Prairie Notes #200 - 20 Years of Action & Awareness
Prairie Notes are monthly photo/journal observations from Tandy Hills Natural Area by Founder/Director, Don Young. They include field reports, flora and fauna sightings, and more, mixed with a scoop of dry humor and a bit of philosophy.
They are available free to all who get on the FOTHNA email list.
20 Years of Action & Raising Awareness
Prairie Notes #200
August 1, 2023
1) 20 Years of Action & Raising Awareness
2) Milestone Testimonials
3) Field Report - July
4) The Interns have Landed!
5) New Species - July
6) Prairie-Sky / Star-Party Report
7) Night Mothing w/ Sam K.
8) Go Wild @ Funky Picnic is TODAY!
9) Prairie Proverb - Margaret Mead
1) 20 Years of Action & Raising Awareness
“You can’t love something or save something you don’t even know exists.”
- Don Young
Such was the situation at Tandy Hills in 2004 when I first raised the alarm about serious threats to its existence. Very few people in Fort Worth knew Tandy Hills existed or that it was being targeted by giant, international, dirty industries for energy extraction. We had to act swiftly.
From the beginning in 2004, the primary goal of Friends of Tandy Hills and this newsletter, was simply to raise awareness of Tandy Hills. Its beauty. Its biological rarity. Its uniqueness. It’s very existence.
How did we raise awareness? Ten years of Prairie Fest for starters. After 10 years of the festival, we had reached a sort of critical mass of awareness and a pool of volunteers and partners. But we did not stop there. We began much-needed clean-up and land management programs. Brush Bash and later, Prairie Posse, have made major impacts. The New Years Day hike, Manly Men & Wild Women, added a whole new group of people and awareness. All that awareness and action helped convince the City of Fort Worth to purchase 50 acres on Broadcast HIll in 2020. Other awareness-raising events include, the Trout Lily Walk, the 2016 BioBlitz and PrairieSky / StarParty. Along the way, we made sure the regional press aware of what we were doing. The Fort Worth Weekly was especially helpful.
We have partners that help further our goals. City of Fort Worth and the FW Park & Recreation Department, West Meadowbrook Neighborhood Association, Native Plant Society of Texas, Native Prairies Association of Texas, Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, North Texas Master Naturalists, Arlington Conservation Society, Fort Worth Astronomical Society, Fort Worth ISD, Greater Fort Worth Sierra Club and many volunteers, sponsors and donors.
As we mark this current milestone of 20 years and 200 Prairie Notes, I felt was important to get the perspective of some key people who have been involved up to this point. Some of them go way back before me and some more recently.
I am honored and humbled by their responses. I hope their perspectives will inspire a new generation to continue the important and never-ending stewardship of caring for and raising awareness of our shared treasure known as Tandy Hills Natural Area.
Click the link in #2 below to find the Milestone Testimonials Gallery:
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2) Milestone Testimonials
On this 20 year milestone, I am exceedingly grateful to these 18 key people who offer their unique perspectives on Tandy Hills. They share my enthusiasm and appreciation for the place and understand its value to the community. I think you will enjoy reading their comments at this LINK:
3) Field Report - July
Almost no rain and temps up to 109 degrees helped to dry out Tandy Hills in July 2023. We did enjoy a little rain shower on the morning of July 9th. Along with a pleasant, north summer breeze and a sunny sky, I was back on the prairie again. However, by late July there were only a handful of wildflower species blooming. Summer Gayfreather (Liatris aestivates) was the most common and nearly every plant had either, pollinators, predators or prey in attendance. Unsurprisingly, even in the summertime, Tandy Hills is alive and well. We just have to make it through September.
4) The Interns Have Landed!
I am very pleased to announce that, Tandy Hills now has 3 young interns working Wednesday thru Sunday until September. They were hired by the City of Fort Worth (with Michelle Villafranca as the lead) as part of the recent grant from Communities Foundation of Texas. Their duties are to maintain trails, pick up trash, conduct plant surveys, map trails and entry points and, most importantly, interact with the public about visitor rules at the natural area. They monitor and engage with portrait photographers and other visitors every weekend during the "golden hours" of heavy photographer traffic.
Their first day on the job proved to be eventful. They had interactions with a group men on 4-wheelers, another group on horseback and the usual commercial photographers. Wearing official shirts and hats, they chat with rule-breakers and offer them cards listing park regulations.
They are all attending college working on degrees related to the natural world. And they are the nicest, well-mannered and smartest kids you could ask for. Say hello to (L-R) Jacob, Kimberly and Paige.
5) New Species - July
The species count went up by two in July, ending up at 1940. The two species documented were. Sam Kieschnick ID of a, Say's Grasshopper (Spharagemon equale) and a new species of Jumping Spider (Phidippus pius) observed by, Frank Goodavish. See them below and see all the other species at the Tandy Hills iNat Project Page HERE.
6) Prairie-Sky / Star-Party Report
Despite very warm temps, the July star party was well-attended. There were 14 club members with 13 scopes plus a couple of roving ambassador club members to provide help and answer questions. We had about 40 visitors. The next event is, Saturday, August 26th. Check website for more info HERE.
Here is your August sky commentary by Fort Worth Astronomical Society rep, John McCrea:
For our August 26th FWAS/Tandy Hills star party, we will have our favorite summer constellations. The center of our galaxy can be found in the constellation, Sagittarius (the archer). Also, visible will be some of the well-known constellations such as: Scorpius (the scorpion), Lyra (the lyre), and Cygnus (the swan). The remaining are Ursa Major, Cancer, Virgo, and Hercules. The summer triangle Vega (25 LY), Deneb (1,411 LY), and Altair (17 LY)) will be visible. Vega will be at its highest point of the year, almost on the Zenith.
The sun will set at 8:01 PM on August 26th. The moon will be a 9-day old waxing gibbous, and will be in Sagittarius. The planet Saturn (♄) will be in Aquarius (the water bearer), rising about 8:15 PM, and about 815 million miles away. When we view Saturn, and other distant objects, our telescopes will become time machines and we become time travelers, providing a look into the past as Saturn was, about 1 1/4 hours earlier.
7) Night MOthing w/ Sam K.
The Friends of Tandy Hills and the Fort Worth Chapter of, the Native Prairies Association of Texas (NPAT), are co-sponsoring a night of “mothing” on Broadcast Hill. Texas Park & Wildlife Department’s Urban Biologist, Sam Kieschnick, who knows a thing or two about moths and mothing will demonstrate his method of attracting, observing, photographing and identifying moths and other night critters. More than 200 species of moths have been documented at Tandy Hills/Broadcast Hill.
Mark your calendar for, Saturday, August 12 at 8pm. Meet at Broadcast Hill Open Space at 8pm. Address is 2 Broadcast Hill. From Oakland Blvd., take Barnett Street one block west to the new parking lot, just off Scenery Hill Drive. Look for the big TV tower. Read more at the NPAT website HERE.
Read about, The Magical Moths of Tandy Hills in Prairie Notes #164, HERE.
8) Go Wild (DFW) @ Funky Picnic
To celebrate the publication of her new book, Wild DFW, Amy Martin is throwing a book release party for Tarrant County folks. Come mix, mingle and chat with Amy and other nature people. It happens on, August 1st, from 5 - 8 pm. The place is, Funky Picnic Brewery & Cafe, located just south of downtown Fort Worth in the hip, new, South Main Street neighborhood. They have delicious food, drink and desserts. You can also buy a copy of the book or get one signed. The address is 401 Bryan Avenue, #117. I hope to see you there. Google map HERE.
PS: Check out the Community Page of the Wild DFW website for an abundance of info, HERE:
In other Amy Martin news. . . The never-ending, Amy Martin Road Show, stopped by Monkey & Dog Bookstore, in Fort Worth on July 19 to promote and sign her new book. A surprisingly large group of about 40 people crammed into the small-ish bookstore to hear Amy tell tales from her fabulous new book, Wild DFW. It was gratifying to see so many local nature nerds in one place.
9) Prairie Proverb - Margaret Mead
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”
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Prairie Notes© is the official newsletter of Friends of Tandy Hills Natural Area, a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization. All content by Don Young except where otherwise noted.
