Houston Native Prairies Association Monthly Newsletter
Please join us in exploring, restoring, enjoying, conserving, and learning about our local prairies!
Prairie News
Liatris acidota at Becker Rd. Prairie
August 2018 Meeting Notes
Join us Wednesday, August 22 for a program presented by Dr. Wade Harrell, the U.S. Whooping Crane Coordinator at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge – 6:30 p.m., talk starts at 7:00 p.m., at the Red Cross Building at 2700 Southwest Freeway, easy access and free parking!
Dr. Wade Harrell, the U.S. Whooping Crane Coordinator at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, will present on Whooping Crane conservation. As a fifth generation Texan with a passion for conservation, his early years in South Texas afforded him his enthusiasm for wildlife, marine life and ecosystems. He has degrees from Texas A&M-Kingsville and Oklahoma State University. After obtaining his PhD in rangeland ecology in 2004, he returned to Texas and served with The Nature Conservancy for six years. In 2009, Dr. Harrell began work at the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service where he led a team of biologists in restoring and maintaining diverse wildlife habitats.
We have a lot of fun things planned for this year!
SAVE THE DATE and join us on our Fall Prairie Day, Saturday, September 29, 2018.
Saturday, September 29 - Talk on Prairie Plants for Pollinators in the Urban Garden - Join NPAT Board Member Lan Shen to learn how you can incorporate beautiful and resilient prairie natives into your home landscape. Where/When: 2:00 pm at the LaPorte Library, 600 S. Broadway St., LaPorte, TX 77571. Free.
Wednesday, October 17 - SAVE THE DATE - Wild About Houston Film Fest (w/CEC Houston) @ Rice Media Center, 6:30PM - 9PM. In lieu of an October HNPAT meeting, HNPAT joins CPP and CEC to present this film event.
Friday, October 19 - Prairie Restoration Roundup
@ Texas City Prairie Preserve - Join Houston's most skilled prairie experts for presentations about the challenges and opportunities for prairie restorations both in rural and suburban contexts
Saturday, October 27 - Urban Pocket Prairies by Light Rail - Join Jaime González, of the Coastal Prairie Partnership, on an inner city adventure as we visit several current and future urban pocket prairies in the heart of the city - including the Texas Medical Center and Rice University. We'll travel between stops by METRO light rail. Hiking is required for this field trip.
Saturday, November 3 - Seaborne Creek Nature Fest in Rosenberg (Texas Master Naturalist/Coastal Prairie Chapter) - Join the Texas Master Naturalists - Coastal Prairie Chapter for an exciting day of activities, speakers, wagon rides, and hikes celebrating our native prairies. Click here for more information.
Wednesday, November 28 - SAVE THE DATE - Prairie Stampede at Houston Zoo. Annual awards presentation and gathering of the coastal prairie community. A HNPAT & CPP event.
Plus interesting programs every month! (See On the Calendar below)
HNPAT is on Facebook! Like us to get updates on our activities. We're also on MeetUp. We have a MeetUp for our monthly meetings and one for our Deer Park Prairie workdays. Join our MeetUps for reminders about our activities! Sign up
Here are events Della Barbato, NPAT’s Director of Education for Lawther Deer Park Prairie (della_barbato@texasprairie.org), is planning open to the public or teachers:
TMN Prairie Workshop - Sometime in October
Augustworkdays for Deer Park Prairie are the 8th and the 25th. RSVP to Glenn@merkord.com or call Glenn at 936-827-7978 or Lan Shen at shen.gcmn@gmail.com. Please check the DPP Calendar, for last minute changes. Address of the house on the prairie is 1222 E. Purdue Lane, Deer Park 77536. Please do not park along the curb, directly in front of our neighbors’ houses. You are welcome to just show up at 9:00 a.m. on the workday, but we do notify RSVP recipients about scheduling changes.
The monthly bird survey is scheduled to take place on August 25th at 7:30 a.m. Come join Damien Carey for the survey and learn about the bird life we have at DPP! Please contact Lan Shen for more information on the bird survey and to verify date.
Please wear closed-toed shoes and long pants. Sunscreen, hat, insect repellent, long-sleeved shirt and water are recommended. Visitors must sign a liability release before going on the prairie. Liability releases can be downloaded at https://houstonprairie.org/visit-dpp/
Tour Deer Park Prairie! We'd love to show you around this gem of an urban prairie. Please email HNPAT@TexasPrairie.org for more information.
On the Calendar
Upcoming HNPAT Monthly Programs
September 26 – TEAM (Texas Ecosystem Analytical Mapper) Project by Amie Treuer-Kuehn, TPWD
October 17 – Wild About Houston Film Festival at Rice University
November 28 - Prairie Stampede
Prairie Workdays
Armand Bayou Prairie Fridays
Join the volunteer team at Armand Bayou Nature Center every Friday from 8:30 a.m. until noon for stewardship work. Check their website at www.abnc.org to become a registered volunteer.
Artist Boat Coastal Heritage Preserve
Artist Boat hosts monthly Open Workdays at the Coastal Heritage Preserve where interested volunteers can come out and help restore the native coastal prairie ecosystem. Workday tasks include planting native grasses, treating and removing invasive species, and more! Come to a volunteer work day & make your mark on the Coastal Heritage Preserve! From 9am-12pm on the 1st and 3rd Thursdays of the month. Call Mary Warwick at 409-770-0722 to let her know you will be there.
Katy Prairie Conservancy
Volunteer days every Tuesday, Friday and Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the Indiangrass Preserve, 31950 Hebert Rd, Waller, TX 77484. Work in the native plant nursery, participate in prairie restoration projects - there's always lots to do at Katy Prairie! Contact Allen Brymer for more information.
Sheldon Lake Prairie Restoration
Volunteer days every Tuesday morning from 8:00 a.m. - noon, 14140 Garrett Road. Contact John Egan for more information. Sheldon Lake also hosts a regular wetland restoration volunteer day every Wednesday morning from 9:00 a.m. - noon. Contact John Egan for that one too!
Texas City Prairie Preserve
Looking for a way to get your hands dirty and get back to nature? Become a Nature Conservancy volunteer! We’ve established a robust volunteer program at our Texas City Prairie Preserve, a 2,300-acre expanse of coastal prairie and marshland just south of Houston. Established in 1995, the preserve provides vital habitat for more than 280 different bird species. Its coastal grasslands also act as natural buffers during storms and hurricanes, absorbing and dispersing water from storm surges and floods, making Texas City Prairie a critical component of the Conservancy’s ongoing effort to restore and protect the Gulf Coast.
We're hosting volunteers the second Friday of every month, and welcome eager volunteers of every background and ability level. Work days will include a variety of opportunities, from removing invasive species and harvesting native seeds to planting marsh grasses and tending the butterfly garden.
Volunteers should wear jeans, closed-toe shoes, a long-sleeved shirt and hat. Please bring a refillable water bottle and work gloves (if you have them); the Conservancy will provide tools, gloves, sunscreen, water and snacks.
If you have questions or would like more information, please contact Adriane Arnold at adriane.arnold@tnc.org or (409) 941-9114.
