Our website is dedicated to keeping members and interested members of the public up-to-date on opportunities for learning and volunteer service in our area. The strength of our program is in its nature as a mutually-supportive community of highly-motivated and independent individuals. This site hopes to empower that community by promoting communications about what the members have been doing and what they can be doing to serve Central Texas.

CAMN volunteers continue to make a difference in the stewardship of natural resources across our area. We are proud of all the great projects that are happening and want to share them with you. Take the time to share our pride in your hard work, the learning that occurs and the sharing of your knowledge with others. The evidence of this great effort can be seen in our Hill Country surroundings, our streams and rivers, our thickets and woods, prairies and parks, and finally our schools.

Pictures courtesy: Lynne and Jim Weber

The Capital Area Master Naturalists’ Class of 2012 has now been filled. Applications for 2013 will be available in August 2012.

If this is inconvenient for you, you may wish to check for class availability with other Master Naturalist chapters in the region, or investigate programs such as Go Native U at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

 

CAMN Meeting—January 25th, 2012

At 6:30 (for social hour) and 7:00 (for program) on January 25th, 2012, come and join us when Jim and Lynne Weber will discuss their new book, Nature Watch Austin: Guide to the Seasons in an Urban Wildland: Ducks in January . . . bats in March . . . rain lilies in April . . . meteors in August . . . the predictable appearance of fauna and flora allows humans to experience the natural cycles in the environment, no matter how urban the setting. In Nature Watch Austin, avid amateur naturalists Lynne and Jim Weber provide an introduction and guide to some of the natural events that define the seasons in the City of Austin and its surrounding areas. No matter how clogged with traffic or entombed in concrete, even large cities harbor wildlife and support a community of plants, either in tucked-away places both familiar and unexpected, or in parks and preserves dedicated to city dwellers in search of open space. Learning the annual rhythms of our “urban wildland” encourages everyone to be in tune with nature and welcome the opportunities to enjoy it, year after year.

Lynne Weber and Jim Weber work in the high tech industry in Austin, where she is a Senior Manager and he is a Senior Engineer. Both are certified Texas Master Naturalists, and Lynne is past president of the Capital Area Chapter. The Webers are dedicated naturalists who volunteer in many ways, including:

Golden-cheeked Warbler surveys, guided hikes, property monitoring, and invasive plant mapping/control for the City of Austin Wildland Conservation Division Lepidoptera (butterflies & moths) curating and outreach for the University of Texas Insect Collection at the Texas Natural Science Center Colima Warbler surveys for Big Bend National Park Certified Habitat Stewards for the National Wildlife Federation and owners of Woody Hollow, a private 8-acre preserve now part of the Balcones Canyonlands Preserve System Authors/photographers of nature columns for the Austin American-Statesman and numerous neighborhood newsletters

Lynne is currently the Vice President of the Big Bend Natural History Association Board of Directors and a member of the Balcones Canyonlands Preserve Citizens Advisory Council. Jim is a member of the Big Bend Natural History Association Advisory Board and on the Board of Directors for the Chihuahuan Desert Research Institute. Most recently, the Webers wrote their first book, Nature Watch Austin: Guide to the Seasons in an Urban Wildland, published by Texas A&M University Press.

Regular Monthly Meetings are normally the last Wednesday of each month (except December when we do not meet) and are held at 6:30, at the Austin Nature and Science Center, Zilker Park (Map to Austin Nature Center http://bit.ly/hJ2Pli)

All meetings are open to the public so bring a friend!

Upcoming Meetings:

  • 25th January 2012—Jim and Lynne Weber, our very own CAMNers, will discuss their new book Nature Watch Austin: Guide to the Seasons in an Urban Wildland! This is a really beautiful book and I know you enjoy their presentation.
  • 29th February 2012—Agrilife Extension Assistant Jared Timmons will be discussing “Feral Hogs and their impact.”
  • 28th March, 2012, Jeanette Larson, will discuss “Hummingbirds: Fact and Folklore.” Jeanette is the author of Hummingbirds: Facts and Folklore from the Americas. She will be happy to sign books for you and will have some to sell as well.
  • 25th April, 2012—Dr. Pamela Owen, Senior Paleontology Educator for the Texas Natural Science Center at the University of Texas at Austin, on “Magnificent Mammals of Ice Age Austin.” Dr. Owen was recently a featured scientist in a Discovery TV segment on prehistoric mammals of Texas

Hot off the Press

A steal at $18 each, both designs of the CAMN tee-shirt are available in M, L, and XL. The Awards Ceremony meeting will be the next time that we will be selling the shirts, so stock up then.  Due to the Texas sales tax regulations, they will not be available again for sale until next fall, but keep them in mind for presents or a gift for yourself. 
The monochrome tee-shirt
There will be only a very limited number available, so first come, first served… but you can jump the queue by pre-ordering. We will let you know when the sale is approaching.

The Color teeshirt

Become a Master Naturalist

Texas Master Naturalists not only get their feet wet and their hands dirty, but while doing so they spend time in a natural setting, learn about different plant and animal species, and maybe even find something new: One member, in fact, discovered a new plant species.

To become a Texas Master Naturalist, each volunteer:

  • Goes through an approved training program with at least 40 hours of combined field and classroom instruction, plus 8 hours of approved advanced training
  • Donates 40 hours of volunteer service back to the state and community. Trainees can complete their 40 hours of volunteer service and 8 hours of advanced training within a year after their initial training.
  • Completes another 8 hours of advanced training and donates 40 hours of volunteer service every year after the first one.

Interested in joining? If you can’t find a chapter near you, contact the Texas Master Naturalist coordinator, a local office of Texas Parks and Wildlife or a local county Extension agent.

Become A Master Naturalist

Want to know more?
Here’s some facts:

Since the organization’s founding in 1998, Texas Master Naturalists have contributed more than 1,003,409 hours of service on 90,000 acres of wildlife and native plant habitats, and reached more than 1.2 million Texas residents of all ages. These volunteer efforts are worth more than $20 million.

Currently 5,306 Texas Master Naturalist™ volunteers serve in 39 local chapters across the state, and new chapters are opening all the time.

The program has earned the Wildlife Management Institute’s Presidents’ 2000 Award, the National Audubon Society’s 2001 Habitat Hero’s Award, the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission’s 2001 Environmental Excellence Award, and Texas A&M University’s 2001 Vice Chancellor’s Award of Excellence in Partnership. In 2005 program earned the U.S. Department of Interior’s “Take Pride in America” award.