This page includes links to volunteer activities that aren’t scheduled. Volunteer date and time are arranged by the partner organization and the individual volunteer. For scheduled activities, check out the Heartwood calendar.
New! To submit a potential volunteer opportunity for chapter consideration, please fill out this form.
In-person Volunteer Activities With Heartwood Partner Organizations:
Ongoing trail maintenance along the Spring Creek Nature Trail every Wednesday morning.
Contact: Karastin Katusin
Heartwood has adopted a trail at this Nature Center so ongoing trail maintenance work is needed. Jesse Jones also needs volunteers for their Green House and a group of volunteers for the invasive plant removal.
Address:
20634 Kenswick Drive
Humble, Texas 77338
281-446-8588
RM: J Jones Park & Nature Center
Ongoing volunteer activity to maintain the Forest’s pollinator gardens and tree nursery. Join our work day every Tuesday, except holidays.
Volunteer to remove litter from the forest on Tuesdays and Saturdays. Dates and times will be posted in the weekly Heartwood Bulletin with a sign up link.
New projects just taking root are a butterfly house and a pocket prairie. Bring your ideas and enthusiasm.
To learn more about these opportunities, contact: heartwoodvsp@gmail.com.
VMS code: RM: WG Jones State Forest
Volunteer to lead hikes, man the Nature Center, or help with trail maintenance. Contact Ranger John for access to the calendar to sign up for a slot!
Ongoing Tuesdays 8:30-11:30
Trail maintenance, volunteer work crew and garden group.
For information on volunteer opportunities at Kleb Woods, contact klebwoods@hcp4.net (281) 357-5324
VMS CODE: RM: Kleb Woods
20303 Draper Rd, Tomball, TX 77377
klebwoods@hcp4.net
Mercer Botanical Center (MBC)
We welcome adult volunteers with a strong interest in plants/botany, self-taught or basic botany/natural science training through citizen scientist programs, such as the Texas Master Naturalist or Texas Master Gardener program. Detail-oriented, knowledge of Microsoft Office for online research. Volunteers may work independently or in teams. MBC will announce additional volunteer opportunities for database work.
Mercer Botanical Center is located at 22540 Aldine Westfield Rd., Spring, TX 77373. Other volunteer locations include Mercer Botanic Gardens (MBG) at 22306 Aldine Westfield Rd., Humble, TX 77338 or offsite conservation field sites.Flexible weekday hours: 2 to 3-hour minimum each session. Dates and times must be scheduled in advance with staff at 713-274-4200, after an initial talk with Mercer Botanic Gardens’ volunteer coordinator, Jamie Hartwell, Jamie.Hartwell@pct3.hctx.net, 713-274-4162. On-the-job training is provided by MBC staff. Mondays and Friday work times are possible, but vulnerable to rescheduling due to MBC Staff’s irregular offsite schedules. Once a volunteer is trained, workdays and times Monday to Friday may be flexible, though must be scheduled.
OUTDOORS: 8 – 11 a.m. Varied locations;weather permitting; gloves and tools provided.
Tuesdays & Thursdays: Endangered Species Garden Volunteer: Work alongside horticulturists and botanists on identifying, planting, pruning, nurturing, and weeding plants in the gardens. This garden serves as a training location for the Native Plant Society of Texas Landscape Certification Program. Interact with visitors and nature. Location: MBG, 22306 Aldine Westfield, Humble.
Wednesdays: Conservation Nursery volunteer: Work alongside horticulturists and botanists with rare plant stock for the Center for Plant Conservation National Collection of Endangered Plants https://saveplants.org/; and native plants for educational displays and reintroductions. Location: MBC or Horticulture Propagation Center (HPC), 3602 Hirschfield Road, Spring.
Seasonally – Field Conservation volunteer: As needed. Work alongside horticulturists and botanists for conservation of rare native plants. Assist with monitoring, collecting, land management, and invasive species removal. Locations throughout east Texas.
INDOORS: 12 – 3 p.m.
New project! Herbarium Imaging Equipment Assembly volunteer: Assemble light box from a kit provided by The Botanical Research Institute of Texas for the Texas Oklahoma Regional Consortium of Herbaria (TORCH) National Science Foundation (NSF) herbarium specimen imaging project. Tools and video provided! This light box is essential for imaging and documentation of historical Mercer (MERCA) and Houston ISD Spring Branch Science Center (SBSC) herbarium specimen collections of native Texas and Oklahoma plants for global, online access. Over 50,000 MERCA and SBSC herbarium specimens are maintained by Mercer Botanic Gardens.
Tuesdays & Thursdays – Herbarium Curator volunteer: Organization and detailed filing of herbarium specimens including verifying plant names for long-term management of this historical collection. This work is essential as the basis for the documentation and conservation of rare, native, and exotic plants from MBG, throughout the Gulf Coast area, and international locations for educational and research programs. A weekly commitment is preferred.
Tuesdays & Thursdays – Herbarium Restoration volunteer: Organization, detailed filing, and restoration of herbarium specimens for long-term management of this historical collection. A weekly commitment is preferred.
Tuesdays & Thursdays – Herbarium Specimen Mounting volunteer: Use your artistic ability, attention to detail and patience to prepare herbarium specimens: adhere recently collected plants onto herbarium paper for a permanent record to be used for authentication, additional taxonomic, genetic, ecological, and/or environmental research. A weekly commitment is preferred.
Wednesdays – Engraver/Signage volunteer: Assist staff with the production of aluminum and plastic labels for Mercer educational plant displays. Assist with disassembly and cleaning for recycling sign holders and plastic labels. A monthly commitment is preferred.
Seasonally – Seed Project volunteer: As needed, throughout the year. Clean and prepare seed for long-term storage in local and national seed banks. Assist with germination trials.
INDOORS: from the Comfort of your Home!
Botanical Database volunteer: Dive into local plant taxonomy! Update a flora of Houston checklist using your home computer. Volunteers will be provided with a re-formatted section of vascular plant families from the ‘Checklist of the Vascular Plants of the Houston Area’ created by Houston’s local plant taxonomist, the late Dr. Larry Brown. https://npsot.org/wp/houston/files/2014/08/A-Flora-2.pdf Instructions for updating the document will be provided. Detail-oriented, knowledge of Microsoft Office is required.
May 2022 Anita Tiller, M.S. Botanist, Mercer Botanical Center, Mercer Botanic Gardens
1. Install educational markers on storm drain inlets throughout the Township. Work on your own schedule based on weather constraints. Contact Teri MacArthur in ES to arrange pick up of maps, supplies, and markers at tmacarthur@thewoodlandstownship-tx.gov or 281-210-3928.
A volunteer tutorial on how to install should be viewed in advance on the ES YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ioJl-yvjYA&list=PLik9T8BrmOmzNPiXtRv5zh5uKlgv7LSnr&index=2
2. Educate Township residents about the issue of pollutants in storm water runoff by hanging educational information on neighborhood doors. Can be combined with storm drain marking, or done as a stand alone project. Maps and door hangars can be picked up at Environmental Services by appointment. Contact Teri MacArthur using the email and/or phone number above in Item #1.
3. Want to help reach dog owners directly to spread the word that putting dog waste in the TRASH will help reduce waterway pollutants? Visit Township Dog Parks to provide visiting dog owners with educational information and a carabiner to hang on their dog’s leash so the dog carries home its own poop for disposal! Contact Teri MacArthur using the email and/or phone number above in Item #1.
Join the Invasive Plant Task Force to help eradicate Air Potato and other invasive plants along The Woodlands trails. The team meets monthly at various locations.
Contact: Kathie Herrick at kjgherrick@gmail.com
Ongoing Monitoring / Project Activities
The Adopt-A-Loop program involves documenting wildlife along our designated sites in iNaturalist or eBird. Heartwood’s designated sites on the GTWT are Lake Houston Wilderness Park, W.G. Jones State Forest, Trinity River Bridge-Hwy.19, Huntsville State Park, and Stubblefield Recreation Area. These sites are part of the Trinity Loop and the Big Sandy Loop.
View the Adopt-A-Loop slides to learn more about this project.
Please contact Terri Stinn at tls.vspec@att.net for more information.
Download the Nest watch app, place a blue bird nesting box on your property, upload your nest location onto the app and log your monitoring hours !
VMS CODE FR: Bluebird Monitoring Nest watch: TMN Field Research Hours
Participate in ongoing survey to identify honeysuckle with leaf blight. http://www.inaturalist.org/projects/honeysuckle-leaf-blight-survey
VMS CODE : FR: other partners: TMN/Description: Mapping honey suckle blight
The purpose of this project is to use citizen scientists to determine the attractiveness of different commercially available ornamentals (annuals or perennials) to different groups of pollinators in the Southern USA, namely Texas and Oklahoma. The 2020 Project is complete; the 2021 project is kicking off in March, 2021.
There are three steps to this project:
1. Education: Watch training videos.
2. Evaluation: Complete the quiz with an 80% or above passing grade. VMS code: AT: Texas A&M University AgriLife Extension – specify Pollinator Citizen Science Project.
3. Contribute!
Check out the website for more details:
https://sixleggedaggie.com/research/pollinator-project/
VMS code: FR: Other Partners – specify Pollinator Citizen Science Project.
Collect white oak acorns to improve tree genetics. Read more about this project here.
The following conditions must be met for time entering eBird data to count as service:
1. Provide the following description for reporting eBird hours in VMS: “Texas Master
Naturalists can record hours submitting data into eBird for chapter-approved projects that
meet the definition of formal surveys. When reporting eBird hours, volunteers should be
specific in identifying the project/type of eBirding done, duration, party size, distance
covered, and (when possible) numbers of birds/species detected.”
2. Time spent collecting bird data in a Chapter-approved formal survey should be logged
under a project for that survey and not towards an eBird service project. Generally
speaking, Chapters should not approve casual, or incidental birding activities as a formal
bird survey. Official surveys are activities that have formal protocols that dictate time,
season, duration, location, and methods of monitoring birds. Official surveys may be
national protocols or local projects, but they should always seek to answer a research
question. Generally speaking, formal surveys at the local level are designed and conducted
in coordination with the land manager.
3. If survey protocols do not require/enable participants to log data into eBird during the
survey, one participant from the survey group may collect “eBird service hours” for time
spent entering data into eBird after the event. Generally speaking, this should be no more
than 15 minutes.
4. If participants are conducting non-survey (personal/incidental) birding trips, and choose
to enter data into eBird while they bird, one person per group may code a maximum of 15
minutes of eBird time per trip. Incidental birding can occur anytime outside of focused or
specific survey/project, i.e for personal enjoyment or leisure.
Time spent volunteering on national surveys (including, but not limited to those below)
should be logged under Chapter-approved projects for these specific projects. Time for
eBird data entry may not be counted for these national surveys.
i. Audubon Christmas Bird Count
ii. Great Backyard Bird Count
iii. USGS Breeding Bird Survey
iv. Project FeederWatch
v. Project NestWatch
vi. Great Texas Birding Classic Events
vii. Audubon’s Climate Watch
viii. Audubon’s Hummingbirds at Home
VMS CODE : FR: ebird Monitoring: TMN Field Research Hours
Volunteers Asked to Report Monarch Winter Sightings
Each fall, thousands of monarch butterflies stream across the southern U.S. on their journey to wintering grounds in central Mexico. In the spring, this eastern population of monarchs returns to the U.S. and Canada to breed.
But not all monarchs migrate to Mexico. Some breed throughout the winter in the southern U.S., and scattered reports show that other monarchs might overwinter here in a non-reproductive state.
Researchers and others studying monarchs are seeking more information to understand why and what it might imply for monarchs, a candidate for listing under the federal Endangered Species Act.
For this, they need the public’s help.
In a collaborative effort, Journey North, Monarchs Across Georgia, the University of Georgia and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources are encouraging people to report monarch sightings from December through March in the coastal states of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, and North Carolina.
Join the Effort
Step 1: Create a free account with Journey North at journeynorth.org/reg.
Step 2: Learn how to report monarch sightings at journeynorth.org/monarchs.
Step 3: Submit monarch observations from December–March at journeynorth.org/sightings.
VMS code: FR: Other Partners (Journey North’s Overwintering monarch watch)
Scientists at Texas A&M University, with guidance from the North American Orchid Conservation Center (NAOCC), Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, and the New York Botanical Garden are launching a massive community science project using interval photography to capture rare and unknown pollinator relationships across North America. The goal of the project is to discover and more deeply understand the evolutionary history and trajectory of one of the most speciose groups on North American orchids, Platanthera.
The group is asking the dedicated and passionate orchid, pollinator, and naturalist communities to go out and document their observations. A strategy for pollinator observation has been devised using interval photography and everyday digital cameras, in the hopes that with enough participants around the continent, even the most elusive relationships can be captured. The pilot study will hopefully be launched this field season. If you are interested in participating, feel free to reach out directly or visit the project website for more information. Contact Lydia Morley at Lydia.morley@tamu.edu, or visit the project website at https://platantherapollinators.wordpress.com/.
Migratory birds are dying by the thousands across the southwestern U.S. states. The birds migrate from Alaska and Canada to reach their winter homes in Central and South America. It is not known why this is happening, but there are scientific projects monitoring this across the USA. Scientists are crowdsourcing research and asking citizens to log any dead bird sightings on the iNaturalist website and app on the project titled Southwest Avian Mortality Project.
VMS CODE: FR: Other partners/ Heartwood Master Naturalist ( put in description, INaturalist project/Southwest Avian Mortality Project.)
To learn more about the project go to http://springcreekpatnership.com
VMS Code: RM Other locations: TMN reporting hours (Spring Creek Watershed Project)
Bayou Land Conservancy is looking for Spanish speakers who can lead hikes on the Spring Creek Nature Trail to engage more users on the trail. People only protect those things they love. Creating that bond between the natural spaces and the people who use them will ensure that the trail will have support for years to come. Share your love for the outdoors! Contact Becky Martinez, Conservation Director at 281-576-1634.
The Texas A&M Forest Service is expanding its Urban Tree Improvement Program to include more tree species. They need to collect seed for testing in the urban environment. Ideally, trees would be collected from their natural range in their natural habitat. They received a permit to collect seed from Texas State Parks and Natural Areas.
For more information…
VMS code: RM: Other locations (UTIP Seed collection)
Kelly Norrid, Houston Urban Wildlife Biologist
Kelly.Norrid@tpwd.texas.gov
This is an ongoing project with the possibility of addition training with added participants . Contact Kelly via email if you are interested (this is an awesome project for the early morning walker/jogger) for a list of parks and areas that are the focus for searching and retrieving Coyote Scat. Scat is collected and processed in order to better understand the urban coyotes diet and life
VMS CODE: FR: Other Partners: TMN Field Research Hours (add Urban Coyote in description box)
The Woodlands Watershed Project Committee meets on the first Thursday of each month, starting at 3:30 pm. The Committee reviews, plans and actions water related education and volunteer opportunities in our community. A brief report and informative update is published in The Heartwood Herald following each Committee meeting.
Anyone with an interest in our local waters and associated volunteer work is cordially invited to attend. Please contact Teri MacArthur if you would like to be included in the monthly meeting invitation.
VMS CODE: RM Woodlands Township – Natural Resource Management: TMN Report Hours.
N.B. Tick the box for “Texas Waters Specialist”