Stay Tuned for Details and Registration Information
The conference is open to all pre-K, primary and secondary teachers and educators. You can earn up to 6 education credits. Workshops will focus on applying the TEKS outside, even in your own schoolyard, with easy and engaging activities.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010, 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm (Eat & Greet at 6:30pm and Meeting at 7:00pm)
Speaker: Master Naturalist Jim Varnum
Topic:The Wonderful World of Leaves
Our own enthusiastic amateur botanist Jim Varnum presents a program on the wonder of leaves. He will answer some of your basic questions about the purpose and features of leaves, why leaves may be lobed, compound, or arranged in opposite vs. alternate fashion. Besides familiar sunflower, oak, rose, and grass leaves, Jim presents big leaves, small leaves, plants with no leaves, plants with no green color, and other oddities of the plant world.
Jim is a self-taught student of nature where his interests range from birds to plants to prairies to land preservation.He spends much time searching for native plants out-and-about in the DFW Metroplex.Jim and his wife Stephanie have recently purchased an old ranch in Hunt County and have begun to restore it back to a native prairie. Jim has been a Texas Master Naturalist since 1999 and has just completed his 5,000th hour of volunteering for the program. He sits on the board of directors of the Texas Land Trust Council and he recently retired from a similar position with the Native Prairies Association of Texas. He also teaches, gives programs and leads trail walks on birds, trees, wildflowers, prairies and land preservation. He is chock full of interesting nature trivia and a few bad nature jokes. When Jim is asked about his philosophy his interest on the natural world, he quotes author Ellen Parr: "The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity."
Meetings are open to the public.
Texas AgriLife Extension Service-Dallas County (dallas-tx.tamu.edu/ ) 10056 Marsh Lane (Map) Suite B-101 (downstairs)
(This is located at the NE corner of Marsh Lane & Walnut Hill, next to Wendy's)
