Happy New Year! – BPTMN Chapter Members,
This newsletter aims to provide you with your first Bi-weekly Chapter News update. Expect an email to remind you of a recent newsletter published on our chapter website after the monthly chapter meeting and during the last week of the month.
You can access our latest bi-weekly newsletter by direct link https://txmn.org/bptmn/newsletters/
OR from our Chapter’s Home Page at bptmn.org,
click on the “Blackland Prairie Newsletter” image.
This bi-weekly newsletter will provide:
- Upcoming Advanced Training (including online Deep Dives and #TMN Tuesdays)
- Upcoming Volunteer Opportunities
- Review of the President’s chapter business portion of the recent meeting
- Membership Report
- Important Milestone Achievements, Initial & Re-certifications
- Field Badge Order Form
- Help Wanted
- From the Desk of the Membership Director – Get your 2023 Hours in!
- From the Desk of the Treasurer – Membership Dues!
- Advanced Training recordings
- Last Chapter Meeting recording
- Membership Directory Updated
- New chapter website blog posts (including Shaking the Trees articles)
– Food Instincts of the Orange-crowned Warbler by Balaji Devarajan - Next month’s Chapter Meeting information – it’s our own Chris Ulch, Class of 2022
- TMN State Program Updates – including a new #TMNTuesday Mini-Series
- Chapter Advisor – A new advisor, Dr. Curtis Jones
- Chapter Partners
If chapter members need to share information in the bi-weekly newsletters,
please send your requests to communications@bptmn.org.
Looking forward to a beautiful 2024!
Michelle Connally
Communications Director
Blackland Prairie Chapter
Upcoming Advanced Training Opportunities
January 13 – AT – Bluebirds with Kathy Whaley Friends of Hagerman Second Saturday Program
January 20 – AT – Trees of Harold Baccus Park: Trail Walk
January 23 – AT – Acoustic Monitoring of Texas Bats: A Service Project for TMNs.
January 25 – AT – Play Frisco – Texas Stream Team Training
Upcoming Volunteer Hours Opportunities
Check out our Calendar for more details. – https://txmn.org/bptmn/events/month/
Our Partners Bob Mione at Connemara and Lorelei Stierlen at Blackland Prairie Raptor Center need help every weekday.
Volunteer with Rick Travis at Frisco Parks several times a month.
Volunteer with Dave Powell with Erwin Park on Mondays and Wylie Prairie on Thursdays.
Volunteer with Tom Shackelford at Clymer on the 1st Thursday or 3rd Wednesday workdays.
Volunteer with Angela Lewallen at LLELA Stewart Creek on 1st Saturday workday
Chapter Meeting Summary
We had over 150 people attend our January meeting, over 75 In-Person and 78 via Zoom!
Chapter Business
The 2024 Board Members at your service!
(list can also be found in the Members Area of the website)
Direct Link – https://txmn.org/bptmn/member-resources/members-area/
President – Rick Travis
Vice President – Stephanie Cleveland
Secretary – Michelle Norris
Treasurer – Linda Nixon
Communications Director – Michelle Connally
Community Engagement Director – Marla Layne
New Class Director – Lisa Travis
Membership Director – Paulette Platko
VHAT Director – Heather Fell
Class Representative – Katie Potter
Immediate Past President – Mike Roome
State Representative – Dave Powell
How did we do in 2023?
- Resurrected the Stream Team! for more information – vickis@bptmn.org
- Awarded several grants to chapter projects via our grant program
- Entering 2024 with record high 279 Active/In-Training Members
- Record high of 27K+ Volunteer Service Hours
- Record high 3.5K+ Advanced Training Hours
- Monthly Meetings exceeded 100+ in attendance all 12 months.
Membership Report
December Re-certifications
- Scott Aldrich
- Bryan Beck
- Sam Crowe
- Christina Lane
- Daphne Lynch
- Stephanie Bouillion Mayer
- Catherine Mitchell
- Patrick Patterson
- Tasha Patterson
- Amy Perdreauville
- Mike Roome
- Lisa Runyon
- Karin Saucedo
- Patricia Tuck
- Chris Ulch
- Nick Ward
Milestone Achievement
4000 Service Hours – Karen Spalding-Wright
Class of 2023 Initial Certification – November
- Susan Brummet
- Nicole Cudlipp
- Daniel Miranda
- Ethan Pilarski
Field Badges available for order
Made by Member Scott Aldrich for $3 each, or 2 for $5
2 Styles: With a Magnet or PIN or with a Horizontal or Vertical Slot for Lanyard.
Order and Pay NOW and receive your field badges at the next meeting, or have someone pick them up.
Direct Link – https://txmn.org/bptmn/field-badge-order-form/
The Field Badge Order Form is available on the Members Page –
https://txmn.org/bptmn/member-resources/members/
Help Wanted
Interested in joining the Chapter Grants Committee?
Contact Michelle Norris – michellen@bptmn.org
Interested in joining the group of BPTMN members that engage with our neighbors at various public events?
Contact Marla Layne – marlal@bptmn.org
Interested in Trail Guiding at Plano Oak Point Park?
Wednesdays, Jan 17, Feb 21, Mar 13, Mar 20, April 10 & April 17 from 10 – 11:30AM.
Contact Vicki Hamrick – vlhamrick@verizon.net
From the desk of the Membership Director – Paulette Platko
Be sure to enter your Volunteer Service or Advanced Training Hours in 2023!
You have 45 days from the time of service or training to enter your hours, even when we cross into the new year. For more information – https://txmn.org/bptmn/vhat/
From the desk of the Treasurer – Linda Nixon
Chapter dues now until February 13 Chapter Meeting are $25.
After February 13 Chapter Meeting, dues will be $30.
Members that have not paid by the March 12 meeting will be marked inactive and unable to enter hours.
Active status will be reinstated upon payment.
There are 3 ways to Pay:
- At meetings – cash or check made out to BPTMN – be sure you get a receipt.
- Via U.S. Postal Mail to
BPTMN Treasurer
825 N. McDonald, Suite 150
McKinney, TX 750369
(Postmarked date must be on or before dates listed above) - Via Paypal, link on https://txmn.org/bptmn/ (top right side, $1.50 processing fee included)
Advanced Training Recordings
If you missed any of our recent chapter business meetings/AT presentations, the recordings are available online!
https://vimeo.com/channels/bptmn
January 9, 2024 – Chapter Meeting
2024 January Class of 2023 TMN “Ted Talks”
Katie Potter, presenting “The Power of Paleontology” –
– Katie created a downloadable PDF “A crash course on Fossil Hunting”
– Interested in a NO VH or AT approved Fossil Hunting event? just for fun! Click Here
Imelda Everett, presenting “Medicinal Plants of Texas”
Christina Anderson, presenting “Something to CROW About”
– Want to find out more about Crows? Email Anyanfei1@gmail.com
Linda Barnes, presenting “Fritillary Butterflies: How I Found Joy in the Midst of Grief”
Ren Dowhaniuk, presenting “Highlights of the 2023 Training Experience”
Membership Directory Updated
Go to the Password Protected Members Area and scroll down to view the directory.
Direct Link – https://txmn.org/bptmn/member-resources/members-area/
New Chapter Website Posts from
Current News & Shaking the Trees
Food Instincts of the Orange-crowned Warbler by Balaji Devarajan
Next Chapter Meeting
Tuesday, February 13, 2024 at 7:00 PM at the Heard SRC building and online via Zoom.
2024 February Chapter Meeting with Chris Ulch | Native Tribes of North Texas and their Sustainable Natural World
2023 November Blackland Prairie Chapter Meeting with Kimberlie Sasan | “Galls: Let’s Get Curiously Addicted!”
Kimberlie Sasan, Texas Master Naturalist – Crosstimbers Chapter (Tarrant County, Fort Worth Area)
November 14, 2023 – Tuesday, 7:00 PM – IN PERSON and ONLINE MEETING – CLICK HERE FOR ADDITIONAL DETAILS
Galls are fascinating structures found on a wide variety of plants. These abnormal growths are caused by a range of organisms, including insects, mites, fungi, and bacteria. Galls can vary in size, shape, and color, and can serve a range of functions for the organisms that inhabit them. This presentation will explore the diverse range of galls found in nature, from the simple bumps caused by mites to the complex structures induced by wasps. Join us to learn what galls are, how to identify the organisms that make them, and even how you could find the next undescribed species!
About our Speaker –
Kimberlie Sasan is a Texas Master Naturalist from the Fort Worth area. She started out with a wide variety of volunteer activities, mostly bluebird nestbox monitoring and working with the Botanical Research Institute of Texas, both of which she still does today, but quickly recognized an interest in insects. She completed the Volunteer Master Entomology Specialist class in 2018. She enjoys mothing and traveling across Texas to iNat new flora and fauna. (You might remember her from the Deep Dive on Mothing Identification in July.) In 2022 she described a gall new to science, Druon laceyi, and is excited to share her experience with anyone interested in nature. Kimberlie is also an Herbarium and Research Assistant at the Botanical Research Institute of Texas at the Fort Worth Botanic Garden.
TMN State Program Updates
#TMNTuesdays – https://txmn.tamu.edu/tmntuesdays/
On the Second Tuesday of each month the TMN State Office offers an hour-long #TMNTuesday online presentation.
Check out the #TMNTuesays Mini Series presented by Texas Nature Trackers and TPWD!
If you missed the last #TMNTuesday presentation, click the link above.
And don’t forget, you can log one hour of AT for watching the recorded video!
Chapter Advisor
Dr. Curtis Jones, County Extension Agent
825 North McDonald Street Suite 150
McKinney, TX 75069-2175
curtis.jones@ag.tamu.edu
972-548-4233
Chapter Partners
Blackland Prairie Raptor Center
volunteer@bpraptorcenter.org
https://bpraptorcenter.org/
Connemara Meadow Nature Preserve
Bob Mione | info@connemaraconservancy.org
connermaraconservancy.org/wordpress/meadow-nature-preserve
Heard Natural Science Museum & Wildlife Sanctuary
Laura Ragan | volunteers@heardmuseum.org
www.heardmuseum.org/volunteer
LLELA Nature Preserve
Erin Piper | epiper@cityoflewisville.com
https://www.llela.org/research-restoration/volunteering