The Botanical Research Institute of Texas, or BRIT, is located in Fort Worth, adjacent to the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens. The sleek, LEEDS-accredited building has been in operation since 2011. Herbaria are the places that plant specimens are compiled and maintained. Collecting and keeping specimens of plants, which are pressed, dried, labelled, and mounted on…
Trip to Botanical Institute of Texas
Members of our BPTMN Chapter visited the Botanical Research Institute of Texas (aka BRIT) in Fort Worth. BRIT houses several herbariums (collection of dried plants), seed bank, botanical art collections, children/ adult classes, educator programs and more. Visit their site to learn more and support this valuable resource. http://www.brit.org/
iNaturalist bioblitz commemorates Texas Native Plant Week
Since 2009 the Texas legislature has designated the third full week in October as Texas Native Plant Week. This year we have partnered with Texas Parks & Wildlife and Texas Agrilife Water University to celebrate Texas Native Plant Week with an iNaturalist Bioblitz. The point is to see how many plants can be observed using…
North Texas Ecology Course Creates A Team Of Master Naturalists
Check out KERA’s Miguel Perez article on our 2019 Blackland Prairie Master Naturalist Class. Hear our very own Greg Hayden share his story of why he became a Master Naturalist.
Master Naturalist vs. Nature – A Book Review
By Lisa Runyon While snuggled in our cabin on New Year’s Day, our son asked what books my husband and I read last year. It took some time to recall all the titles, but I finally had my reading log. Then I reflected on the question I asked my students as they looked at their…
Hiking the Trail Between the Lakes
by Ron Bamberg I recently completed a backpacking trip on The Trail Between the Lakes, a 28-mile track that connects Lakes Sam Rayburn and Toledo Bend in deep east Texas. Toledo Bend straddles the Texas-Louisiana line and is formed on the Sabine River. Sam Rayburn, to the west, is formed by the Angelina…
Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge – After The Flood
by Laurie Sheppard May, 2017 marks two years since heavy rains caused damaging flooding at Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge and other parts of north Texas. By May 10, 2015, many roads on the refuge were impassable and public access was curtailed. Ultimately, 9,000 of the refuge’s 11,320 acres were under water. It was August before…
Don’t Encourage Mosquitos!
Mosquitos carry and spread diseases such as Zika, West Nile and Chikungunya They lay their eggs on surfaces of containers that fill with water and on standing water itself. Female mosquitoes rest on walls and in vegetation. Trim bushes, trees and grass. Dump standing water Keep screens on doors and windows intact to keep mosquitos…
Bird Brains – A Book Review
by Lisa Runyon This is not a book review of David Welky’s A Wretched and Precarious Situation: In search of the Last Arctic Frontier. I carried that beast to my hotel room every night on my spring break trip through south Texas’ World Birding Centers, fully intending to read and write a review for this…
The Mammoths of Texas
by Patti Tuck On July 10, 2015, President Obama signed an Executive Order designating the Waco Mammoth National Monument! A new national park in Texas and it is just down the road! The Waco Mammoth site “possesses exceptional value or quality in illustrating a natural theme for scientific study and retains a high degree of…