Outreach is a primary mission of the Texas Master Naturalist program. Nature offers one of the most powerful classrooms we have, and we’re excited to help our community connect with it in meaningful ways. We aim to inspire a deeper understanding of local ecosystems and the wildlife that depends on them. Our programs encourage curiosity, stewardship, and a lifelong appreciation for the natural world. For the Lindheimer Chapter, outreach is accomplished through supporting community festivals and other events that are nature oriented such as AgriLife Open House, Earth Day, Dinosaur Day at the Heritage Museum, Comal County Fair, and the Monarch Festival at Fischer Park, among others. These take place March – April and September – October. The chapter has developed a series of educational “trunks” (plastic tubs) that are self-contained subject matter and easy to transport to community events. Outreach Nature Trunks 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.
Trunk topics to date:
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
Geology – This consists of poster displays on local geology (no bin).
-
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:
-
Expand trunk materials and topics.
-
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.
-
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 [email protected].