Austin Chapter

Two field trips (Saturdays March 31 and April 7) are coming up soon! Also, the second meeting of Flo’s plant taxonomy class  will be Saturday, April 21st.

You may think you’ve seen Texas native plants and wildflowers before, but you haven’t seen them like Steve has!

Steven Schwartzman, photographer, mathematician and fellow Austin NPSOTer, takes nature photography to an artistic level rarely seen in nature books.  You’ll be intrigued by the unusual perspectives, angles, colors and light.  Through amazing close-ups, Steve reveals details and features that you are likely to have overlooked.  Steve’s work has appeared in Texas Highways magazine and in Wildflower, the magazine of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

Join us for Steve’s presentation “The World of Nature in Central Texas.” He’s even promised to include some photos of critters found on our natives (look left!).

Tuesday, March 15, 7:00-9:00 p.m., Wild Basin Wilderness meeting room, 805 N. Capital of Texas Highway.

Dr. Monica Swartz, Director of the Wild Basin Wilderness Preserve, entices us with her provocatively-entitled program, “Rare Native Plant Conservation at Home – A Radical Proposal.”

Dr. Swartz is an associate professor of biology at St. Edward’s University.  She has been actively engaged in community ecology and conservation biology policy for most of her professional life.

Tuesday, February 15, 7:00-9:00 p.m., Wild Basin Wilderness meeting room, 805 N. Capital of Texas Highway.

Wendy Gordon, biologist with Texas Parks & Wildlife, will discuss the effects of climate change on Texas in her presentation “Climate Change, Biodiversity and Texas.”

Tuesday, January 18, 7:00-9:00 p.m., Wild Basin Wilderness meeting room, 805 N. Capital of Texas Highway.

Possumhaw in snow -- by Steven Schwartzman

Ready to celebrate winter in central Texas?

Join us for our annual winter social – pot-luck and silent auction.

There’s no program…but plenty of food, chat, and cheer!

Just bring a dish of your choice, anything you’d like to donate for the auction, and your checkbook.

Proceeds from the auction go to deserving native plant causes.

Tuesday, December 14, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m., Wild Basin Wilderness meeting room, 805 N. Capital of Texas Highway.  Please note:  this is the second Tuesday of December, not third.

See you there!

Dr. Waitt pondering the invasive question while fishing

What impacts the U.S. economy to the tune of $135 billion each year and threatens almost half of all native species on the current federal endangered list?

Non-native invasive species!

While we’ve grown accustomed to talking about the merits of native plants and have championed their protection, we tend to overlook the sometimes less obvious but equally serious threat of encroachment from invited and uninvited “guests.”

Dr. Damon Waitt is the Senior Botanist at the Lady Bird Wildflower Center. As the Center’s botanical authority, he is the director and author of the Native Plant Information Network. Damon has extensive experience with invasives. He serves on the Invasive Species Advisory Committee for the National Invasive Species Council, is founder and past president of the Texas Invasive Plant and Pest Council, and is chair of the National Association of Exotic Pest Plant Councils, just to name of few of his many titles and consultancies in this hot-topic area.

Come hear Damon present “Venimus, Vidimus, Vicimus? – Invasive Species and the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center” where he will discuss the multi-prong approach the Center is taking to address the control and eradication of invasive species.

Tuesday, November 16, 7:00-9:00 p.m., Wild Basin Wilderness meeting room, 805 N. Capital of Texas Highway

Hiking on October 3, 2010 at Doeskin Ranch by Lisa Spangler

Fall is here!  It’s a busy time, so we have no chapter meeting at Wild Basin this month.  There are two other BIG events that I’d like to remind everyone of though:

October 9-10, with Members Only Preview on October 8: Fall Plant Sale and Gardening Festival at the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center. There are cool plants to purchase plus many fun activities planned for kids and adults alike. The chapter will have a booth as usual.  David Heberling is still looking for volunteers.  You can give him a call at 922-3744.

October 7-10: State Symposium in Denton, TX. Save Texas One Landscape at a Time: Our Native Plants Light the Future. Whether you come for just a day or the whole weekend, this year’s symposium looks to be an exciting one!  Keynote speakers are J. David Bamberger, Jill Nokes, and Doug Tallamy. There are also great presentations, workshops, and field trips.

Happy fall,

Lisa

Kelly Bender, urban wildlife biologist with Texas Parks and Wildlife, and author of Texas Wildscapes: Gardening for Wildlife, will remind us of the plant-wildlife connection in her presentation, “Texas Wildscaping: Attracting Native Wildlife with Native Texas Plants.” 

Texas Wildscapes, started by TPWD in 1995, helps Texans create landscapes that are both visually appealing and attractive to appropriate wildlife.

Tuesday, September 21, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m., Wild Basin Wilderness meeting room, 805 N. Capital of Texas Highway

New Mexico beehive cactus (Escobaria vivipara var. neomexicana)

The heat’s finally here…but the cacti don’t mind!

Join us for a presentation by local naturalists, writers, and photographers Brian and Shirley Loflin as they remind us what’s impressive about these tenacious beauties. The Loflins will present “Texas Cacti,” based on their recently-published field guide of the same title.

Many of you will already be familiar with the Loflin’s well-illustrated Grasses of the Texas Hill Country. Come hear about their latest endeavors.

Brian and Shirley will have copies of their Texas Cacti for sale and signing after the talk.

Tuesday, August 17, 7:00-9:00 p.m., Wild Basin Wilderness meeting room, 805 N. Capital of Texas Highway

Grass pink orchid (Calopogon tuberosus) - Photo: Jason Singhurst

Have you ever wondered what’s growing in those wet, muddy, marshy places that –let’s face it–even veteran hikers tend to avoid?  It turns out there are some real botanical jewels there!

Come hear Jason Singhurst, botanist and plant ecologist for Texas Parks and Wildlife, and co-author of Rare Plants of Texas, talk about some rarely-seen and restricted flora in “Herbaceous Seepage Slopes and Bogs of the West Gulf Coastal Plain.”

Jason’s talk will include many rare flora, including carnivorous plants and orchids, that inhabit the regions just to the east of Austin.

Tuesday, June 15, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m., Wild Basin Wilderness meeting room, 805 N. Capital of Texas Highway