Volunteer Opportunities – Page 28 – Nature Along the El Camino Real

July Wildscape Project Update

July 19, 2019 Sue Ann (Suna) Kendall4 Comments

by Catherine Johnson

The Wildscape garden project is doing great, despite the recent heat. It is nice to be able to irrigate every inch the way we have it set up. We hope you enjoy the photos of some of the flowers in bloom now.

Butterflies and hummingbirds have found the flowers and are arriving in good numbers.

We’re happy to report that more items have been donated to the garden, including some solar water fountains that will provide a soothing sound and the moving water source many insects and birds enjoy.

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Girl Scout Nature Program

June 12, 2019 Sue Ann (Suna) KendallLeave a comment

by Catherine Johnson

The Girl Scout Nature Program hosted by our Master Naturalist group in May was a great success, with 23 people attending. The scouts kept Lisa Milewski and Donna Lewis busy with questions.

*Donna Lewis watches as Lisa Milewski talks to the Girl Scouts.*

Master Naturalists Dorothy Mayer and Pamela Neeley also participated in the program.

Everyone had refreshments and toured the Milam Wildscape and Bird and Bee Farm. They got to see newly hatched Rio Grande Turkeys. We were thrilled when the older scouts requested to create projects in the Wildscape.

After this success, we plan to offer all Milam County Girl Scout troops programs like this.

(Sorry we were a little late posting this update!)

a donkey and kids — Scruffy the donkey was quite a hit with the troop.

Wildscape Project Update

June 11, 2019 Sue Ann (Suna) KendallLeave a comment

by Catherine Johnson

We hope you enjoy this gallery of photos showing progress that is being made by our team and other volunteers at the Wildscape being constructed at Bird and Bee Farm.

Larger planter with water for butterflies

Larger view with all the planters in progress.

A Hugely Successful Earth Day Celebration

April 21, 2019April 23, 2019 Sue Ann (Suna) Kendall1 Comment

by Sue Ann Kendall

The 2019 Earth Day Celebration is in the books! It was a great success, too! Over 70 people and two dogs visited the Community Room on Main Street in Rockdale to see the El Camino Real Master Naturalists and their exhibits. We were joined by local Girl Scouts of Central Texas troops and the Little River Basin Master Gardeners, too. (It helps that many of our members are also Master Gardeners.)

Rosie Johnson did a great job decorating the outside of the Community Room in Rockdale.

Many thanks go out to Donna Lewis and the rest of the Earth Day Committee, who put in a lot of effort and planning to make this event successful. There were so many details, but they were all handled very well!

Donna Lewis takes a break to talk to Catherine Johnson during setup.

And of course, we truly appreciated all the chapter members who took time out of their holiday weekend to join us and talk to the guests about the importance of taking care of our planet.

Pamela Neeley grabs a new rain gauge from the Post Oak Savannah Groundwater Conservation District’s contributions.

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Lexington Senior Butterfly Garden Update

April 18, 2019April 17, 2019 Sue Ann (Suna) Kendall2 Comments

photos by Sharon Sweet

Today, Sharon Sweet shares some photos of the butterfly garden project she and Wesley created five or six years ago at the senior center in Lexington, along with a bonus bluebonnet photo, because, well, who can resist those? We hope you enjoy this photo essay.