Aldo Leopold, The Land Ethic
“When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.”
We are so proud of our Class of 2026 as trainees became Texas Master Naturalists. Our chapter meeting was a gathering of chapter members, graduates and family and friends and all treated to 5 great presentations by trainees, course completion ceremonies and delicious food and cake. Congratulations and welcome to all the newly minted TMNGLCers. May 16, 2026 Training Class Graduation: Rachel Sitka, Lisa Bexley, Ainsley Allred, Pam Heard, Sherri Ahart, Paul Ropshaw, Candice Landry, Kevin Rice, Sarah Williams, President Jeff Post, Nick Balleza, Steve Albert, Susan Patterson, Stacy Cahak, Training Director Connie Shortes, Christine Feehery [also graduated but missing picture, Karen Newton, John Moore].
Meet your Training Director
Connie Shortes is your 2026 training director. Connie is a retired COO of a shared office space company based in Austin. She and her partner Chuck Linton are Class of 2021 graduates and property owners in Fayette county. The training helped them immensely with the important responsibilities of stewarding private land in a way that respects the native flora and fauna of our region. In addition, they formed lasting friendships with other trainees and chapter members. Now, they just want to do their very best for the land in our region. Connie is excited to welcome more partners in that project with the 2026 training class!
Texas Master Naturalist Curriculum
The Texas Master Naturalist curriculum is designed to introduce you to the many disciplines encompassed by the term “naturalist.” It provides a common base of knowledge that each person can build upon through further study and volunteer experience. Although all Texas Master Naturalist chapters use the same curriculum, each chapter customizes its training class to the specific ecoregion in which the chapter is located. For more details on the content of each chapter of the curriculum, click here.
Class Schedule
| Class # | Date | Time | Location | Topic | Chapter | Presenter | Hours |
| 1 | 1/10/2026 | 9:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. | Winedale Historical Complex | Welcome, Orientation, Introductions | Intro | Training Committee & Board Members | 5 |
| 10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. | Historical Naturalists of Texas | 3 | Frank Michel (GLC member) | ||||
| 11:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. | How to Find a Volunteer Project | Jaci Elliott, Project Director | |||||
| 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. | Land Stewardship | 1 | Mark Brown (member project leader) | ||||
| 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. | Ecological Regions of Texas | 4 | Dr. Stacy Hines, Asst. Prof. and Extension Rangeland Habitat Mgmt. Specialist | ||||
| * | 1/17/2026 | Winedale Historical Complex | CHAPTER MEETING | Usually 1 to 2 hours | |||
| 2 | 1/24/2026 | 9:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. | Zoom | Orientation (cont.) – Volunteer Management System (VMS) | Chris Morrison (GLC Membership Director and Training Committee) | 5.5 | |
| 9:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. | Class Presentation | John & Jacquie Pritchard (GLC Members) | |||||
| 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. | Climate & Texas Water Resources | 8 | Dr. B.J. Baule, TAMU, Regional Climatologist, Southern Regional Climate Center | ||||
| 12:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. | Law, Ethics & Regulations | 22 | Natasia Moore, Urban Wildlife Biologist | ||||
| 2:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. | Meet a Game Warden | Shaun Bayless, Fayette County Game Warden | |||||
| 3 | 1/26/2026 | 6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. | Zoom | Tech Tools/Citizen Science | 24 | Lori Buffum (GLC Communications Director and Training Committee) | 2 |
| 7:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. | VMS Training (cont.) | Chris Morrison (GLC Membership Director and Training Committee) | |||||
| 7:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. | Review of the GLC website | Krystyna Westfield (Website Editor) | |||||
| 4 | 2/7/2026 | 9:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. | San Felipe de Austin | Ornithology | 12 | Amber Leung, Houston Audubon Nature Programs Manager | 5.5 |
| 12:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. | Archaeology | 2 | Dr. Sarah Chesney, Archaeologist | ||||
| 5 | 02/09/2026 | 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. | Zoom | Herpetology | 15 | Paul Crump, TPWD | 2 |
| 6 | 02/21/2026 | 9:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. | Nellie Gail Ranch-Bellville | Soils Field Trip | 7 | Nathan Haile, Soil Scientist, Wildlife Habitat Federation | 5.5 |
| 12:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. | Nelsonville Brethren Church-Bellville | Soils | 7 | Nathan Haile, Soil Scientist, Wildlife Habitat Federation | |||
| 7 | 02/23/2026 | 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. | Zoom | Rangeland Management | 20 | Dr. Stacy Hines, Asst. Prof. and Extension Rangeland Habitat Mgmt. Specialist | 2 |
| 8 | 03/07/2026 | 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. | Brenham Public Library | Riparian Ecosystems | 9 | Alexander Neal, Program Specialist, Texas Water Resources Institute | 4.5 |
| 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. | Quebe Farm, Brenham | Riparian Field Trip | 9 | Charlotte Von Rosenberg, Member | |||
| * | 03/21/2026 | 9:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. | Winedale Historical Complex | CHAPTER MEETING | Usually 1 to 2 hours | ||
| 9 | 03/28/2026 | 9:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. | Quebe Prairie, Brenham | Prairie Field Trip | 11 | Will Newman, Coordinating Wildlife Biologist | 5 |
| 12:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. | Brenham Library | Plants/Prairies | 11 | Tim Siegmund, TPWD, Private Lands Program Leader | |||
| 10 | 04/11/2026 | 9:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. | Winedale Historical Complex | Entomology | 13 | Chris Helzer, Prairie Biologist | 5.5 |
| 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. | Insect netting exercise | ||||||
| 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. | Groundwater Conservation & Management | 18 | Claire Marks – Education & Outreach, Lost Pines GCD | ||||
| 11 | 04/13/2026 | 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. | Zoom | Volunteers as Teachers | 23 | Craig Hensley, TPWD, Nature Tracker Biologist | 2 |
| 12 | 04/18/2026 | 9:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. | Winedale Historical Complex | CLASS PRESENTATIONS | 5.5 | ||
| 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. | Mammalogy | 16 | Pamela R. Owen, Assoc Director at Texas Science & Natural History Museum | ||||
| 13 | 4/27/2026 | 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. | Zoom | Geology | 7 | Dr. Carter Keairns, Head Petroleum Geologist, CSV Holdings | 2 |
| 14 | 5/9/2026 | 9:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. | 17 | ||||
| 12:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. | Fayette County Library | Forest Ecology | 17 | Daniel Lewis (GLC member, Texas Forest Service (retired)) | 2.5 | ||
| 15 | 5/16/2026 | 9:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. | Fayette County AgriLife Extension | Graduation & Chapter Meeting | Usually 1 to 2 hours |
Where do I find it on the website?
- Chapter leadership – Chapter leaders can be located on the website under Members Area, Contacts and Communications.
- County contacts – Links to the websites for each of the five counties served by our chapter can be located under Members Area, Contacts and Communications.
- Chapter volunteer projects – Descriptive information about each of our chapter’s approved volunteer projects can be located under Members Area, Volunteer & AT Opportunities, Approved Volunteer Projects. The project leader for each project is listed both on the individual project page and under Members Area, Contacts and Communications. To find volunteer opportunities by date, see the chapter Events Calendar.
- Chapter newsletters – The GLC Tidings is published six times a year in the even months. In the newsletter, you can read member profiles, updates on chapter volunteer projects, member observations, and more. The current and past newsletters can be located under What’s New, Chapter Newsletter – The GLC Tidings.
- Chapter minutes – Minutes of the meetings of the Board of Directors and meetings of the membership can be located under Members Area, Meeting Minutes.
- Governing documents – Our chapter by-laws and other governing documents can be located under Members Area, Documents & Forms
Class Resources
Class #1 January 10, 2026 – Historical Texas Naturalists, Land Stewardship, Texas Ecoregions
Historical Master Naturalists
- Frontier Naturalists in Austin’s Colony (Part 1) (Part 2) – Frank Michel
- Historical Women Naturalists: Remembering Forgotten Pioneers – TMN Tuesday March 2022
Land Ethic/Land Stewardship
- Voices of the Wilderness – Aldo Leopold – YouTube video
- A Sand County Almanac – Aldo Leopold’s seminal work in which his essay “The Land Ethic” appears.
- 2023 Texas Leopold Conservation Award – Brown Ranch presentation video
- Land Stewardship Presentation – Mark Brown
- Land Stewardship and Reading the Land: Tools for Developing a Land Stewardship Ethic – TMN Tuesday November 2022 with Ricky Linex
- Land Stewardship – It Might Not Be What You Think – TMN Tuesday December 2023 with Steve Nelle
Texas Ecoregions
Class #2 January 24, 2026 – Orientation: Volunteer Management System (VMS)
Important Volunteer Resources
Class #3 January 26, 2026 – Orientation: Website, Citizen Science, and TMN Communications
Important Volunteer Resources
Class #4 February 7, 2026 – Ornithology & Archaeology
Ornithology
- Combined bird-related documents/handouts shared to class by Amber Leung
- Bird Basics – An Education Snapshot
- And here is a link to your eBird checklist from the bird walk: https://ebird.org/checklist/S298956692
Archaeology
- Texas Archaeology at a Glance – Dr. Sarah Chesney
- Timeline of Texas Indians – Dr. Sarah Chesney
Class #5 February 9, 2026 – Herpetology
- Houston toad restoration article
- Here is a link to the recording of our herpetology presentation by Dr. Paul Crump. Passcode: ZVW?z!a0
Class #6 February 21, 2026 – Soils
Class #7 February 23, 2026 – Rangeland Management
Class #8 March 7, 2026 – Riparian Ecosystems
Class #9 March 28, 2026 – Prairies and Plants
Class #10 April 11, 2026 – Entomology and Groundwater Conservation and Management
- The Prairie Ecologist – Speaker Chris Helzer’s Blog
- The Ecology and Management of Prairies in the Central United States
Class #11 April 13, 2026 – Volunteers as Teachers
Class #12 April 18, 2026 – Mammalogy
Class #13 April 27, 2026 – Geology
Class #14 May 9, 2026 – Forestry
Class #15 May 16, 2026 – Graduation
Class Presentations
(Email Sheri Wilcox with your preferred presentation date and topic.)
| Date | Name | Topic |
| 4/18/2026 | Sarah Williams | Texas Plant Medicine – Five common species growing around us and how they could be useful to you as medicine. |
| 4/18/2026 | Lisa Bexley | Hummingbirds in Texas – their beauty and amazing abilities. |
| 4/18/2026 | Stacy Cahak | What is Fishing in My Pond? A survey and photo collection from her careful observations of creatures fishing in her pond. |
| 4/18/2026 | Susan Patterson | Vultures – the “ick” and the benefits of these amazing creatures. In some ways, our lives depend on them. |
| 4/18/2026 | Rachel Sitka | The Interconnectedness of Nature – an enjoyable exploration of the various ways all species in nature are connected to each other. |
| 4/18/2026 | Pam Heard | Jackrabbits – What she has learned living with jackrabbit communities on her property, with great photos! |
| 4/18/2026 | Paul Ropshaw | Voles – Understanding this species, important to the native food chain, and how to distinguish them from mice. |
| 4/18/2026 | Karen Newton | Seed Vault – Review of the book Seeds on Ice: Svalbard and the Global Seed Vault, a beautifully photographed and fascinating look inside the effort to save heritage agricultural seeds of the world. |
| 4/18//2026 | Kevin Rice | Fungi – its importance, its mutually beneficial relationship with plants, and its extensive communications network. |
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Example presentation: Mammoths in Texas