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Class of 2023 trainees during "Interpretation" with Clark Hancock, November 2022  
November 2022, Updates from the President

It's about that time again...bringing one year to a close and preparing for the next!  As everyone is busy with holiday events, friends and family, or just snuggling up to a good book while enjoying the cold and rain...take a moment to be thankful.  I know we hear it a million times, but it never stops being important.  If you are reading this email - on a phone/computer/tablet...in your car/home/office/coffee shop...you already have so much more than many, and just for that you can be thankful.  

I am thankful for CAMN and all of the joy, friendships, and opportunities it has brought to my life over the past two years.  I am thankful for all of the energy, time, sweat, and care that my fellow members and volunteers put into the work they do with the community and in our natural spaces.  I am thankful for the rain that finally came...and came...and came...in fact, it can stop for a bit now.  And, I am excited about and thankful for the new trainees - the CAMN Class of 2023 - as they join us and bring new energy, ideas, and human-power to the mission of the Texas Master Naturalists and to the Austin community.

So, thank you all, for everything you do for CAMN, for your community, for sustaining our natural resources and areas.  It is not always easy to give up your free time to dig holes, pick up trash, attend meetings, work an event, plant trees...but you do it - and with joy.  Thank you...and thank the land and all who cared for it before us and all who will care for it after us...as it carries us forward.

 

Lisa Audiffred
CAMN President


P.S. Also, be sure to check out the CAMN photo albums on our SmugMug site!  We are continually adding both old and new photos, so please take a moment to browse the albums and see what CAMN folk have been up to over the years.  You can find it here: https://camn.smugmug.com/.
Upcoming Opportunities
to Learn, Explore, and Do

*This is NOT an exhaustive list - please refer to the latest edition of the CAMN Reader, the #volunteer-opportunities channel in Slack, and the CAMN Calendar for more opportunities!*
 
  • Friday, December 2nd @ 12-1 PM, Virtual ONLY
    🍄🌳 Wild Neighbors Speaker Series: Mycorrhizae 101

    Hosted by Austin Water Wildland Conservation
    Presentation by Lisa Markovchick, post-doctoral researcher at NAU
    VMS: Attending this virtual presentation, live, earns 1 hour of Advanced Training (AT: Other Advanced Training)

    Want to learn more about Fungi & Mycorrhizae?  Join the Austin Water Wildland Conservation during your lunch break for the Wild Neighbors Speaker Series!

    “Mycorrhizal fungi are known to provide a wide range of ecosystem services such as erosion control and water retention.  They are also the organisms that form common mycorrhizal networks (CMNs), now famous for their “wood wide web” or underground highways that share resources and signals between plants.” 

    “Lisa Markovchick, is a post-doctoral researcher at Northern Arizona University where she studies intersections between land management concerns and mycorrhizal fungi (symbiotic with plant roots).  She will present about the mycorrhizal relationship with trees, plants, and soils, as well as potential mycorrhizal benefits, and what we can learn from further study.”

    Register HERE to participate live.
 
  • 🌻🦋 BFL Pollinator Garden - CAMN Project
    at Brackenridge Field Lab
    2907 Lake Austin Blvd., Austin
    VMS: Attending this in-person workday earns Volunteer Service for time spent working in the garden + drive time (NPA: Nature Public Access) and Advanced Training for classroom instruction (AT: Advanced Training other).

    This project is a collaborative effort between CAMN and BFL with a goal to restore the existing but overgrown pollinator garden and pond with native pollinator plants in order to reopen it to be enjoyed by the community.

    Saturday, Dec 3 @ 8-11amContinue the Pond Installation
    Volunteers began work on the pond at the previous workday and will continue to finish the installation, and any other finishing touches as winter starts in.  Planting will be saved for the Spring, so keep an eye out for those workdays as it starts warming up!

    Interested in participating?  REGISTER HERE
     

 
  • 🌱 Maxwell Restoration/Seedplot - CAMN Project
    at Maxwell (WQPL Tract)
    9901 Farm to Market Rd 1826, Austin
    VMS: Attending this in-person workday earns Volunteer Service for time spent working + drive-time (RM: Resource Management).

    This project is a collaborative effort between CAMN and WQPL with a goal to establish underrepresented plant species in the old fields of WQPL by using seed production plots to produce seed and eventual plant colonies.  This is an opportunity for us as Texas Master Naturalists to use our expertise in natural history to engage with the broader ecological community.

    Sunday, Dec 4 @ 10am-12pm
    Saturday, Dec 17 @ 10am-12pm

    Interested in participating?  REGISTER HERE 
     

 
  • Upcoming Education & Outreach Opportunities
    The E&O team will have a bit of a break during the holiday season, but soon the calendar will full up again!  You do NOT need any special skills or knowledge to volunteer with the E&O team - just a desire to communicate with the public and share your love for all things natural!

    Monday, November 28th @ 7-8 PM
    🗓 Education & Outreach Meeting

    Scroll down to next section for Zoom link and more information!

    _________

    Saturday, December 3rd @ 9am-12pm
    Junior Master Naturalist Series
    🪨💧 Part 5 - Geology & Water!

    at Mendez Rec. Center
    2407 Canterbury St., Austin

    VMS: Volunteering for this event earns Volunteer Service hours for time spent participating + drive time (PO: Public Outreach) 

    Interested in participating?  REGISTER HERE

    Questions about E&O - email education.outreach@camn.org
CAMN Chapter Business
 
  • Monday, November 28th @ 7-8 PM
    Education & Outreach Committee Meeting
    VMS: CAMN Members can log AT for time attending the meeting (CB: Chapter Business)

    The CAMN Education & Outreach meeting is open to ALL CAMN MEMBERS interested in hearing more about ways we can connect with the wider Austin community!  There will be a review of what worked well for 2022 followed by a discussion of new ways to reach new audiences in 2023!

    Join the E&O Committee on Zoom:
    https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87474338992

     

 
  • CAMN open Committee Chairs & Officer Positions
    We currently have several Committee Chair and Executive Officer positions open.  If you are interested in volunteering in one of these positions, or know someone we should reach out to, please contact us at president@camn.org, and read through our Chapter Operating Handbook for specific details of duties of Executive Officers and Committees.

    Taking on a leadership role is a great way to get more involved in CAMN and earn Volunteer Service hours!  If you enjoy this type of work, we would love to have you join us - remember CAMN is fully volunteer run - we cannot do it without you!

    Vice PresidentExecutive Officer
    TreasurerExecutive Officer
    Hospitality Director | Coordinate food/drinks for in-person events

     

 
  • End-of-Year Chapter Meeting
    🎉 🌿 🥘 Date & Time TBD


    Get ready to join other CAMN members at a pot-luck end-of-year gathering to hang out, look back on 2022 and forward to 2023, vote in the Executive Board, and just have a good time together!  

    We are still looking for a location to host this event - that will determine the date & time, and any exact details about food/drinks, and activities!  Please stay tuned as we are working hard to make this happen.  If you know of a location that we might be able to hold this event, please let me know at president@camn.org ASAP!


    December Chapter Meeting (date/time TBD)
    You will be able to join on Zoom to VOTE!
    https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82855394497
    Meeting ID: 828 5539 4497
     

 
  • JOIN the CAMN Slack Workspace!
    *For CAMN Members Only*


    CAMN now has a Slack Workspace and invitations to join have been sent out to active CAMN members.  
    It is FREE to join and use our workspace.  If you have not received an invitation, please reach out to president@camn.org.  Slack is a great way to engage in easy and secure communication for members, committees, volunteer projects, trainees, and more!  We hope you will join us on Slack as we continue to enhance and streamline communication throughout the Chapter!

    We will host an online Slack Training Session after the holiday season in early January for members to help everyone get started and make the most of the application and its features!  More information will be sent out once we confirm a date.  You can also check out Slack's own FAQ's as they are quite helpful.  
🏆 Awards & Recognitions 🏆
CAMN Members volunteer throughout the community and complete advanced training each year to remain a certified Texas Master Naturalist.  To learn more about these awards, click HERE.  

An updated list of CAMN Member Initial Certifications, 2023 Recertifications, and Lifetime Milestones will be shared in December!  If you are a CAMN Member,  you still have time to earn the rest of your Volunteer and Advanced Training hours before the end of 2022!  Be sure to get in those hours, and LOG THEM IN VMS to get credit for your hard work, contribute to the TPWD grant, and...get your bling!
To collect your awards, attend any in-person CAMN event, such as Field Events following Chapter Meetings, someone will have them at the events and we would love for you to take them home and show them off!  You may also reach out to president@camn.org to arrange collecting your awards at another time, or wait to collect them at the Annual Banquet.
🌱 Stay up to date! 🌱
Review the NOVEMBER edition of the CAMN Reader
For members only, join the CAMN Member’s Only Facebook
Check out CAMN photos over the years at our CAMN SmugMug site
Subscribe to the TMN Listserve to stay up to date on the latest happenings around the state.
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CAMN's Website
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