Prairie Notes #112: Science Nerds, Nature Mystics & You
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.
Science Nerds, Nature Mystics & You
Prairie Notes #112
April 1, 2016
1) Science Nerds, Nature Mystics & You
2) Field Report - March
3) Sponsor Love
4) iNaturalist Training for All
5) Cowtown Cleanup is Now
6) Prairie Proverb
1) Science Nerds, Nature Mystics & You
One thing I love about the Tandy Hills BioBlitz is the coming together of diverse groups and individuals for a single purpose: To better understand and appreciate the biodiversity of our urban prairie. During a 36-hour blitz starting Earth Day at 6 A.M. and ending Saturday at 6 P.M., Tandy Hills will become a living laboratory with scientists, nature mystics and average folks (including kids) observingnature up close and documenting their findings via iNaturalist. The results will be tallied as they come in to form a more complete picture of what most of us already know. Tandy Hills is amazing.
A mini-festival (Saturday only) will occur simultaneously featuring our traditional wildflower tours, a wild foods hike, kids activities, kite-flying, solar viewing telescopes, trailside storytellers and the Prairie Passport Game. Food and drink will be available from Chadra Mezza & Grill. AND... if all goes as planned, Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price, will be on hand to publicly sign the Mayor's Monarch Pledge. Stay tuned to our Facebook page for further updates.
It will be an historic day for all. Come on in.
Is this for real? As Bill Clinton might have said, "It depends on what your definition of "real" is."
2) Field Report - March
What a wild month of rain, sunshine, cold, warmth, ice and wind! The wildflowers of Spring have responded and a magnificent show is coming online like lion. ; ) Here's a few pics of the virtual rainbow of colors and textures, I observed in the month of March, as they slowly began emerging from the amazing miracle known as Tandy Hills prairie.
3) Sponsor Love
It's not too late for you to join our sterling list of BioBlitz Suppoters. We need your suport to make BioBlitz a success. Thanks to the following Partners and Supporters whose names will appear on our poster, t-shirt, Kids on the Prairie Field Journal, event banner and website: Dr. Libby Gilmore, Mary Kay & Greg Hughes, Jim Marshall, Jane Rector, Don Wheeler, Prairie Keepers, Native Prairie Association (FW), Event Solar Power, Texas Master Naturalists, Boy Scouts of America, BRIT, tiNG-tiNG design, Fort Worth Audubon Society, Fort Worth Mortgage Bankers Association, Precision Press, Buyers Barricades, Unity Church Fort Worth, Frost Bank, Native Plant Society of Texas (NCT chapter), GreatWater Irrigation & Ecoscapes, James D. Bradbury / PLLC, West Meadowbrook Neighborhood Association, YMCA Camp Carter, Fort Worth Astronomical Society, Whole Foods Market, Marshall Grain, Arlington Conservation Society, Texas Honeybee Guild, Sportswear Graphics, Bel Air Music Showcase, Redenta's Garden and The Story of Mary the Caterpillar.
Mary Kay Hughes, representing FW Mortgage Bankers presented gtrateful FOTHNA members a check for $1,000.
4) iNaturalist Training for All
With BioBlitz only 22 days away there are two training workshops scheduled for you to hone your iNat skills. Mr. iNat himself, Sam Kieschnick, will walk you the through the basics of citizen science to help you contribute observations to the BioBlitz database. Both events take place at Tandy Hills. Here's the dates:
April 3 @ 1 P.M. (FOTHNA sponsored)
April 11 @ 6:30 P.M. FW-NPAT sponsored) Link: https://fortworthnpat.wordpress.com
Come meet and learn from the Google of iNat, Mr. Sam Kieschnick, ladies and gentlemen!
5) Cowtown Cleanup is Now
Want to help clean up trash from Tandy Hills awe-inspiring, 160-acres? You will have that op on April 2, from 8:30 - 11:30 A.M. Register yourself or group today at the website here:
6) Prairie Proverb
“Nature holds the key to our aesthetic, intellectual, cognitive and even spiritual satisfaction.”
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.
