Outreach Trunks

Outreach Trunks

Outreach is a primary mission of the Texas Master Naturalist program.  For the Lindheimer chapter, this is primarily through supporting community festivals and other events that are nature oriented.  These primarily take place in March – April and September – October.  To that end, the chapter has developed a series of educational “trunks” (plastic tubs) that are self-contained subject matter and easy to transport.  At this time, the chapter maintains trunks encompassing three well-developed subjects (1-3 below) and two that have been partially developed (4-5).  The three primary trunks are equipped with a binder describing the contents and activities.  There are also books and other visual aids contained within.

The current Outreach Committee consists of Debbie Kyrouac along with two others who are managing the newly added Youth Outreach program.  The new Youth Outreach is taking place at Westside Community Center and consists of monthly nature-themed programs after school.

Trunk topics to date:

  1. Skins and Skulls – There are two bins with an assortment of local mammal pelts and skulls. The bins also include some track molds, artificial scat types, an antler and horn.

  2. Birds and Bird Beaks – There are two bins each having a specific focus. The birds bin has assorted real and artificial bird eggs, assorted bird feathers, Audubon plush birds that sing their song, a bird bone and mammal bone to compare, and an owl pellet dissection guide.  The bird beak bin is designed to be an activity about how bird beaks are like tools.  There are real and artificial skulls as well as the tools and supplies for the activity.

  3. Butterflies, Insects, Pollinators – This topic has expanded into three bins. The original butterfly trunk now includes many other insect specimens as well.  There is a binder with butterfly and moth specimens.  The trunk also has a container with small insect viewing boxes and separate display boxes for larger specimens.  A separate bin contains a game about monarch migration.  The newest bin is focused on pollinators.  It includes artificial examples of the major types of pollinators and a pollinator game.

  4. Geology – This consists of poster displays on local geology (no bin).

  5. Native Plants – There is one bin with two visual activities. One is a game matching plants to seeds.  The other is a flip book about the parts of plants we eat.  There are also several display boxes with ball moss, poison ivy and oak galls.  The bin also has a selection of vials and bottles that can be used to display fresh plant material.

Initiatives for 2025:

  1. Expand trunk materials and topics.

  2. Expand use of trunks to include programs or presentations led by chapter members. Anyone interested in learning more about our trunks and how to borrow them can contact Debbie Kyrouac at the link below.

  3. Further expand the Outreach committee to include individuals running separate festivals and events; a list of which can be supplied upon request. The event lead would be tasked with setting up the booth at the event and being familiar with the trunk activity(ies).
    If you would like to be more involved with outreach, please contact Debbie Kyrouac at lindheimermnoutreach@gmail.com.