Chapter Messages
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Gulf Coast Master Naturalists, THORSDAY REPORT – 060406 CHAPTER MESSAGES REMINDER - Chapter Meeting Harris County Extension Office 3033 Bear Creek Blvd Thursday, May 4 (social time starts at 6:30PM) The Gulf Coast chapter of Texas Master Naturalists will be sponsoring a lecture by Diana Foss on the “The Bats of Houston”. This event is free and is open to the public. Diana Foss, urban wildlife biologist with Texas Parks and Wildlife Dept., will highlight some of the bats found in the Houston area. She will also discuss the ongoing Houston area bat project involving volunteers from several Master Naturalist chapters, the Houston Zoo, and other organizations at the Waugh Drive Bridge bat colony. (If you’re near downtown Houston in the late afternoon, stop by the Waugh Drive Bridge at Allen Parkway to see Houston’s Waugh Drive Bridge Bat Colony emerging at night for their evening meal of insects. This Mexican free-tailed Bat colony numbers nearly 300,000 individuals – Houston Zoo) POMs! POMs! POMs! POMs! See information about our Chapter Sponsored Project Of the Month for APRIL and MAY listed below. Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) Collection event Harris County Annex 13 & Sport Park Galena Park ISD 17423 Katy Freeway 14705 Woodforest Blvd Houston, Tx Houston, Tx Saturday, April 8, 8AM to 2PM 9AM to 3PM It's time for spring cleaning! Harris County will be hosting a FREE Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) Collection event. This event will give Precinct 3 residents a chance to clean out their garages while helping the environment at the same time. By bringing unwanted and out-of-date hazardous products to the event, citizens ensure the items will be properly disposed. In addition, participants will receive information on less toxic alternatives to common hazardous household products and can also shop for FREE items at the reusable products booth! WHAT TO BRING Harris County residents may bring paint products, pesticides, fertilizers, motor oil, gasoline, pool chemicals, household cleaners, aerosols, batteries and automotive tires (5 per household). Used electronics such as televisions, computers, word processors, printers, scanners, fax machines, cellular phones, VCRs, stereos and other small personal electronics will also be accepted. Residents may bring up to five (5) of each of these items. A mercury thermometer exchange will also take place in conjunction with this event. Residents may bring a mercury fever thermometer for proper disposal and receive a FREE, non-toxic replacement. WHAT NOT TO BRING Business waste, medical waste, ammunition, explosives, compressed gas cylinders, washers, dryers, refrigerators, freezers, air conditioners, photocopy machines, or smoke detectors will not be accepted at this event. HOW SHOULD I PREPARE MATERIALS FOR TRANSPORT TO THE COLLECTION SITE? • Bring products in their original containers • Make sure containers are properly sealed and labeled • Pack leaking containers in a larger one with absorbent, such cat litter, to soak up leaks • Do NOT mix products! • If you do not know what it is, mark it “unknown” • Place materials in cardboard boxes (if possible) • Boxes with dividers make for good packaging • Place materials in areas away from drivers and passengers Contact: Gail Moncla, Harris County HHW Manager at (713) 290-3000 or [email protected] or visit www.CleanWaterClearChoice.org http://www.newsrouter.com/newsrouter_uploads/57/ NEW GCMN-PPP Plant Offerings from Lacy Ogburn of Jesse H. Jones Park and Nature Center Thanks Lacy,for the offerings and the beautiful photos: Tickseed Sunflower - have about 10 in small pots Bidens aristosa Texas Native Annual, 1-4 ft., full sun to part shade, will reseed _____________________________________ Joe Pye Weed - seedlings are just coming up in pots right now, will have seeds Eupatorium fistulosum Texas Native Perennial, 3-8 feet tall, Full sun to part sun, moist soil Nectar plant (These seeds originated from the Big Thicket) _____________________________________ Tropical Sage - can pot up seedlings anytime from flower bed, will have seeds Salvia coccinea Texas Native Perennial, 1-3 feet, full sun to part shade, will reseed Attracts hummingbirds _______________________________________ Coral Honeysuckle - can take cuttings anytime. Have about 8 right now in small pots. Lonicera sempervirens Texas Native Evergreen vine that attracts hummingbirds, insects, and songbirds (berries) Some cuttings might have yellow flowers ______________________________________ Dutchman's Pipe - can pot up seedlings anytime, will have seeds Aristolochia fimbriata Origin: South America Habit: deciduous groundcover, dies back to base in winter Host plant for Pipevine Swallowtail. Non-native, but butterfly host plant. _______________________________________ Orange/yellow Cosmos - can pot up seedlings anytime from flower bed, will have seeds Cosmos sulphureus Native to Mexico Annual, 1-4 ft., full sun, will reseed Though non-native, this is a very easy to grow nectar source for butterflies & other insects. _____________________ Southern Wood Fern (native) - wanting to remove from flower bed, so I can pot up when needed Thelypteris kunthii - (Also available from GCMN-PPP [contact Lan Shen [email protected] some wood ferns in 4 inch pots.) ______________________________ If you want any of the above plants, please contact Lacey Ogburn at [email protected] (work: 281-446-8588) or contact GCMN-PPP: Lan Shen, [email protected] , 713-771-1415 (leave message) or 713-303-5321. (When you take these plants, I'll thank you in advance for letting me know how many and which ones you took - for our records.) Lacy is also offering the following plants which, though non-native, are easy to grow in this area. These are not officially part of the GCMN-PPP, but if you want any of these, contact her at [email protected] (work: 281-446-8588). 3 Bottlebrush plants (~ 3 feet tall, just dug up from my bed so cut back) Callistemon citrinus - http://www.floridata.com/ref/C/cal_cit.cfm 1 white Althea (~ 2 feet tall) Hibiscus syriacus http://www.floridata.com/ref/H/hibisc_s.cfm 2 Purple Passionflower Vine cuttings putting on new growth Passiflora foetida 1 Pineapple Sage in small pot Salvia elegans - http://www.floridata.com/ref/S/salv_ele.cfm Index (place cursor on title, either use ctrl + click or just click to follow link or just scroll down): OPPORTUNITIES - REMINDERS 12th Annual Migration Celebration April Pom - Project Of The Month How Do I Participate In The Texas Amphibian Watch? Fundraising Seminar Woodlands Earth Day Earth Day Event Let's Grow - Grow-Out Planting Day Wildflower Tour Pecan Growers’ Workshop and Grafters Seminar Yardwise Course The Native Plant Society of Texas, Houston Chapter – Field Trips Attwater Prairie Chicken Festival Spring Migration Birding Tour – April 8 Using Texas Natives for Landscaping and Gardening An Introduction to Permaculture Lab Gardens – WaterSmart Landscaping Program GCMN-PPP Potting Day Award/Grant Opportunities 2007 Youth Garden Grants™ Program Fiscal Year 2006 EPA Sustainability Grants Grant Wrangler Funding Directory MARK YOUR CALENDARS!!!!!!! Piney Woods Wildlife Society – Galveston Island Field Trip Butterfly Gardens – WaterSmart Landscaping Program Permaculture & The Sustainable Society The Native Plant Society of Texas, Houston Chapter – Field Trip Spring Migration Birding Tour Introduction to Wetlands – Dr. John Jacobs Tiny and Unusual Flowers of the Big Thicket-NPSOT Chapter Meeting Heiman House Garden – WaterSmart Landscaping Program Master Gardener Plant Sale & Symposium Boy Scout Jamboree Bellaire Earth Day Celebration Nature Quest 2006 Workshop on grasses Piney Woods Wildlife Society – Sabine Woods Field Trip Exploring Houston's Backyard 2006 Earth Force/Galveston Bay Watershed Academic Partnership Youth Summit Marsh Mania 2006 On the Trail of Trash- 1st Annual Park Trail Cleanup Navasota River Brazos County Field Trip International Compost Awareness Week Urban Forestry Summit 2006 13th Annual City of Houston Water Festival Piney Woods Wildlife Society – Watson Pinelands Preserve Field Trip Wildlife Photo Shoot Overabundant White-tailed Deer in Texas Carnivorous Plants Workshop May - Project Of The Month (Pom) Lone Star Regional Native Plant Conference Project Learning Tree - Fire In The Ecology Workshop FYI Youth Range Workshop – Dr. Barron Rector Spring 2006 Butterfly Gardening Plant Sale Help Save Texas Parks Bayou City Farmers' Market - Every Saturday 8-12 Katy Freeway Public Information Office Migration Celebration and Butterfly Festival Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) Collection event Interesting/Helpful Websites Houston Earth Day Guide – 2006 Streaming Eagle Cam OPPORTUNITIES - REMINDERS 12th Annual Migration Celebration Brazoria National Wildlife Refuge Thursday-Sunday, April 6-9 There will be a wide variety of events. Some activities will include bird banding demonstrations, nature photography contest, beginning birding, children’s programs, wildflower gardening, silent auction, and a lecture by John Tveten. Tours will include Columbia Bottomland Forest, Nitght Critters (Thurs. only), Quintana Island Shorebirds (Sat. only), and Brazoria Refuge (Sat. only) For more information go to www.refugefriends.org or call 979-265-2505 or 888-477-2505 (Interesting website – THOR) http://www.sciam.com/askexpert_question.cfm?articleID=00063FFC-6373-1C72- 9EB7809EC588F2D7&catID=3&topicID=3 What do scientists learn by banding birds? Return to Index APRIL POM - PROJECT OF THE MONTH SATURDAY, APRIL 8, 9AM APRIL POM -Clean up of Buffalo