Page 1 of 16 Coastal Prairie Courier February 28th, 2018 00000000000000000000111111100000000000Coastal Prairie Chapter Courier 00000Volume 6, Issue 2 We are a group of trained volunteers who share our appreciation and knowledge of nature with the community through outreach, education and conservation/restoration projects Jaime Talks About Being Media-Savvy” By Diane Russell Table of Contents : 2 Jaime Talks Media………1 Field Trip….…….………..2 Jaime’s Resources……...3 Certifications/Milestones..4 Seabourne Honored…….5 Volunteer Projects..……..6 Native Plants…….………9 Plants of the Month……10 Our Own Backyards..….11 Photo by Diane Russell Miscellaneous.…...…….12 Rick Adams………….....13 Jaime Gonzalez, Community Conservation Director, Katy Prairie Conservancy, Book Corner…...…….…14 spoke to us at our February 1st Program about how our organization can have Lighter Side………....….15 more of a media impact. Why should we concern ourselves with this? Because, Propagation Program....16 as the saying goes, “If you do something and tell no one, you didn’t do it.” He stressed the importance of telling stories that are memorable, not just relaying Chapter events and information and disconnected facts. Humans have always communicated nature-related through the power of storytelling since earliest times. It’s important to tell articles, photos, and people the story of what you’re doing and to make your story known. This is items of interest to how you engage the public to help you do what you do. the chapter need to be sent to Lynn by the You must ask yourself what your goals are in engaging the public. Is it to: 25th of the month. Suggestions for the ▪ Inform? newsletter are also ▪ Entertain? welcome. Thanks. ▪ Change behavior? ▪ Get people to donate? Lynn Trenta, ▪ Get people to support your work? Courier Editor ▪ Change habits? Remember, information alone rarely, if ever, changes behavior. You must appeal to the emotions, as described in TED talks by Simon Sinek, who relates proven approaches to being good leaders and attracting loyalty. See one of his talks at https://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action Continued on next page Page 2 of 16 Coastal Prairie Courier Jaime Talks About Being Media-Savvy (continued) Other valuable hints on how to engage the public included: • Know why you are doing what you are doing and what your core beliefs are, as discussed by Sinek. • Don’t complicate your story. As an example, instead of overwhelming people with all the native plants they could be using in their yards, he focuses on Nine Natives, which he then describes as “gateway drugs” to hook people. • Be surprising. Use mysterious titles and novelty whenever possible. • Use video! And please us a tripod to avoid shaking. Good audio is really important. Keep it brief. Social media is important for getting out your message - Instagram, Facebook, Canva (free social media graphics), neighborhood circulars - as is cultivating a real relationship with your local newspaper. Books that he highly recommended are “Fostering Sustainable Behavior”, “Across the Spectrum”, and “Influencing Conservation Action”. March Field Trip on Saturday, March 17th March 17th we are going on our chapter field trip to the Matagorda County Birding Nature Center located on the beautiful Colorado River with 34 acres and six beautiful botanical gardens to explore! https://www.facebook.com/pg/natureandbirds/about/?ref=page_inter nal. We plan to head to Matagorda Bay first, then on to the Nature Center after a brown bag lunch. Those wishing to carpool, please meet up at the Ag Extension Office at 9 am instead of the previously mentioned noon. We will meet at 1025 TX 35, Bay City at 10:30. There will be a $3 per person or $5 per carload entry fee to the park when we return there after our tour of Matagorda Bay. Page 3 of 16 Coastal Prairie Courier Jaime Gonzalez ‘s Resources about Communications Hello Texas Master Naturalists, Thank you once again for inviting me to speak to your group about communications. As promised I am sending you some resources that I think that may be valuable to your members --YouTube link to my talk Click here --Telling good stories and the value of stories • The Story Telling Animal • Simon Sinek's Talk on the Golden Circle - Getting to the 'Why' in your story or your organization --Learning about Environmental Education • Across the Spectrum: Varieties and outcomes of environmental education --Changing Conservation Behaviors • Influencing Conservation Action • Branding Biodiversity • Fostering Sustainable Behavior: An Introduction to Community-based Social Marketing --A Quick and Dirty Video Kit You can spend thousands and thousands of dollars on great video equipment but if you spend just a few hundred dollars you can assemble a simple and effective video kit that you can use to film lectures, do live broadcasts, etc. --Equipment list • Smartphone with good video capability • A tripod: There are many inexpensive tripods that will work. You will probably want something light weight (consider carbon fiber vs. metal). If you want to take it up a notch get a tripod with a fluid video head that will allow for smooth panning. Something like this would be fine but you can find cheaper versions if you are on a tight budget. • A wireless microphone: Remember that audio is king! So, get an inexpensive, smartphone compatible wireless microphone system. I use this model and it cost under $100. • A Spotlight and Lampstand: For low light conditions you'll want to have a light such as this one and a lampstand with a swivel head. This is particularly important for filming talks in low light. Jaime González, Community Conservation Director, Katy Prairie Conservancy 5615 Kirby Drive, Suite 867, Houston, Texas 77005-2458 Phone: 713.523.6135 ext. 400, Fax: 713.583.0683, Cell: 281.660.6683 [email protected] Page 4 of 16 Coastal Prairie Courier Chapter Milestones Certifications and Recertifications By Michelle Sullivan 2018 RE-CERTIFICATIONS - Jerry Trenta MILESTONES 2017 4000 hours - Diane Russell, Jim Butcher 2500 hours - Lynn Trenta 1000 hours - Penny Johnson, Susan Walther, Michelle Sullivan 500 hours- Margo Johnson, Amber Leung 250 hours - Carol Hawkins, Sal Cardenas, Rick Davison, Lea Hyman, Jerry Trenta, Debby Wendt INITIAL CERTIFICATIONS 2017 Teckla Coven Garrett Engelhardt Kevin Engelhardt Terri Hurley Rhonda Kuykendall Pradip Sethi Pauline Zinn 2017 RECERTIFICATIONS Karl Baumgartner Carol Hawkins Kathy Moore Michelle Sullivan Jim Butcher Nancy Huffman Mark Morgenstern Jerry Trenta Rick Davison C.J. McDaniel Donna Pisani Lynn Trenta Stella Davison Don Johnson Wayne Poorman Susan Walther Susie Doe Kristi Johnson Linda Rippert Jeff Wellman Jaci Elliott Margo Johnson Linda Rude Debby Wendt Garrett Engelhardt Penny Johnson Diane Russell Erik Wolf Jamie Fairchild Bill Johnson Carol Schwartz Pauline Zinn Jean Greenhalgh Amber Leung Gloria Scheel Roger Hathorn Linda Lourim Bob Schwartz Page 5 of 16 Coastal Prairie Courier Seabourne Volunteers Honored by the City of Rosenberg rip February 15th, Chapter volunteers assembled at the Rosenberg Volunteer Appreciation Dinner to receive recognition of the chapter’s work at Seabourne Creek Nature Park. In attendance, receiving their Certificates of Appreciation were: Jimmy Brannon, Bill Archer, Jerry Trenta, Susan Archer, Karl Baumgartner, Roger Hathorn, Mark Morgenstern, Lea Hyman, Sal Cardenas, Ramona Ridge, Jim Butcher, Gloria Scheel, Linda Lourim, Pauline Zinn, Linda Rippert, Wayne Poorman, Amber Leung, Keven Engelhardt, Diane Russell, Carol Hawkins, Garrett Engelhardt, and Lynn Trenta. Congratulations to all Coastal Prairie Chapter Volunteers, those who volunteer at Seabourne and those who volunteer in other areas of the community! Our volunteers put in many hours for our chapter’s administration and for the community. They are our most valuable asset!! Page 6 of 16 Coastal Prairie Courier Volunteer Projects Gulf Coast Bird Observatory Spring Fling By Jean Greenhalgh One of the volunteer opportunities for us every year is at the Spring Fling at Quintana. At least four of us volunteered in 2017 - Bill and Margot Johnson, Debby Wendt and Jean Greenhalgh. Bird migration on the Texas Coast is famous world-wide with birders. Some foreign and American birding tour companies operate tours to see the spectacle. We are lucky at CPTMN to have a front row seat. Each year billions of birds, from hummingbirds to hawks, fly from their wintering grounds in Central and South America to breed in the USA and Canada. The majority cross the Gulf of Mexico from the Yucatan Peninsula or fly around it along the Mexico coast. There are many famous locations along the Gulf Coast to witness this, including High Island, Galveston Island and South Padre Island. The closest to Rosenberg is at Quintana, Brazoria County. The Quintana Neotropical Bird Sanctuary is located there, and it has a bird list of 329 species in ebird. This year GCBO will be hosting Spring Fling from 7th April to 5th May. They have a cabin, called the hosting station, which is open from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm every day in April. It is located across the street from the Neotropical Bird Sanctuary. This cabin is hosted by volunteers and staff to answer questions, keep a daily list of bird sightings, and sell water, snacks, T-shirts and field guides. In addition, this year, GCBO will be holding a Spring Fling Auction in aid of GCBO. Photographs of the auction items will be at the Quintana hosting station. We also ask visitors to sign in, and a record is kept of where they come from. Page 7 of 16 Coastal Prairie Courier Gulf Coast Bird Observatory Spring Fling (continued) This gives us an opportunity to interact with birders and photographers from around the USA and foreign counties. In 2017 163 species were seen; 961 visitors were logged visiting from 27 US states (including Texas) and 10 foreign countries. There were 38 on-site volunteers who volunteered 430 hosting hours.