Blackland Prairie Newsletter

BPTMN Newsletter – November 16, 2025

Hello Blackland Prairie Chapter of Texas Master Naturalists,

Read Rick Travis’s 2025 Year End Review about our record-breaking 2025, surpassing 40,000 volunteer hours and 4,200 advanced training hours. Our chapter also celebrated a big win at the 2025 Texas Master Naturalists Annual Conference, where Kathy Boys’ Journaling Brochure earned first place for its ability to foster connection and stewardship with nature.

Looking ahead, don’t miss the in-person Blackland Prairie Chapter Holiday Party & Potluck on Tuesday, December 9th—a perfect chance to celebrate the year with fellow members and project leaders. Be sure to CHECK OUT the BPTMN Holiday Party 2025 Sign Up Genius.

Volunteers are needed to bring holiday cheer to LLELA’s Christmas at the Cabin on Saturday, December 13th. Join us on Tuesday, December 16th for a Deep Dive with Dr. Jaime Baxter-Slye, sharing exciting updates from the UNT Ecological Action Studio 2025, including a prescribed burn and plant rescue efforts.

Finally, remember to mark your calendar for the Blackland Prairie Chapter Book Club meeting on Wednesday, December 17th, and please update your contact data immediately to be included in the 2026 Membership Directory.

Have a delightful & delicious Thanksgiving holiday!

You can access our latest newsletter from our Chapter’s Home Page at bptmn.org, click on the “Blackland Prairie Newsletter” image, OR by direct link – https://txmn.org/bptmn/newsletters/

Do you have newsletter feedback or want to help? Send us an email – [email protected]

This newsletter will provide:

Next Month’s Chapter Meeting
Shaking the Trees Member Submissions – Shaking the Trees Newsletter
Past Meetings with Business Slides and Recordings
Past Deep Dives with Handouts and Recordings
Upcoming Advanced Training & Volunteer Hours Opportunities – Member VHAT Calendar.
TMN State Program Updates
Chapter Advisor
Chapter Partners

If chapter members need to share information in the monthly newsletters or provide feedback.
Please send your emails to [email protected].

Michelle Connally
Communications Director
Blackland Prairie Chapter

Next month’s Chapter Meeting information

2025 December Blackland Prairie Chapter Holiday Party

Holiday party table full of chapter members

Blackland Prairie Chapter Holiday Party

December 9, 2025 – Tuesday, 6:30 PM – IN PERSON ONLY CHAPTER BUSINESS & POTLUCK

Blackland Prairie Chapter Holiday Party

December 9, 2025 – Tuesday, 6:30 PM – IN PERSON ONLY CHAPTER BUSINESS & POTLUCK

Join us for an evening of cheer and camaraderie!

We are excited to invite our Blackland Prairie Chapter members to our annual holiday party! This event is In-Person only!

It will be an excellent opportunity to catch up with partners, project leaders, the chapter meeting presenters, deep dive speakers, mothing setup friends, and fellow chapter members to celebrate the holiday season.

We hope to see you there!

When: Tuesday, December 9, 2025, at 6:30 PM
Where: Heard Museum, 1 Nature Place, McKinney, TX 75069
Directions to SRC: Drive through the Heard gates; go past the parking lot and museum building; continue until the road ends at the large white SRC building.

What: A festive evening of food, drinks, and door prizes.
We will have a potluck dinner; the chapter will provide the main dish, which includes a vegetarian option.
Use our Signup Genius link below to RSVP and bring your favorite dish to share.

BPTMN Holiday Party 2025 Sign Up Genius

Contact: If you have any questions about this potluck event, please contact Vicki Sanders at [email protected].

Logging VH/AT:
AT – Attending this meeting is not an eligible AT event because there will NOT be an Advanced Training presentation.

VH – If you have photos of your 2025 BPTMN volunteer service memories, send photos to [email protected]. We will have a slide show running on the projector screen. Up to 1 hour of Time Spent collecting and providing photo details such as When, Who, Where and What can be counted as Volunteer Service Hour.

VH – Are you interested in helping with hospitality, including setup and teardown? Time spent can be counted as Volunteer Service Hours. Email – [email protected] if you are interested in helping.
Donations: Do you have a question about an unwrapped door prize you want to donate? Please email [email protected].