| As a Texas Master Naturalist you must complete a minimum of 40 hours of volunteer service a year. We will help you be successful! We have plenty of suggestions and will provide you with monthly opportunities. Please visit our volunteer page for further details on this month’s happenings! Feel free to send potential volunteer opportunities (VO) + ideas to [email protected]. CHIHUAHUAN DESERT RESEARCH INSTITUTE CDRI needs volunteers CDRI will hold its 2nd Annual Seed Swap on Saturday, February 28, from 10:00-2:00. Please contact Lisa if you would like to help organize and set up for the event. [email protected] The Central Texas Trail Tamers will be at CDRI from March 1-7. They will rework a section of the trail at Lions Head Hill and also work on a few areas on Clayton’s Overlook Trail. Work will begin on March 2. This is a great opportunity to learn about trail construction from the best. If you would like to volunteer, please contact Lisa at [email protected]. CDRI’s Cactus and Succulent Sale will begin on Monday, March 16. We will need volunteers to help at the sale. Volunteers won’t be selling. Instead, they will assist customers by answering plant questions and helping them select plants. Please contact Lisa at [email protected] if you have any questions or would like to help. CDRI has several tour groups and school groups from across Texas scheduled for guided hikes or tours from February through April. Please contact Lisa at [email protected] if you are interested in leading a group or learning from our seasoned TGMN volunteer guides. WILDLIFE WEEKEND January 30 – February 1 – join us at the TIERRA GRANDE table! Please join us to engage the public at our table, (Alpine Visitor Center) anytime from 9:00am to noon. Don’t miss this opportunity to get folks excited about natural resource enjoyment and conservation and to provide information about what we do as Texas Master Naturalists. If you would like to help set up on Saturday morning, please contact Warren Shaul at: [email protected] TIERRA GRANDE HIGHWAY CLEAN-UP Tierra Grande Master Naturalist Adopt-a-Highway will take place on Tuesday, February 10 at 10:00am. Please help keep our own strip of the highway clean plus earn volunteer hours in the process. Meet at the sign closest to Alpine, 4 miles north of Casparis Municipal Airport. Questions? Contact Bob Rice – [email protected] BORDERLAND RESEARCH INSTITUTE Water in the Desert 2026 Conference – needs your help at the Registration desk. For more information on the conference see Advanced Training below. This important conference held February 11-13, takes place at Sul Ross State University in Alpine. The organizers need assistance staffing the registration desk for the following shifts: Wednesday, February 11 11:30am – 2:30pm 2:30pm – 5:00pm Thursday, February 12 7:45am – 10:00am 10:00am -1:00pm 1:00pm – 3:30pm To sign up please contact: Christy Muse at: [email protected] DAVIS MOUNTAINS STATE PARK Saturday, February 21, 9-10:30, is our monthly volunteer workday. We’ll be sprucing up our bird blinds. Email me if you’re interested in helping out. We can have lunch at the Black Bear Restaurant afterwards. The Indian Lodge needs a landscaper! We could use someone with a green thumb to nurture the new plants through the winter and develop an on-going maintenance plan. The Pollinator Garden at the Interpretive Center also needs a landscaper. Interested in developing an interpretive program on plants, animals, or anything else relatable to the park? Let’s talk! Contact [email protected] for more information. (432) 426-3337, x2123. BIG BEND RANCH STATE PARK February through March – opportunities to participate in Archaeology Field work. Riverside archaeology field season is running at Big Bend Ranch State Park. There are a range of volunteer opportunities over the season, many of these may alternately be claimed as AT. All interested please contact ‘[email protected]‘. Show “TMNTG Archaeo” in the subject line. Introduce yourself, state any scheduling preferences and give him a brief background applicable to field and/or archaeo work. Barton Warnock Visitor Center could use the assistance of master naturalists in the following ways: Desert Garden Caretakers (weeding, pruning, irrigation control, clearing pathways of debris) Please reach out to Gabriel Pastrano at [email protected] or call Barton Warnock Visitor Center at (432) 424-3327 VOLUNTEER SERVICE DESIGNED BY YOU Volunteer service is key to achieving our TMN mission: “provide education, outreach, and service dedicated to the beneficial management of natural resources and natural areas within our communities.” Typically our partner organizations announce specific dates and times whenever they need volunteers. However we realize not all members are able to participate due to schedule conflicts or other constraints. To further support our mission, members are encouraged to adapt volunteer service opportunities to their individual schedules and abilities. First, check with our partners such as such Davis Mountains State Park, Chihuahuan Desert Nature Center, and Big Bend Ranch State Park – for flexible volunteer opportunities. Several of our members have arranged volunteer service that supports the goals of our partner organizations while accommodating their individual schedules. In addition, members are invited to design their own volunteer service in the surrounding communities such as weeding and watering publicly accessible native plant landscapes and gardens, helping with community recycling, developing/leading natural resource education events for community members/schools (bird walk, pollinator garden walk, public presentations, etc.), and organizing a trash pickup in their neighborhood. On-going opportunities where members can choose date, time, and duration of volunteer service include: In Marfa, Help the Friends of the Marfa Public Library maintain their lovely courtyard. Regular volunteer work includes light weeding, raking and trimming. Contact Niki – [email protected] In Alpine, maintain native plant landscapes and pollinator gardens that are accessible to the public (e.g., weeding, watering, mulching, litter removal, etc.)“The Triangle” (contact Lindsey Bredemeyer – [email protected]) The Railroad Garden (contact Juanita Sabochick – [email protected]) Alpine Public Library and Patty Manning Garden (contact Warren Shaul – [email protected]) Please contact a chapter VMS administrator to be sure the specific volunteer service is consistent with TMN protocol and that volunteer service hours are reported to the appropriate category. Thank you for all you do for our communities! |