Welcome to Amphibian Week
We planned the September program at Episcopal School of Dallas (ESD) in the spring where we could use the quarry on their site to see and hear amphibians. The program was originally planned for August, but we thought it might be too warm and dry; we were correct. It rained nearly every day in the week leading up to the amphibian program in early September.
Jessie Crowley presented a program on Texas amphibians which was interactive with both visual and audio of amphibians – at least the noisy ones.
The presentation was uniquely interactive as she presented the visual of the amphibian with some key facts and we used a key to identify what we were looking at. Once we agreed on the identification we were often treated to the sound the creature made. Video and audio with some thinking about identification thrown in; very well done.
We were able to go outside and get down near the shore of the quarry and several amphibians were located and put temporarily in a plastic bag to avoid contamination – of them and us.
The September announcements are here.
A list of the species observed in and around the quarry at ESD is here.
Link to Jessica’s Dropbox with amphibian calls.
Amphibians of DFW – the presentation from the September chapter meeting.
Annual Meeting is October 24 to 26
The TMN Annual Meeting was the focus of the announcements given on Wednesday. Registration for the meeting opened on Monday and by Tuesday the Sheraton Geogetown as well as the overflow hotel nearby, the Candlewood Suites, were booked; no more rooms available at the conference site.
This should still be a great opportunity to attend the annual conference in spite of the fact that we all won’t be on site for the weekend. Embarrassed that I didn’t have a room at the inn, I booked a guest house through AirBnB that is three miles from the Sheraton for $90 a night. Driving back and forth won’t be fun and not as convenient as staying at the conference center, but it should be fine.
I have included links to sites that list campsites and hotels in the Georgetown area as well as AirBnB and VRBO (Vacation Rentals by Owner). I have used both AirBnB and VRBO and have found that if you carefully read the description of the property and the amenities provided (is there WiFi, a hairdryer, etc.?), you can find an alternative to a tent or a hotel room; the proprietors of these properties rely on positive reviews so you will find that they are motivated to make you happy so you will give them a positive review. Carefully read the reviews.
The chapter will provide a limited number of scholarships for members who attend the conference. We also have a number of people presenting seminars or projects and we would like to give them some assistance too if they would like it. There is a form that you may fill out and submit to Rose Mercer our Vice President and we will give out a few scholarships to encourage attendance and presentations. If you choose to apply for a scholarship review the form as we expect you to give back to the chapter that in some way relates to your experience at the conference. Details are on the application form.
Download the scholarship form here. It is a Word document so you may key your information right on the form and send it to Rose Mercer. You may find the download in your browser somewhere – this is handled differently by different browsers.
Download the scholarship form in Adobe PDF format if you have problems with the Word version above.
The NTMN Volunteer Survey
We are asking members to take a survey to identify people who would like to make a contribution to the chapter by volunteering to assist with a committee or the NTMN board.
The survey will ask you about:
- Committees and projects in which you may want to participate.
- Whether you would be interested in one of the four board positions that we need to fill for the 2019-2020 term.
- If you would like to nominate yourself or another member for a board position.
If you want to know more about the Duties and Responsibilities of the North Texas Chapter Board and Committees click here to see a copy of Appendix E of our Chapter Operating Handbook in another window (the items highlighted in yellow are proposed changes from this spring and are the most up-to-date).
If you haven’t already, take the survey.
Thank you,
Bruce Stewart