Announcements from the April General Meeting

Download the announcements here

Highlights from April Announcements

The Spring Plant Sale at Texas Discovery Gardens

• The spring sale at TDG is next week. You will be able to purchase native plants that would be difficult to find anywhere else that are adapted to our ecoregion.
• There are options for you to volunteer at the sale.
• If you attend the traning session for volunteers on Thursday evening you may get one hour advanced training (AT). After the training session, you will be able to be the first group to purchase plants. This is a great opportunity as many of the plants are sold out by Saturday morning to the trainees and TDG members on Friday.
• Job descriptions and volunteer signups are in the announcements.
• A list of available plants is also listed by species or grouped by type.

 
Milkweeds for Texas

• Milkweed plants are available that can be sent to you in the next month.
• They are free to qualifying schools and non-profits.
• You may also purchase milkweeds that are adapted to your ecoregion.
• Details are in this document below and in the announcements.
• Shipments to Texas are shipped before May 15 so if you are interested you need to get to it.

 
Audit for 2018 is Complete 

• The audit committee has presented the audit to the board. 
• You may access the audit report here or on the NTMN website.
• Details are in the announcements.

 
Texas Master Naturalist listserv

• The TMN state office reports about events all around the state by email. 
• If you subscribe to their listserv you will get the announcements and not have to wait until they are announced by our chapter.
• If you are concerned about getting a lot more email, there is an option to bundle the messages together and send them to you once a day.
• For instructions about how to subscribe to the TMN listserv are in the announcements.

 
Topic of May Presentation: Orchids of Cedar Ridge Preserve 

• The chapter meeting presentation in May will be about the orchid project that Stephanie Varnum has conducted for several years with other master naturalists at Cedar Ridge Preserve. 
• There is a GoFundMe to produce an Orchid Gami of the orchid that is found at Cedar Ridge Preserve.
• Details of the GoFund Me and what an orchid gami actually is are in announcements.

 
2019 Dues Were Due January 1

• If you can no longer logon to our website then we don’t have a record of your dues payment for 2019.
• Without the ability to logon to our website it won’t be possible to use the PayPal option to pay your dues. 
• Send a check to pay your 2019 dues of $30 to our office. 
• Details are in the announcements

Milkweeds for Texas
 Plants Available from Monarch Watch

• Kip Kiphart, a former president of NTMN now living in central Texas, has alerted us to an opportunity to get milkweed plants that are adapted to our ecoregion from the Monarch Watch website. Plants are available for free to schools and non-profits and for purchase to others.

 
Monarch Watch’s Milkweed Market

• Monarch butterfly overwintering counts were at an all-time low during 2014-2015 seasons, and a winter storm in March 2016 killed many monarchs in Mexico. The widespread planting of herbicide tolerant crops, intensive farming, and the ethanol mandate has led to a rapid loss of habitat for monarchs and other pollinators. These important insects need our help. By planting milkweeds (the host plants for monarch caterpillars) and nectar plants for adult monarchs and pollinators, you can help maintain the monarch migration and sustain the insects whose pollination services maintain our ecosystems.
• These native plants are grown in a wholesale restoration nursery, not in a retail nursery. Unlike plants grown for showiness at a retail nursery, these plants are grown for habitat restoration and are often trimmed prior to shipment to conserve water.
• Overview of Bring Back the Monarchs. 

 
Free Milkweeds for Schools and Non-Profits

• If your school or non-profit educational organization is interested in this conservation measure, Monarch Watch can help you create a habitat for monarchs and pollinators.
• More information about the Free Milkweeds for Schools & Non-Profits is here.
• Please apply using this form: biosurvey.ku.edu/application-free-milkweed-nonprofits-and-schools

 
Purchase Milkweed Plugs

• Monarch Watch Milkweed Market will sell flats of milkweed plugs to individuals or organizations not qualifying for the free plants.
• Only plants which are adapted to your ecoregion will be sold to you. You must enter your zip code and you will then find out what the Milkweed Market has available for your location.
• Go here to see what is available and to place an order.
• If you are interested you should order soon as they begin shipping May 15, but orders from Oklahoma and Texas ship before May 15.

 
Place Your Order Soon – Texas Orders are shipped before May 15