Jun 16 2018

2018 Seed Collecting Season Starts!

Seed collecting is a leisurely way to enjoy the prairie and learn about prairie grasses. Join friends and family for outdoor fun while gathering seeds ripe for collecting. No experience necessary as we work to support numerous organizations in the region. Make an impact and visit prairies often not open to the public.

The seed collecting trips are Katy Prairie Conservancy volunteer events. To be notified of other future seed collecting trips, please email Lshen@katyprairie.org with your email address and subject: “Place me on the seed collecting list”

2nd Wednesdays June – December at Deer Park Prairie

1st Fridays in July & August on the Katy Prairie

Hi Seed Collectors,

Another seed collecting season has started. Come and collect seeds and see the prairie in bloom starting this Wednesday, June 13, 2018 at the Deer Park Prairie. From June – December, the Katy Prairie Conservancy and the Houston Chapter – Native Prairies Association of Texas will host Second Wednesdays seed collecting at Deer Park Prairie, 9:00 am – noon.

On first Fridays, July 6 and August 3, seed collectors will have an opportunity to visit Katy Prairie Conservancy properties to either collect seeds and/or plant some prairie plants in the ground in restoration areas.

Sign Up Here

1. Second Wednesdays, June – December

Time: 9:00 a.m. – noon
Meet at 1222 E. Purdue Lane, Deer Park, Texas 77035 (Google map)
Please do not park directly in front of our neighbors’ houses
Please do bring a signed liability release (NPAT)
Carpool: Reply to this email for carpooling opportunity from the Kroger parking lot at S. Post Oak & W. Bellfort or from a residential area adjacent to S. Main & Buffalo Speedway
Upcoming seed collecting 2nd Wednesdays at Deer Park Prairie are on

July 11, August 8, September 12, October 10, November 14, and December 12

2. Friday, July 6, 2018 – Katy Prairie Conservancy – Indiangrass Preserve

Time: 8:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. or noon
Meet at Katy Prairie Conservancy Field Office ( Google map; Driving directions here )
Volunteers can choose to collect seeds or put plants in the ground in restoration areas.
Please bring signed liability release (KPC)
Upcoming: Friday, August 3: exact location on the Katy Prairie TBA

General Instructions:

Everyone is welcome!
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.

********** Equipment of a Serious Seed Collector *************

Cullen Ondrasek using a self-made seed collecting apparatus that allows him to collect with both hands. He credits the original idea to Tom Solomon.

Jun 8 2018

Upcoming Prairie Events

Check out all the upcoming prairie events
and SAVE THE DATES!

Scroll down for flyers for several of the events listed.

2nd Wednesdays, June – December. HNPAT & Katy Prairie Conservancy sponsor seed collecting mornings at Deer Park Prairie, 1222 E. Purdue Ln, Deer Park, TX. RSVP is required to LShen@katyprairie.org
Wednesday, June 20 – Pollinator Workshop at Deer Park Prairie, 6PM – 8PM. An NPAT event. Registration required. Flyer below.
Saturday, June 23 – Invasive Plant Species ID and Treatment Workshop at Deer Park Prairie, 9AM – 1PM, taught by Glenn Merkord. Registration required – click here. A HNPAT & CPP event. Flyer below.
Saturday, June 30 – Houston Urban Conservation Summit, Sheldon Lake State Park, 9AM – 2PM with site tour option at 8AM. Registration required at this link. A HNPAT & CPP event. Flyer below.
Wednesday, July 18 – Prairie 101 Teacher Workshop, Deer Park Prairie, 9AM -3PM. Registration required. Flyer below
Tueday, July 24 – Prairie 201 Teacher Workshop (Teachers have attended 101 and have working pocket prairies on campus, with KPC), Deer Park Prairie, 9AM -3PM. Registration required. Flyer below.
Wednesday, July 25 & Saturday, July 28 – HNPAT celebrates National Moth Week with Moth Talk at 2700 Southwest Fwy on 7/25 & Moth Night at Deer Park Prairie on 7/28. See our blog here. Flyer below.

Annual Prairie Month Activities: end of September through mid-November
Saturday, September 29 – SAVE THE DATE – Fall Prairie Day at Deer Park Prairie.
Wednesday, October 17 – SAVE THE DATE – Houston GREEN Film Series @ Rice Media Center, 6:30PM – 9PM. In lieu of an October HNPAT meeting, HNPAT joins CPP and CEC to present this film event.
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.

Click photo below to get flyer in pdf form

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Click photo below to get flyer in pdf form

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To read the blog, click here.

Jun 8 2018

2018 Moth Week

National Moth Week with HNPAT

Join the Houston Chapter – Native Prairies Association of Texas (HNPAT)
for our National Moth Week programs.
(National Moth Week Flyer — HNPAT Moth Week Flyer)

Wednesday, July 25, 2018

Stuart Marcus, Refuge Manager, Trinity River National Wildlife Refuge presents
“Moths of Trinity River National Wildlife Refuge”
6:30 p.m. Social; 7:00 p.m. Meeting starts
American Red Cross Building, 2700 Southwest Fwy, Houston, TX 77098
(North side of SW Freeway near Kirby)

Saturday, July 28, 2018
Moth Night at Deer Park Prairie

8:00 p.m. Doors open – visitors are encouraged to walk and view the prairie in the relative coolness and breeze just before sunset
9:00 p.m. Moth and night insect viewing begins
Moth and insect enthusiasts Katy Emde and John Schneider will set up black (UV) lights and white screen to attract moths and other night insects.
Visitors are welcome to drop by and leave at any time.
Light snacks will be provided in the house.
Read our blog about the 2014 Moth Night: tinyurl.com/dpp140724
We encourage you to post your photos on iNaturalist and add them to the Deer Park Prairie Project.

For more information, contact HNPAT@TexasPrairie.org

Jun 7 2018

Authors Visit Deer Park Prairie

Within eight days at the end of May two authors visited Deer Park Prairie! At our members day on May 19, Joe Liggio (center in photo below), author of Wild Orchids of Texas, talked about orchids in Texas.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Then a week later, Michael Eason, author of Wildflowers of Texas and his dog, Ferdinand von Roemer, visited during our fourth Saturday workday. (Photo: Michael, Roemer, and Kelly Walker, Superwoman Volunteer.)

For those who do not recognize the name, Ferdinand von Roemer was also the German explorer who visited Texas in 1845-1847 and wrote this:

“…Years ago, three live oaks standing near the center, the only trees on the island, served mariners as a guide to the entrance of Galvestion Bay…The general appearance of the island reminds one of a prairie. Tall grass covers the flat surface as far as the eye can see…There are no trees found on the island except the three live oaks mentioned previously…”

Michael said that his Roemer has also traveled extensively across Texas.

In the past other authors that have visited Texas include Texas Park and Wildlife Department’s Jason Singhurst, co-author of Rare Plants of Texas and TPWD’s Diana Foss, a co-author of Texas Wildscapes: Gardening for Wildlife

Jun 7 2018

Photos of CNC at Deer Park Prairie

City Nature Challenge (CNC) ended over a month ago. However, for completeness, we are blogging the result (scroll to the bottom) and showing some photos of CNC at Deer Park Prairie on our Spring Prairie Day. If you think the activities look interesting, SAVE THE DATE and join us on our Fall Prairie Day, September 28, 2018. More information on exact times for the Fall Prairie Days are forthcoming.

IMG_20180428_131353982_BURST000_COVER_TOP

Visitors first met Mary Waters, President of HNPAT, at the registration table. Then they had opportunities to join iNaturalist instructions session by Kelly Reierson, a plant walk led by Jane Reierson aided by Wally Ward, and an insect segment by Chuck Duplant, who captured the insect by sweep netting and then put them in the Petri dish for better viewing and identification. Hazel Potvin and Silvia Gederberg provided the food. Thanks to all who helped make this an enjoyable day.

The City Nature Challenge results were summarized by Sarah Flournoy of Houston Audubon who wrote: “Nature Challenge 2018 has drawn to a close, and Houston definitely brought it! Houston came in first for species identified in Texas and in SECOND for the WORLD for number of identified species (barely behind San Francisco Bay, the host of CNC). A special thanks to everyone that participated in observing and IDing our 22,000 observations. It is clear that Houston is home to a dedicated and talented group of naturalists!”

More information at

The second link shows that for greater Houston, 3 of the top 6 observers are HNPAT members!

Apr 30 2018

Last Day To Take Photos for City Nature Callenge!

Today is the LAST DAY to take photos of living things for City Nature Challenge. However, as long as your photos have today’s time stamp, you have from May 1 – May 3 to upload and identify.

As of 9:00 a.m. April 30, Houston is

4th in number of species
8th in number of people participating (Dallas is 8th overall, we are just about 30 people behind)
9th in number of observations (Dallas is third overall)

Last chance to move Houston up. See citynaturechallenge.org/leaderboard/

By the way, I was told there were several events on City Nature Challenge – Houston Facebook page that was not entered on the Texas Parks & Wildlife Dept CNC events website. Check to see if there are any today.

Apr 27 2018

It’s Started: City Nature Challenge!!!

Updates & Progress as of noon 4/27/2018

Hey we need to get some posting. See below for link to Worldwide Leaderboard. Houston is nowhere near the top. It’s early yet – let’s up the game!

Also, scroll to bottom for an email update about problem “joining” the City Nature Challenge-Houston project.

Check https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/city-nature-challenge-2018-houston for progress in Houston

Local leaders :

Instructions & Texas Leaderboard: https://tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/wild/wildlife_diversity/texas_nature_trackers/naturechallenge/

Worldwide Leaderboard: http://citynaturechallenge.org/leaderboard/

* Link for CNC Events in Greater Houston *

(Note: I took the TPWD master list and isolated the Greater Houston Events, put them in chronological order.).

Silvia Gederberg had problem joining the CNC-houston project and received this email reply (I did the red highlighting):

From: iNaturalist Support <help@inaturalist.org>

Subject: Re: Problem joining City Nature Challenge 2018 Houston project

Date: April 27, 2018 at 11:15:11 AM CDT

To: SILVIA GEDERBERG

Hi Silvia,

City Nature Challenge projects were converted to our new “collection” style projects (described here). One cannot join a collection project, because one cannot manually submit an observation to the project – if the observation fits the project’s parameters it is automatically shown when the project page is loaded. So it removes the extra step of adding your observation to the project. If your observation is made within the boundaries and time frame of the Houston CNC project, it will show up there automatically.

There is a “follow” option for this type of project, which notifies you if the project creates a new journal post.

It is an oversight that there is a “join” button on the app, which we will hopefully fix soon. I apologize for the confusion

Tony

On Fri, Apr 27, 2018 at 7:42 AM, SILVIA GEDERBERG wrote:

I just tried to join again on my iPhone app and got this error:
the operation couldn’t complete…

Apr 25 2018

2018 Spring Prairie Day & City Nature Challenge Event

Please join us to celebrate Spring Prairie Day on Saturday, April 28 at Deer Park Prairie. Enjoy the spring wildflowers and prairie wildlife along with a bit of history and photography. Because the Deer Park Prairie has never been plowed, the landscape here looks much as it did in 1836, when the soldiers marched to the Battle of San Jacinto, less than 10 miles away. See schedule in the flyer and scroll down for City Nature Challenge information. If you plan to enjoy a complimentary lunch with us, please RSVP, so we can have a food count.

In an effort to help Houston win the City Nature Challenge (https://houstonprairie.org/2017houcnc/ & https://tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/wild/wildlife_diversity/texas_nature_trackers/naturechallenge/), we will be offering a short lesson on use of iNaturalist and will have plant walks and insect sweep netting. Bring your camera or smart phone to take pictures of all the species of plants and animals that you see and post on iNaturalist.org

Apr 25 2018

Image

Della Barbato, Director of Education

Della Barbato at NPAT booth on April 22, 2018 at Houston’s Earth Day Celebration

Meet Della Barbato, Native Prairies Association of Texas’ (NPAT’s) new Director of Education at the Lawther – Deer Park Prairie Preserve. This position was generously funded by a grant from Shell. Della ” …will develop an educational program: train teachers to teach the prairie and facilitate a partnership with local school districts, businesses and other NGO’s…”

Della, a past board member of the Citizens’ Environmental Coalition, represented NPAT at CEC’s Earth Day Houston -Discovery Green Celebration recently. She drew a steady crowd with her seed ball making activity. Della commented that both young and old like to get their hands dirty.

Della has been involved in environmental education for many years. She has her own company, Earth Voice that conducts interactive group programs about our ecosystems and managing natural resources. She has a B.S. and M.S. from Texas A&M, is a Galveston Bay Area Master Naturalist, has developed curriculum as a middle school science teacher, was Education Director for the Galveston Bay Foundation and other non-profits. Thanks to Shell’s generosity, Della as DPP’s Director of Education will tremendously benefit local area teachers and their students.

Apr 6 2018

April ’18 UP(Urban Prairie) Team Events & photo: UH Shasta Prairie Workday

See changes below for Tomorrow, Saturday, April 7.

Note changes for Saturday, April 7

April, 2018 UP Team
And Upcoming Events

Events

Scroll below to view cancellation & added event on April 7!
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UP Team at UH Shasta Prairie on March 23, 2018. See blog at this link.

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As always, keep checking the UP Team calendar (tinyurl.com/UPTeamCal). Events emails are only sent out once per month, but the calendar is kept updated as information comes in.

Click on the event and then the "more details" to show all details, including meeting place and parking specifics. All events have at least one contact person. If you are planning to attend an event , please RSVP to the contact person shown on the calendar so that person could let you know of any changes.

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April, 2018
For more information, go to tinyurl.com/UPTeamCal
New symbol: ** indicates an event that does not recur monthly

Monday, April 2 (1st Mondays): Nature Discovery Center. Monday Morning Gardening, 9:30 am noon.
Wednesday, April 4 (weekly on Wednesdays): HANC/MPC Greenhouse Volunteer Workday, 9am – noon.
**CANCELLED: Saturday, April 7
(1st Saturdays): Hermann Park, Bayou Savannah Workday.
**Saturday, April 7
, Conservation Crew, Chinese Tallow Removal, Memorial Park Tennis Center.
Wednesday, April 11 (2nd Wednesdays): Deer Park Prairie Workday, 9:00am – noon. We will finish cleaning the Prairie Plant Demonstration Bed for the Spring Prairie Day on April 28. Free Plants: Extra plants that we pull out are free to take home. Lots of frogfruit and swamp sunflower among others
Wednesday, April 11 (weekly on Wednesdays): HANC/MPC Greenhouse Volunteer Workday, 9am – noon. Volunteer Workday for the Houston Arboretum & Nature Center (HANC) and Memorial Park Conservancy (MPC) joint project to grow prairie plants for savannah restorations at HANC. Project Leader Allen Brymer is also there Thursday and Monday mornings. Anyone who wants to volunteer on these days need to first contact Allen at abrymer.
Thursday, April 12 (2nd & 4th Thursdays): Native (and mostly prairie) plant propagation at City of Houston Greenhouse in Memorial Park, 9:00am – noon.
**CANCELLED: Saturday, April 14
(2nd Saturdays): Hermann Park, Whistlestop Prairie Workday.
**Saturday, April 14
, Hogg Bird Sanctuary Harvey Clean Up with Student Conservation Association and Memorial Park Conservancy.
Wednesday, April 18 (weekly on Wednesdays): HANC/MPC Greenhouse Volunteer Workday, 9am – noon.
Friday, April 20 (3rd Fridays): Memorial Park Conservancy, Conservation Crew – Chinese Tallow Removal. Memorial Park Tennis Center.
Wednesday, April 25 (weekly on Wednesdays): HANC/MPC Greenhouse Volunteer Workday, 9am – noon.
Thursday, April 26 (4th Thursdays): Native (and mostly prairie) plant propagation at City of Houston Greenhouse at Memorial Park, 9:00am – noon.
**Saturday, April 28
(4th Saturdays): Deer Park Prairie Spring Prairie Day. Come to enjoy the wildflowers & wildlife; see a land that looks much as it did in 1836, when the soldiers marched to the Battle of San Jacinto, less than 10 miles away. In an effort to help Houston win the City Nature Challenge (houstonprairie.org/2018houcnc & tpwd.texas.gov…naturechallenge), we will be offering a short lesson on use of iNaturalist and will have plant walks and insect sweep netting. Complete program upcoming at Houstonprairie.org or send an email to HNPAT@TexasPrairie.org for more information. Workday at Deer Park Prairie is cancelled.
Saturday, April 28 (4th Saturdays): Hermann Park, Bayou Savannah Workday (near 6520 Almeda), 9:00am -noon
**Saturday, April 28
: City Nature Challenge at White Oak Parkway – join HPARD’s Natural Resources Management Program, along with Houston Audubon and Student Conservation Association to participate, 9am to 12pm. The City Nature Challenge is a competition between 7 cities in Texas to see who can document the most species. Last year, Houston won with the most documented species! Bring your camera or smart phone to take pictures of all the species of plants and animals that you see!

Upcoming in May

For more information & to RSVP, go to tinyurl.com/UPTeamCal

Wednesday, May 2 (weekly on Wednesdays): HANC/MPC Greenhouse Volunteer Workday, 9am – noon.
Saturday, May 5 (1st Saturdays): Hermann Park, Bayou Savannah Workday.
Monday, May 7 (1st Mondays): Nature Discovery Center. Monday Morning Gardening, 9:30 am noon.
Wednesday, May 9 (2nd Wednesdays): Deer Park Prairie Workday, 9:00am – noon.
Wednesday, May 9 (weekly on Wednesdays): HANC/MPC Greenhouse Volunteer Workday, 9am – noon.
Thursday, May 10 (2nd & 4th Thursdays): Native (and mostly prairie) plant propagation at City of Houston Greenhouse in Memorial Park, 9:00am – noon.
Saturday, May 12 (2nd Saturdays): Hermann Park, Whistlestop Prairie Workday.
Wednesday, May 16 (weekly on Wednesdays): HANC/MPC Greenhouse Volunteer Workday, 9am – noon.
Friday, May 18 (3rd Fridays): Memorial Park Conservancy, Conservation Crew. TBA. Contact volunteer for more information.
Wednesday, May 23 (weekly on Wednesdays): HANC/MPC Greenhouse Volunteer Workday, 9am – noon.
Thursday, May 24 (4th Thursdays): Native (and mostly prairie) plant propagation at City of Houston Greenhouse at Memorial Park, 9:00am – noon.
Saturday, May 26 (4th Saturdays): Deer Park Prairie Workday, 9:00am -noon.
Saturday, May 26 (4th Saturdays): Hermann Park, Bayou Savannah Workday (near 6520 Almeda), 9:00am -noon.
Wednesday, May 30 (weekly on Wednesdays): HANC/MPC Greenhouse Volunteer Workday, 9am – noon.

General workday attire/needs: long pants and closed toe shoes. Optional: hat, sunscreen, long-sleeved shirt, insect repellent, water. If you have them bring some garden tools like garden gloves, trowel and/or shovel.

Want to volunteer in your own home? Join the Great Grow Out Program. Katy Prairie Conservancy is seeking volunteers to grow (in the comfort of their own home) plants from wild collected seeds that we will send you. Then return the seedlings to KPC for restoration projects! Don’t forget to keep a few for your garden!

Instructions in the form of a Grower’s Handbook or in the form of videos are at Lshen

If you are getting this email and are not an UP (Urban Prairie) Team member, please join our team of volunteers interested in helping at urban pocket prairies and/or to communicate about prairies. See UP Team information and a flyer at this link. Click the button below to get monthly emails on Urban Prairies activities that need your help!