Our Tribe’s Fortune 1,000 Hours – Heather Fell

Heather Fell, 2021

I moved to North Texas from Houston in January 2020.  When I missed the deadline for the 2020 training class, I began volunteering at the Heard in the nature sanctuary.  I put in a lot of hours with Dave Powell and Tom Shackelford and they really inspired me to appreciate the native prairies here in a new way.  I knew I wanted to be a TMN but I never would have guessed that prairies would become my passion.  By the time my training class started in 2021, I was also volunteering at Clymer Meadow.  I have been slowly working on a soil testing study between the Heard prairies and Clymer Meadow. We are looking at the major nutrients in the soil, but I will also be testing the stored carbon and  microbial life in the soils.  I realized very quickly that I needed a better way to learn about all the native plants in North Texas.  So, I joined Lu Anne Ray at the Heritage Farmstead Native Garden.  She has been an excellent mentor and friend.  I have always loved monarch butterflies and had my own monarch garden at my home in Houston for over a decade.  So I was thrilled to join Carol Clark’s Milkweed Grow-Out Program. The native milkweeds in this area are so different! With encouragement from Lu Anne and Tom, I recently took on the VH/AT director role on our board. This has been very challenging but also a rewarding experience.  I love being able to support the chapter and work with so many of our members.

“The environmental science students are learning about our rich Blackland Prairie soils, water quality sampling, and forestry.  For the geology students, I am focusing on lime stone outcrops, soil development, and erosion/deposition. I love being out in nature and contributing to the conservation of the Blackland Prairie.  It is great to see the students get excited about the labs at the Heard and I can share some of the knowledge I have obtained through our BPTMN training classes and working with so many of our wonderful volunteers.”

Heather Fell, 2021

I also teach Geology at Collin College in McKinney.  Over the last two semesters, I have been helping pilot a program to get the geology and environmental science students out to the Heard Nature Sanctuary and out of the lab for a day or two.  I love seeing their reactions at actually getting out to do some field work themselves.  The environmental science students are learning about our rich Blackland Prairie soils, water quality sampling, and forestry.  For the geology students, I am focusing on lime stone outcrops, soil development, and erosion/deposition. I love being out in nature and contributing to the conservation of the Blackland Prairie.  It is great to see the students get excited about the labs at the Heard and I can share some of the knowledge I have obtained through our BPTMN training classes and working with so many of our wonderful volunteers. 

I have chosen to stay with the chapter and get more involved in the administration because of all the wonderful people I have met through BPTMN.  I think it is a great organization and I want to support the chapter and help ensure that others can have wonderful experiences with this group too!