Gideon Lincecum Chapter Territory
Gideon Lincecum Chapter Service Projects
Many communities and organizations rely on citizen volunteers for implementing youth education programs; for operating parks, nature centers, and natural areas; and for providing leadership in local natural resource conservation efforts. In fact, a short supply of dedicated and well-informed volunteers is often cited as a limiting factor for community-based conservation efforts.
Our Chapter, named after naturalist Gideon Lincecum, works in our counties providing a cadre of trained citizen volunteers to support these programs through our local knowledge as well as engaging in local projects to enhance environmental education through continuous learning. We also provide volunteers to support the programs and efforts of our sponsors, the Texas AgriLife Extension and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Ongoing activities (listed by county) are briefly described below. Learn more details about our chapter’s service projects in Volunteer Opportunities.
All Counties
Agriculture Safety Days – presenting a hands-on session for programs focused on student safety in interactions with snakes, spiders, insects and other aspects of our natural world
Family Science Nights or STEM/STEAM Events –participating in these district-wide events for several school districts
Prescribed Burning –learning from and working with South Central Texas Prescribed Burning Association
Educational Presentations – chapter members are available to provide presentations to your group on a variety of topics such as “Who are the Pollinators?”, “Designing a Pollinator Friendly Habitat”, “Using the iNaturalist App”, “Bird Nests 101”, and so many more
Austin County
Coastal Prairie Native Seed Project – assisting with maintenance and harvesting at the seed plots
San Felipe de Austin State Historic Site – Supporting the educational outreach efforts at the site by assisting with nature and natural history walks and helping at school group days
Stephen F. Austin State Park – designing and constructing interpretive native pollinator and prairie grass gardens and trails and assisting at educational outreach events
Colorado County
Attwater Prairie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge –helping with habitat restoration, managing invasives, and maintaining a native grasses demonstration plot
Fayette County
Adopt-a-Highway – teaming up for litter control and trash pickup (and recycling) for a stretch of State Highway 159
Fayette County AgriLife Building Landscape –maintaining native plant landscaping at this facility with signage and a field guide
Monument Hill State Historic Site –maintaining native grasses and removing invasive plants
Winedale Historic Complex Trails and Pollinator Garden –building and maintaining paths and pollinator gardens at the visitor center and surrounding the Gideon Lincecum monument
Lee County
Schubert House –establishing and maintaining a pollinator garden to enhance the grounds of this landmark
Giddings ISD – assisting with multiple outdoor educational field days through the school district and in partnership with Lee County AgriLife and Texas Wildlife Association.
Washington County
Brenham ISD Outdoor Education – assisting with multiple outdoor educational programs through the school district and in partnership with Texas Wildlife Association.
Indian Creek Nature Area – establishing pollinator garden and trails in this wooded natural area located behind the Texas Cotton Gin Museum in Burton
Washington on the Brazos State Historic Site –maintaining a Monarch and pollinator garden near the site’s visitor center
Citizen Science and Chapter Support
And when we are not out in the “field” working at one of those projects, we are active “citizen scientists” and busy working behind the scenes supporting the many chapter administrative functions. Here is just a sampling:
- Bird watches and counts
- Rainwater collection reporting
- Invasive plant reporting
- Texas Stream Team
- Butterfly monitoring
- Texas Nature Trackers
- Time to Restore
- City Nature Challenge
- Pollinator Bioblitz
and
- Leadership positions
- Chapter Facebook group moderator
- Newsletter editor
- Website management
- Membership management
- Marketing and publicity efforts
When you join us and become a Texas Master Naturalist, you will find a project or an opportunity or a role that will be just right for you. The possibilities are unlimited.