: Dave Powell

Description: Play Frisco and the Blackland Prairie Chapter of the Texas Master Naturalists are thrilled to present the FREE webinar “Symbiotic Relationships and How to Teach Them”. During this fun and informative presentation, you will learn about the concepts of symbiotic relationships in nature through examples found in Texas. What is a symbiotic relationship? It is a close association between members of different species. Viewers will be shown how to teach these concepts to others, making this an excellent learning opportunity for teachers, homeschool parents, and nature lovers. If you cannot make the webinar but want to see the presentation? Let us know and we will be happy to provide you with a recording!

About the Presenter: Dave Powell is a highly respected North Texas science educator and has been a member of the Blackland Prairie Chapter of the Texas Master Naturalists since 2007, where he has held several leadership positions, including Vice President, President, State Representative, and currently resides on the State Advisory Board. He has served as a volunteer Trail Guide for the Heard Science Museum and Wildlife Sanctuary since 2005 and has been a contract environmental educator since 2007. He loves continued learning and sharing his knowledge with others. Dave lives by the motto, “Keeping Nature Real”! Dave recently presented this webinar at the 2020 Texas Master Naturalist Annual Meeting, and Play Frisco is thrilled to offer it to their residents!

Date: Wednesday, December 2, 2020

Time: 1:00-3:00 PM

To Register: Email Kelsey Johnson at KJohnson2@friscotexas.gov

Logging AT: Attending this presentation is worth 2 hours of AT to be logged as AT: BPTMN Other Pre-Approved Training with Symbiotic Relationship Teaching Training in the description box.

Additional Information: Play Frisco Facebook link to the info https://www.facebook.com/events/732824613995420

AgriLife Extension COVID-19 Members

Covid-19 Update for Collin County through 12/6/2020

Collin Country is at Red Level Guidelines through 12/6/20

No face-to-face Extension-hosted or Extension-sponsored events.
No guest speaking or presenting at other entities’ events.
No overnight events.
No travel is approved to these counties.
Essential training related to continuing education and emergency response may be approved by the executive associate director on a case-by-case basis

Please click the button below for more details from the Texas Master Naturalist Program Coordinator.

AT General

Rick Travis – “Introduction to Lichenology” – Manuela Dal Forno

Thursday, November 19, 6pm (only) SPECIAL EDITION online “Deep Dive”

Monthly Deep Dive Sessions

Manuela will discuss the importance of lichens for humans and the ecosystem, as well as tips for identifying different type of lichens.

Manuela Dal Forno is originally from Brazil, where she earned a B.S. in Biology and masters in Botany. She completed her PhD in Environmental Science and Policy in 2015 at George Mason University. Manuela’s work has been focusing on multiple aspects of the evolution, diversity, genome and microbiome of lichens; and since 2019, when she joined the Botanical Research Institute of Texas (BRIT), she has also been studying the local Texas and the southern Philippines lichen “flora”.