Past News & Events

Sign up for the State of the Prairie Conference Now!

JOIN US FOR THE 3RD ANNUAL STATE OF THE PRAIRIE CONFERENCE BUILDING PRAIRIES FROM YOUR BACKYARD TO THE BACK 40 NOVEMBER 18-19 IN HOUSTON!

Coastal Prairie Partnership and Native Prairie Association of Texas are proud to announce the 3rd Annual State of the Prairie Conference to be held in Houston, TX from Nov. 18-19 at the Houston Zoo’s Brown Education Center, followed by field trips to prairie remnants all over Houston. Each year this event attracts the sharpest minds in prairie conservation from Texas, Louisiana, and the Midwest to spark lively conversations and provide practical, real-world solutions to restore, conserve, and educate about local prairies for multiple uses.

We’ll have presentations and field experiences that focus on prairies and cattle production, landscaping with prairie natives, ecotourism, biodiversity, prairie wetlands and more. So if you are a rancher, conservationist, landscape architect, educator, naturalist, or just curious about building build prairies in rural or urban areas, this event is for you!

What: 3rd Annual State of the Prairie Conference
When: November 18-19, 2011
Where: Houston Zoo’s Brown Education Center - November 18. Various locations around Houston - November 19.
How Much: $50 for indoor session at Houston Zoo (student rate available) on November 18 and $10 - $25 for November 19 Field Experiences.
Registration: Full details and registration available at www.coastalprairiepartnership.org

 

Tandy Hills Litter Stomp and Creek Bed Exploration

Don Young writes:

The 1st Neighborhood FALL LITTER STOMP
Saturday September 17th, 9am to 12pm

We have an amazing opportunity RIGHT NOW because the drought has dried up the creek. That means, we can walk the creek beds (neat!) and clean up the cups, cans and crud that will (when we eventually get rain) be washed all along the creek’s path through THNA and into the Trinity River.

WHEN & WHERE:
Meet at Stratford Park picnic table at 9:00 AM this coming Saturday, September 17. 2288 Chelsea Road @ 4000 Meadowbook Drive. Park on Chelsea Rd.  (Stratford Park is on the eastern border of Tandy Hills)

WHAT:
Spend the morning adventuring and making a difference.
It will be fun, and you’ll see bits of the Natural Area that you have possibly never seen before.

BRING:
The City of Fort Worth is providing Bags, Gloves, and a couple of “Little Grabbers”.
If you have Gloves or Grabbers, you may want to bring them along.

WHAT’S IN IT FOR YOU?
A tee-shirt!
A Certificate of appreciation (woo!)
And a sense of accomplishment on your next visit to Tandy Hills/Stratford Park.

RSVP & ADDITIONAL INFO:
Contact: Jen Schultes
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Official city web page

Travis Country Prairie Campaign Underway! Pledge Your Support Today!

With your help, we can save a remnant prairie in the heart of Austin!

    The Native Prairies Association of Texas has launched a pledge campaign to purchase a 12.45 acre remnant prairie in Travis Country; located in south Austin and one of Austin’s first green developments.  This excellent example of remnant savanna grasslands is currently owned by AISD but is in imminent danger of being sold for development.  Urban representations of this ecosystem are rare and necessary to water quality, habitat, and would provide a great outreach-educational opportunity.  Please help preserve this example of one of the most imperiled ecosystems in Texas!  Click the following link for more information and a printable pledge card:

http://traviscountryprairie.blogspot.com/

NPAT Houston Chapter Meeting - August 24th

Hello Houston Area Prairie Enthusiasts,

Summer vacation is about to come to a close and it is time for our next HNPAT meeting.  Our meeting is the same time and place, August 24th at 6:30PM to 8:30PM, Bayland Community Center, 6400 Bissonnet, Houston, Texas.  Jaime Gonzalez will be our guest speaker with important information on how our organization can cooperate and work with the Coastal Prairie Partnership and an update on what this organization is currently doing.  Please come and support efforts in the Houston Area to preserve, restore and educate about our coastal prairies.  There are many important events coming up including the CPP/HNPAT conference in November, the NPSOT conference in Houston and Prairie Heritage Day in November.  Come and find out how you can volunteer and help with these events. 

Remarkable Riparian Summit - Oct. 6th, San Antonio, TX

Where:
Blue Star Contemporary Art Center
116 Blue Star
San Antonio, TX 78204
Driving Directions

When:
Thursday, October 6, 2011
9 AM to 4 PM CDT

Mark your calendar to join us for a gathering of passionate riparian people!  The Remarkable Riparian Summit presents a new opportunity to Map the Future for Functional Creeks & Rivers in Texas.

Hosted by the Nueces River Authority (NRA), the Summit will kick off with presentations by the National Riparian Service Team who will focus on the importance and ecological values of riparian resources, share their experience from other states, and provide an overview of the riparian movement shaping up around the country.

Sky Jones-Lewey, NRA’s Resource Protection and Education Director, will highlight the Riparian Landowners’ Network program with an overview of the principles and practices that led to a successful effort in the Nueces River basin.

Following a provided lunch, the afternoon will center on facilitated roundtable discussions that will contribute to the development and growth of a thriving riparian movement in Texas. The resulting ideas, strategies and actions will be compiled in a proceedings document for distribution to agencies, educational institutions, and policy-makers around the state.

The Remarkable Riparian Summit is a free event thanks to our sponsors:  Dixon Water Foundation, Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, River Systems Institute at Texas State University, LCRA, SARA, GBRA, Guadalupe Blanco River Trust, John Newman Family Charitable Trust of the San Antonio Area Foundation, Shield-Ayres Foundation, Save the Laja, Inc. honoring Susan Porter Smith, Braun & Gresham, Land Water Sky, Texas Riparian Association and Hill Country Alliance.

The event is free, but space is limited.

Be Remarkable & Register Today.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER!

By Popular Demand:
Riparian Workshop on Oct 5

If you’ve been unable to attend one of NRA’s Riparian Work-shops or simply want to hone your riparian understanding, the San Antonio River Authority is hosting a special one-day workshop presented by NRA’s riparian teaching team. The workshop is Wed, October 5, 9 am to 4 pm, in the SARA Board Room, 100 E. Guenther, SA 78204. Click here to register for this pre-Summit workshop with Laura Waldrum, SARA Community Relations Coordinator.

One-Hour Webinar

Another way to brush up on riparian principles and values is through a one-hour webinar, Understanding Your Remarkable Riparian Areas led by Sky Jones-Lewey, part of Texas Wildlife Association’s Wildlife for Lunch webinar series. Click here to view the webinar.

PROJECT BLAZING STAR WORK DAYS SLATED FOR JULY 16 (Houston - Hermann Park)

What: Whistlestop Prairie Work Day
When: July 16th, 8am - 11am
Where: Whistlestop Prairie, Hermann Park, Houston, TX

Chris Gray, Texas Master Naturalist, will lead volunteers in a work day at the Whistlestop Prairie in scenic Hermann Park this Saturday, July 16th from 8 am - 11 am. This work day is part of Project Blazing Star, a project focusing on restoring three locations in historic Hermann Park.  Volunteers are needed to remove invasive species from this new, highly visible pocket prairie. Volunteers are encouraged to bring their own gloves, water, and hat.

PRAIRIE RESTORATION AT HOUSTON AUDUBON’S HORSESHOE MARSH ON JULY 21 (Bolivar Peninsula)

What: Horseshoe Marsh Bird Sanctuary Work Day
When: July 21st
Where: Horseshoe Marsh Bird Sanctuary, Bolivar Peninsula (see below for sanctuary and meeting location)

Tom Solomon and other Texas Master Naturalists will lead a July workday at Horseshoe Marsh Bird Sanctuary near Port Bolivar (about 3 miles north of the ferry on the west (left) side of Route 87) from 9 am to noon on July 21. Sandwiches will be available before the ride home.

Volunteers will leave from southeast Houston by carpool from Home Depot (El Dorado & I-45) departing promptly at 7:30 am traveling to HEB (Texas 646 and I-45) where we will depart at 7:50 AM.  Activities will include planting a small quantity of 1-gallon containers in fairly sandy soil using watering protocol.  The major activity will consist of bumping up seedlings into 1- gallon containers in preparation for a fall planting. This will be accomplished on tables underneath tents to minimize sun exposure.  Please contact Tom Solomon if you plan to attend so sufficient materials (as well as food) will be available.

America’s Grasslands Conference - August 15 - 18

The National Wildlife Federation and South Dakota State University are pleased to announce our upcoming conference: “America’s Grasslands: Status, Threats and Opportunities,” to be held in Sioux Falls, SD August 15-18. The conference will bring together biologists, policy experts, ranchers, federal and state agency staff, representatives of elected officials, and conservationists for a two days to discuss the latest information on the status, threats and opportunities related to North American grasslands in order to raise the national profile of this endangered ecosystem and inform those interested in developing a roadmap for its conservation. The event will be immediately followed by a “Grasslands Policy Summit” on August 18th sponsored by the National Wildlife Federation, Ducks Unlimited, The Nature Conservancy, and World Wildlife Fund.

The conference starts on Monday afternoon, August 15th, with an optional field trip to EcoSun Prairie Farm and an evening welcoming reception at the Sheraton Conference Center in Sioux Falls.  Tuesday and Wednesday are dedicated to a series of symposia discussing selected topic areas, including grazing and grasslands, grassland restoration and management, energy development, climate change and grasslands, and federal policy. The conference will be followed by a policy summit on Thursday, August 18th.  The goal of the policy summit is to brainstorm strategies to elevate national interest in and conservation of North American grasslands.

For more information about this conference, CLICK HERE.

Land Conservation Tools to Aid Farmers and Ranchers - October 21

Who: Connemara Conservancy
What: Land Conservation Tools to Aid Farmers and Ranchers Workshop
When: October 21st, 2011
Where: Family Life Center of the Bonham First United Methodist Church, 200 W. 8th Street, Bonham, Texas 75418

    Texas is losing productive agricultural land, ranches, open spaces and wildlife habitat faster than any other state in the nation.  To help farmers and ranchers keep their land intact and pass it on to the next generation, the Connemara Conservancy Foundation is hosting two “Land Conservation Tools” workshops in North Texas during 2011.  The first seminar was held in Denton on March 4th and was well attended by area farmers and ranchers.  Our second workshop will be held at the Family Life Center of the Bonham First United Methodist Church, at 200 W. 8th Street , Bonham, Texas 75418 on Friday afternoon, October 21st from 1:00 p.m. to 4:30 pm.  Thanks to our generous sponsors, there will be no charge for landowners to attend this workshop.  However, we do request that you pre-register to assure sufficient space and handout materials.

    Many landowners are concerned about conserving those special natural features on their family-owned lands and maintaining the productivity of their properties – even after his or her ownership comes to an end.  They also are concerned with the economics and increasing tax burdens associated with land ownership, including the potential impact of estate taxes on their heirs.  This three-hour seminar is designed to provide farmers, ranchers and other landowners with effective tools and resources to help them deal with the issues inherent in passing family land on to future generations and improving their lands. 

WORKSHOP TOPICS:
•Tools to Aid Landowners in Protecting Their Properties and Saving Taxes
•Conservation Easement Basics: Landowner Considerations and Costs
•Income and Estate Tax Implications of Conserving Land
•USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service Programs
•Landowner Perspective on Donating a Conservation Easement

To register for the workshop in downtown Bonham, please call Connemara Conservancy at (214)351-0990 and leave your contact information, or go online to our “Get Involved - Attend an Event” page at www.connemaraconservancy.org

Urban Wildlife Workshop - June 25th, 10 a.m.; Austin, TX

Janelle Dozier writes:

Birds, Bees, Butterflies and More!
Ever wondered what you could do to attract more hummingbirds to your garden?  Or wondered how you could raise a few caterpillars so your children could watch them transform to butterflies?  Have you ever thought it was not possible because your yard is just too small?

The Mueller Landscape Interest group can help with its workshop about “Tiny Urban Wildlife” this Saturday.  Meet on the lake side of Mueller Central at 10:00 a.m.

Come hear about Urban Wildlife Habitats from James Stewart, City of Austin Parks Department. Learn what our tiny residents need to live, grow and raise their young.  Also learn about special habitat needs exist for butterflies and what you can do to attract these loveliest of neighbors to your garden.

Where:  The native/adapted plant garden behind Mueller Central (facing the lake in Lake Park).  This will be shady!
When:    Saturday, June 25, 10 a.m. - noon

Thanks to Joe Denton for coordinating this workshop!

Page 2 of 7 pages  <  1 2 3 4 >  Last »