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OUR MISSION
The Texas Master Naturalist mission is to develop a corps of well-informed volunteers to provide EDUCATION, OUTREACH, and SERVICE dedicated to the beneficial management of natural resources and natural areas within their communities for the State of Texas.
VOLUNTEER SERVICE IS THE REASON FOR OUR EXISTENCE
Chapter members must contribute 40 hours of volunteer service annually to retain certification in the Texas Master Naturalist program. Our members make a difference in more than 115 chapter-approved volunteer projects across our ten-county service area and contribute thousands of hours each year towards the preservation of our Hill Country environment. For approved projects, please click here.
What is a Texas Master Naturalist?
Check out this three minute video created by the Texas Master Naturalist – Lost Pines Chapter.
HOW TO BECOME A TEXAS MASTER NATURALIST AND MEMBER OF THE HILL COUNTRY CHAPTER
The chapter serves Bandera, Edwards, Gillespie, Kendall, Kerr, Kimble, Mason, Menard, Real, and San Saba Counties. Our ten-county service region covers 10,651.08 square miles.
The Texas Hill Country is located on the eastern portion of the Edwards Plateau, and is bound by the Balcones Escarpment on the east and the Llano Uplift to the west and north. The “Texas Hill Country” is not a precise geographic area but a vernacular term that describes an area of central Texas, characterized by karst topography with clear rivers, dense vegetation, and pure air.
For information on becoming a Texas Master Naturalist and member of the Hill Country Chapter, click here.
MONTHLY CHAPTER MEETING, WITH SOCIAL TIME
The Texas Master Naturalist, Hill Country Chapter continues to have in-person Monthly Chapter Meetings. Our next Chapter Meeting and Advanced Training session is open to the public and will be held on Monday, October 28th. The meeting is at The GUADALUPE BASIN NATURAL RESOURCES CENTER (GBNRC) Building located at 125 Lehmann Drive, Suite 100 in Kerrville. Doors open at 6 pm for socializing. A short business meeting will begin at 6:30 pm and the Advanced Training session is from 7:00 to 8:00 pm. There is no cost to attend. Our monthly Chapter Meetings and Advanced Training sessions are HYBRID. This means you have the option to attend in-person or via Zoom. Pre-registration is required to attend the chapter meeting session via Zoom. Click the link, shown below, to register.
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEsd-mtrj4jGtxFYzNkQoId0FVA05cYJyEF
The Advanced Training topic is: Biodiversity in the Texas Hill Country
Presenter: Dr. Hillis
Description: Back by popular demand! Dr. Hillis’ talk to our 2024 Class was a barnburner so we are very pleased to welcome back to speak to our Chapter meeting. Dr. Hillis talk will discuss some of the unique aspects of biodiversity in the Texas Hill Country, why this region is so diverse, and how we can protect and restore our native plants and animals.
About Our Speaker: Dr. Hillis is a research biologist with more accolades than I can fit in this invitation. He is best known for his studies of molecular evolution, phylogeny, and vertebrate systematics. He created the popular Hillis Plot depiction of the evolutionary tree of life. His full professional biography can be found on the UT Austin website at https://integrativebio.utexas.edu.
The item that I find most interesting is that he has several species of reptiles and amphibians named in his honor – Hillis’s Dwarf Salamander, (Eurycea hillisi), from the southeastern United States; Hillis’s Stream Treefrog (Hyloscirtus hillisi), from Ecuador; Hillis’s Bush Frog (Raochestes hillisi), from China; Sticklizard (Pholidobolus hillisi), from Ecuador; and the Acapulco Leopard Frog (Rana hillisi), from Mexico.
Dr. Hillis is originally from Denmark. He has a ranch in Mason County called the Double Helix where he has worked since the 1990’s to restore the natural beauty and diversity of his land.
His recent book, Armadillos to Ziziphus, A Naturalist in the Texas Hill Country, is available from the UT Press and other online retailers. https://utpress.utexas.edu/9781477326732/ The UT Press description of the book: “Featuring short nontechnical essays accompanied by vivid color photos, Armadillos to Ziziphus is a charming and casual introduction to the environment of the region. Whether walking the pasture with his Longhorn cattle, explaining the ecological significance of microscopic organisms in springtime mud puddles, or marveling at the local Ziziphus (aka Lotebush, a spiny shrub), Hillis guides first-time visitors and long-term residents alike in an appreciation for the Hill Country’s natural beauty and diversity.“
Dr. Hillis will have copies of his book available for purchase at our meeting.
The September Advanced Training presentation is available on our Facebook and YouTube channel. We are working to provide Facebook Live and hope it becomes available with the October meeting.
Disclaimer: This meeting is NOT endorsed by GBNRC.