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Volunteer Opportunities
A question came in from one of the new trainees in the Class of 2015 about whether some work they would do could count toward their 2015 requirements. I didn’t actually know offhand. (I often don’t know the answer to a lot of good questions, but fortunately I’m surrounded by a lot of smart advisors). The…
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2015 Geology and Soils class recap
This past Saturday saw the CAMN trainees for the class of 2015 visiting the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center for an overview of geology and soils in Central Texas. Jon Brandt, soils scientist with the Railroad Commission of Texas and a longtime CAMN member, coordinated the class. This was Jon’s 15th and last year as coordinator, as…
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Canyon Lake Gorge Advanced Training Trip Recap
Eighteen CAMN’ers and enthusiastic friends and family members had a successful Advanced Training trip to the Canyon Lake Gorge Saturday, 1/24. We were hosted by the Gorge Preservation Society. Great hike and lecture on the canyon and its geology. Thanks to Jaynellen Ladd at the Society for helping set this up. And a special shout-out…
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Bull Creek Entrance Permit
This is a great way to earn a permit to hike an otherwise seasonally-closed (March 1 – July 31) trail in golden-cheeked warbler habitat. You’ll go on an orientation hike with a Wildlands staff member, and have access to online study materials for a 30-question quiz before earning the badge. If you’ve never been involved…
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Grow Green Wildlife Habitat Gardening Video
The Grow Green series of educational materials – developed in partnership between The City of Austin Watershed Protection Department, Texas Agrilife Extension, and others – is a wealth of information for gardeners and naturalists alike. Encapsulated in this small subsection of the City website is an impressive list of informative videos, print publications, fact sheets, sample garden templates, searchable plant…
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Camouflage
[This is a post I originally wrote for my personal site, gardenaustin.com.] I never really thought about it until now, but translucency is a pretty efficient form of camouflage. Why waste energy on pigments that may not meet all your needs? I spotted this common green darner (iNaturalist) in my tomato vines on a cold morning.…
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Texas Pollinator PowWow
This looks to be a good symposium of topics ranging from pollinators to native plants, and how to get involved in creating or preserving the ecosystems that support them. Speakers include Merlin Tuttle, retired founder of Bat Conservation International, Michael Warriner, TPWD invertebrate biologist who has spoken at CAMN before on bumblebees, and a slate of…
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2015 Mammals Class
The 2015 trainees had a great second class with Dr. Pamela Owen, Associate Director of the Texas Memorial Museum, teaching the overview of Texas mammals. CAMN has been fortunate to have Dr. Owen teach this class for a number of years. As part of the talk, she brings examples of pelts and skulls for students…
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Winter Rains
The weather has been somewhat cold and soggy over the past few weeks, and cabin fever has been a nagging companion at least to some (says the guy who has rearranged his garage at least twice this past month). But there are the upsides to it. While our local rains haven’t done much to change the…