Blackland Prairie Newsletter

Season Greetings Blackland Prairie Chapter Members,

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/

This newsletter will provide:

• Chapter business
  • Pay your $25 Dues for 2025!
  • 2025 Membership Directory now published
    
• TMN State Program Updates
  
• Next Month’s Chapter Meeting with Liz Tipps and Scott Aldrich | First Aid
  
• Past Chapter Meeting Recordings
  
• Recent Deep Dive Recordings
  
• Shaking the Trees Member Submissions – Shaking the Trees Newsletter
  
  
  • Paul Napper has earned his 500-Hour Volunteer Service Hour award helping rebuild the small tad pole pond by the Heard’s Butterfly House. Lonnie Schuchart and Paul
    • Our Tribe’s Fortune 500 Hours – Paul Napper, Class of 2015
      
  • And John Garbutt has us thinking about our favorite place as he describes the different birds early in the morning at the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge.
    • A Favorite Place
      
  • Advanced Training from our own Carol Clark this Monday! Monarch Butterflies ‘Train the Trainers’ with Carol Clark – Zoom and In-Person Workshop
    
• Upcoming Advanced Training & Volunteer Hours Opportunities – Member VHAT Calendar.
  Do you NOT see an event that you want considered for VHAT? 
  Fill out the Form, clink on the below.
  VH/AT Opportunity Request Form
  
  • Save the Date!
    
• Chapter Advisor
  
• Chapter Partners

If chapter members need to share information in the bi-weekly newsletters,
please send your requests to communications@bptmn.org.

And to quote Rick. “2025; here we come!“


Michelle Connally
Communications Director
Blackland Prairie Chapter

Chapter Business

TMN State Program Updates

All,
As 2024 comes to a close, we have a few final announcements to share before the holidays:

TMNTuesday 2025:
We are excited to announce the webinar dates for the 2025 TMNTuesdays! We hope you enjoyed our 2024 TMNTuesday lineup as much as we did, and we can’t wait to share all that we have in store for the next year.

TMNTuesdays are a way to learn about top conservation issues of the state, earn advanced training hours, and interact with wildlife professionals from across the state. As webinars are confirmed, details on the speaker, the description of the webinar, and more will be shared on our website, through our email listserv, and on our Facebook and Instagram accounts. Use the registration link to register for our 2025 TMNTuesday dates! 

End of Year VMS Reporting:
As 2024 draws to a close, we have a few reminders for any remaining VMS reporting:

• Report your end of year hours ASAP.​
• All 2024 Reporting closes February 14th (Happy Valentine’s Day!).  ​
• Check/Update your VMS member profile for current contact info. ​
• Chapter Leaders: Update your chapter officers in VMS (Local VMS Admin duty). 

Email Listserv Sign Up:
As training classes kick off in the new year, please remind new members (and old) to sign up for the Texas Master Naturalist Email Listserv! The purpose of the Texas Master Naturalist Listserv is to provide a means of quickly distributing news, announcements, notification of events, grant opportunities, and other items pertinent to Texas Master Naturalist members.

Updates for the 2025 Annual Meeting, TMNTuesday topics, and more will be heard here first! Encourage others to sign up at: https://txmn.tamu.edu/chapter-resources/email-listserv/

Season of Thanks:

The 2024 Season of Thanks campaign is drawing to a close! Keep an eye on socials or check out our website to read the final collection of stories. Thank you to all who submitted their story, and we cannot wait to celebrate again with you next year!

Texas Master Naturalist Holiday Office Hours:

The TMN state office will be closed for the holidays Monday, December 23, to Monday, January 6. We’ll see you in the new year!

Thank you:

Finally, THANK YOU to all of our Master Naturalists for making this a year to remember! From discovering a new wolf spider species to reaching new levels of volunteer hours, this year has been one for the books and we couldn’t have done it without YOU.

Merry Christmas and happy holidays!
-The Texas Master Naturalist Program