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Houston Native Prairies Association
Monthly Newsletter

Please join us in exploring, restoring, enjoying, conserving, and learning about our local prairies!

2019 HNPAT Officer Elections

 

We're happy to announce that all of our current officers have agreed to continue serving in their current positions on HNPAT's Board of Directors for another year:

1. Mary Waters, President
2. Beth Clark, Vice President
3. Kelly Shields, Secretary
4. Hazel Potvin, Treasurer

Although all of our officers are running unopposed, we are required by our Byaws to hold an election.  Please go to the following link and vote Yes or No for each position:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/5M6BZXZ.

Thank you for your help!
Prairie News
Meeting Notes

Our January meeting is a Seed Cleaning Party!


Wednesday, January 23, 2019, From 6:30 – 8:30 PM
American Red Cross Bldg., 2700 Southwest Freeway, Houston, TX  77098

Who:  Anyone interested in learning more about seed collecting, seed preserving and prairie restoration.

What:  We will be cleaning seeds collected this fall and putting them in packets to be distributed to people willing to grow them out for KPC’s Great Grow Out Program. Come and see what these native seeds look like, how to clean them, and take some home. Learn about prairie plants and seeds from KPC experts.  KPC is providing pizza!



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
 
Video & Awards at the Prairie Stampede

A Night of Celebration and Awards!

A huge thanks to our outstanding partners, the Coastal Prairie Partnership for co-presenting Prairie Stampede on November 28 and the Houston Zoo for hosting the prairie community of southeast Texas in the wonderful Brown Education Center! We'd like to thank everyone who joined us and brought such amazing food as well.

The video, "The Disappearing Grasslands," (https://bit.ly/2ytLubX) narrated by 12-year old Christian Ebel and shot on his family's ranch land, was shown. In Houston, it had first been screened at Houston Green Festival on Oct. 23, 2018. In the video, Ebel talks about the benefits of natural tallgrass prairie for ranch livestock, birds and other wildlife as part of a healthy ecosystem. The Ebels raise cows and goats on restored tall grass prairie. 



The highlight of the evening was when awards were presented to: the tireless Julie d'Ablaing (awarded the first ever Greater Houston Volunteer of the Year Award by the Houston Chapter of the Native Prairies Association of Texas), the ever-creative Mary Anne Piacentini of the Katy Prairie Conservancy (awarded the Flo Hannah Prairie Excellence Award for Career Achievement by the Coastal Prairie Partnership) and the inspiring Emily Elizabeth Manderson (of the Houston Arboretum & Nature Center (awarded the Dick Benoit Prairie Award by the Coastal Prairie Partnership). We applaud them for their extraordinary service and dedication.




 


 
 
Flo Hannah Dedication
 


Among her many accomplishments, Flo Hannah was an integral part of discovering and saving Deer Park Prairie.  In her memory, we are planning to dedicate the prairie viewing platform at Deer Park Prairie to Flo at our Spring Prairie Day event and we need your help!  We're reaching out to the prairie community who knew and loved Flo to help us come up with a quote or a saying that best exemplifies her spirit.  Whether it's something Flo said or something that reminds you of Flo, please send your "Flo quotes" to 
mewaters1@me.com.  The chosen quote will appear on a plaque that will be affixed to the platform.  

We hope you will plan to join us at the dedication ceremony on Spring Prairie Day as we remember Flo Hannah.

Thanks,

Mary Waters
Urban Prairie Series 
Willow Waterhole Prairie Demonstration Garden 

 
Interest in native Texas wildflowers and grasses along with a desire to attract, observe and preserve declining populations of butterflies and other insects, has prompted municipalities, schools and home owners to plant small gardens devoted to  native plants.  At this time of year, plant life has gone dormant. The one light frost we have had so far turned annuals and perennials brown. Browned grasses have been dispersing their seeds.

One garden at Willow Waterhole Greenway Park has had an early cut back by a team of volunteers led by Don Verser. The garden is meant to be a demo garden to help educate the public about native grasses and some wildflowers. It had gone wild. On the third work day there, the garden was finally reduced to stubble with the thatch raked away. 

Hoping to be able to keep a lookout on the regrowth of the garden, the volunteers are planning to meet once a month to observe and identify which plants to keep and  to remove as much of the invasive grasses as possible making way for new desirable plants. Experiments are also planned to see how to best manage the garden which is actually eight small gardens bordered by concrete walkways. Some will be mowed frequently and some will be left to grow with little cut back. Plants will also be labeled for the benefit of visitors.  

Demo gardens or pocket prairies are always works in progress and take dedicated volunteers to manage them.

Hazel Potvin


The prairie garden as first laid out and planted.



The prairie garden in its overgrown state.


The prairie garden this Fall after being mowed and the thatch removed.

Fall 2018 KPC Seed Collecting Schedule

by HNPAT

The Katy Prairie Conservancy has organized several seed collecting trips this fall, some to prairies not usually open to the public. All are welcome to participate. Take a look and sign up!


 

Fall 2018 Seed Collecting Schedule

Hi Seed Collectors, 
Fall is the major seed collecting season for our coastal tallgrass prairie. Trips have been scheduled to collect at some of the best local prairies, so join us to enjoy a morning outdoors with fellow conservationists, learn from prairie experts, and help prairie habitats with your volunteerism.


Sign Up Here for Seed Collecting Trips  

 
 
Wednesday, December 12th at Deer Park Prairie
  • Everyone is welcome!
  • At KPC and Deer Park Prairie, you may collect for KPC, for any other non-profit organization, or for your own personal use.
  • If you have them, please bring pruners or scissors, a bucket or a reusable grocery bag, and a pen. Supplies are available if needed.
  • Please wear closed-toe shoes and long pants. We recommend you bring hat, sunscreen, insect repellent, a long-sleeved shirt, and a camera.
  • Water and light snack are usually available.
 
On the Calendar

Upcoming HNPAT Monthly Programs

  • February 27 – Madden Prairie by Pat Merkord (HNPAT) and Kristi Harms (NPAT)
  • March 27 - Rangeland Ecology, Plateau Wildlife by David Riley, Staff Bilogist ! with Plateau Land & Wildlife Management


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 Workday

Join the fun at Artist Boat Coastal Heritage Preserve’s open workdays on the first and third Thursdays of each month from 9 a.m. to noon.  We will be laying down seed, “bumping up seedlings”, planting, and minor maintenance work around the greenhouse and nursery.  
Contact Greg Hall for more information. 


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.  

Our Prairie Partners


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Houston Chapter of Native Prairies Association of Texas · c/o NPAT · 415 N. Guadalupe St. PMB 385 · San Marcos, TX 78666 · USA

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