Resources


For more information about the East Texas Chapter venue for meetings visit the Discovery Science Place website. Science is their middle name.

Organizational Links

Texas Master Naturalist

Agri-Life Bookstore

Recycle guide

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department

Bat Conservency 

Native Plant Society

Texas Nature Conservation

Texas Invasivies

 

Useful Apps and Tools
Oh, Ranger – ParkFinder! Find the parks nearest you with the activities you want to do. Incorporates a comprehensive database of every national park, state park and federal public land in America.  . Texas Range and Pasture Plants: Field guide provides a valuable resource to understand, study, use, protect, and appreciate key range and pasture plants of Texas.  .
All Trails: Browse through over 40,000 high-quality trail guides for outdoor activities including everything from hiking and mountain biking to fly fishing and snowshoeing.  . Audubon Nature – Texas: Learn to identify everything from birds and fishes to spiders and sea creatures with professional photographs, bird songs, range maps and more..  .
Star Walk: Star Walk enables you to point your iPhone at the sky and see what stars, constellations, and satellites you are looking at in real-time.  . iBird Explorer South: Search by shape, size, habitat, color, family, song, length, weight, flight pattern wingspan, and much more.  .
Leafsnap: This free mobile app uses visual recognition software to help identify tree species from photographs of their leaves.      

Nature Calls – Outdoor Classrooms, fun ideas, projects, play, etc.

Texas  State Strategic Plan — http://txcinc.wordpress.com/about-us/stateplan/
 
Texas Children in Nature — http://txcinc.wordpress.com/
 
Green Ribbon Schools – http://www.greenribbonschools.org/
 

Restore Active Play and Learning in Nature for Texas Children — http://txcinc.wordpress.com/2012/07/23/estore-active-play-and-learning-in-nature-for-texas-children/

National Wildlife ..http://www.nwf.org/What-We-Do/Kids-and -Nature Programs.aspx

Nature Rocks — http://www.naturerocks.org/
 
Project WILD – http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/calendar/project-wild-growing-up-wild-workshops — List of  Project WILD workshops
 
Everything below is found at  http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us
under Kids or Learning
 
 
General Information
  • (PDF 363.9 KB)

Outdoor Kids Journal

  • (PDF 872.7 KB) (prints as 4.25″ x 5.5″)

Arts and Crafts Animal Masks

  • (PDF 213.3 KB)

Naturalist’s Activities for Kids

Pottery Reconstruction Puzzle
Students will reconstruct a pot and learn to: Match pieces according to their provenience (location within the archeological grid) and characteristics of the pieces; Describe the vessel’s attributes once it is reconstructed.

Draw Your Own Rock Art
Students will draw their own rock art and learn to: Interpret the images of others; Express ideas and communicate through illustrations.

How to Make a Plant Press
Step by step instructions for creating and using a plant press to dry plant specimens.

Analyze a Picture
Learn the difference between fact and inference by interpreting photos.

Nature Calls
Reference Sites

Nature is calling students of all ages to aspects of outdoor education from
bees, birds, bats, to plants, gardens, and ecology in this the outside classroom that surrounds us.
Let us learn more about Nature Calls!
Ranger Rick Goes Digital
     Interactive Magazine for Kids
.		 http://www.nwf.org/treehouse
 “WFSCAgriLIfe” Youtube Channel from The Wildlife and Fisheries Unit of
Texas A&M AgriLIfe Extension
.		 http://www.youtube.com/user/WFSCAgriLife
Top 100 Forestry Resources
See the forest for the trees
.		 http://forestrydegree.net/top-100-resources/  
Volunteer “Citizen Scientists“
Detect invasive species and Report
.		 www.texasinvasives.org/invaders/
www.invasives.fws.gov/
Copperhead Snakes
All you ever wanted to know
.		 http://www.copperhead-snake.com/
National Phenology Network of Citizen Scientists
Collect observations of plants and animals that interest you and report them to a national database.
.		 www.usanpn.org/participate
 Hawk Watch   Comparing hawk numbers from year to year reveals trends that offer insight into the well-being of the environment in both the breeding and wintering areas.
.		 http://www.hawkwatch.org/
 

Nature Calls
Annual Events

Nature is calling students of all ages to aspects of outdoor education from
bees, birds, bats, to plants, gardens, and ecology in this the outside classroom that surrounds us.
Let us learn more about Nature Calls!
 ……………………………………..  
Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC)
Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Participants may count as littleas fifteen minutes a day or all day for four days. “It’s free, fun, & easy — and it helps the birds.”
.		 http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc 
Volunteer “Citizen Scientists“
Detect invasive species and Report
.		 www.texasinvasives.org/invaders/

Geocaching at Texas State Parks – A treasure hunt using GPS or app on smartphone.

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 http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/activities/outdoor_recreation/geocache/

Bat Research Annual Internation Conference (August).

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Annual Monarch Migration (Fall & March)
Journey North is a free Citizen Science Project to Observe and Report each week Monarch sightings.

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 http://www.learner.org/cgi-bin/jnorth/jn-sightings

The Odolympics – This annual citizen science event that focused on expanding the understanding of the distribution, biogeography, biodiversity, and identification of Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) in the Western Hemisphere. (Fall)

Smith County Odonata Last Edit 9-6-2024

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 https://www.odonatacentral.org/#/
 

Nature Calls
Projects
Birdhouse Building Guidelines – Instructions. http://www.birdsandblooms.com/Backyard-Projects/Birdhouses/Birdhouse-Guidelines/
Four-Chamber bat Nursery House – The Bat House Builder’s Handbook plans -instructions. http://www.batcon.org/pdfs/bathouses/FourChamberNurseryHousePlans.pdf
Benefits of Planting Native Trees, Organic Gardening Native trees can cope with native pests. http://www.organicgardening.com/learn-and-grow/trees-organicgardens
Earth Watch – The coolest space and science facts! http://www.youtube.com/spacelab?feature=inp-hp-space 
International Observe the Moon Night (Sep) – Join Amateur & Professional Astronomers under the moon. https://moon.nasa.gov/observe-the-moon-night/about/overview/ 
Native plants in your yard helps wildlife  – Learn some of the top native plants for your area http://blog.nwf.org/2012/09/learn-the-top-native-plants-for-your-backyard/
   
 

Nature Calls
Information
The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center/
Native American Seed Grants K-12
.		 http://www.wildflower.org/wildflowers/
 Nature Play Home Guide –  NWF & Natural Learning Initiative on how to create simple nature play spaces in domestic outdoor spaces
.		 http://www.nwf.org/Home/Get-Outside/Be-Out-There/Why-Be-Out-There/Policy/Natural-Play-Areas.aspx
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