The Texas Master Naturalist, El Camino Real Chapter invites all local lovers of the diverse and fascinating landscape of Texas to join us beginning in January for our next training class.
We have been gathering a selection of Texas plant, animal, water, and land experts to guide students through an in-depth introduction to our surroundings, with a special focus on Milam County and its immediate surroundings. Plus there will be field trips for immersive learning. You’ll never look at the land around you the same way again!
Learn about native plants and insects
As an accredited Texas Master Naturalist, you’ll get to attend monthly meetings, engage in fulfilling community outreach, and work on projects that benefit life around Milam County. Plus there’s a yearly annual meeting for more learning and networking opportunities among Texas Parks and Wildlife staff, AgriLife Extension staff, and nature lovers from all over Texas.
Participate in community projects
To learn more about the training and get on the list for more information, contact Alan Rudd at aerudd@yahoo.com or 979-220-3328.
Our Chapter President, Carolyn Henderson, was asked to put together ten photos of activities our group has engaged in over the past year, so they can be shared at next week’s Texas Master Naturalist Annual Meeting in McAllen, Texas (we will get to see the eclipse there!). We want to share this recap with all our blog readers and Facebook friends, too.
We look forward to more fun the rest of the year and in the future. Join us if you want to! You don’t have to be a member to attend our meetings and activities.
Master Naturalist Mike Conner, developer of the trail, explains “swales”Chapter members gathered after climbing the Rancheria Grande trail in Milam CountyUncommon flower found on the Rancheria Grande trail – “Propeller Flower” or Alophia drumondiiECR chapter presentation to the Little River chapter Master Gardeners on using native plants at the wildscapeGirdled Glossy Privets being removedPlanting a bur oak at a local park in CameronVisiting purple martin houses near BuckholtzNew trainees attend class on insects given by Wizzie Brown, AgriLife Agent from AustinTPWD Intern at Mother Neff State Park takes the chapter on a guided tourJackie Thornton teaches a bee class in Rockdale about setting up watering sites for beesMaster Naturalists talk with community members about feeding bees with native plants
Wednesday night was very festive for the El Camino Real Texas Master Naturalist chapter. We celebrated the five new graduates from our training program with a delicious meal and a lovely presentation at the All Saints Episcopal Church in Cameron, where we also have our monthly meetings. We are grateful to Fr. Jeff and his staff for being such gracious hosts.
Father Jeff and our graduates.
Our food was catered by Hot Corners, the company that is located in the beautiful Venue at Railfan that recently opened in town. Barbara Dominguez does a wonderful job, and we were glad to see our vegetarian attendees had many options. Next time we’ll remember to ask for a gluten-free main course!
The appetizers included one of Barbara’s famous charcuterie boards, along with wine and some pretty darned good non-alcoholic wine beverage that was fun to try!
MMM, charcuterie
Desserts were provided by Alan Rudd, who was also our assistant trainer this year. It was hard to choose which one to try, so many people tasted more than one.
Alan tasted his pie first!Everything was all protected.
The fellowship and conversation were fantastic, and everyone had a good time at the meal, and an even better time during the awards.
First, Dorothy Mayer read her famous poem she wrote when she was graduating, which always brings a laugh.
Dorothy shares the story of her poem.
Then came the highlight of the evening. Patricia Coombs, Brenda Ferris, Ellen Luckey, Michelle Pierce, and Neil Wettstein were each presented with their graduation certificates, and two others received their first dragonfly pins for their initial certification as well. Great job, everyone!
Patricia receiving her pin from Carollyn HendersonCarolyn and Kathy share a laugh.
Following the student awards, Alan Rudd presented Kathy Lester, our lead trainer for the past three classes, with a beautiful painting of a sunrise or sunset (you get to pick) with kind words on the back of it from past students. Kathy was surprised and delighted by her gift, which is obvious in the photos!
Thank you, Kathy!
Kudos to the team who put together the party and decorated the room so nicely. It takes a lot of work to organize all our activities, and we appreciate our dedicated members very much. Now, let’s get going on the City Nature Challenge!
Here are a couple of funny out-takes from the party. We did have fun.
Alan and Patricia share a laughThe flower needed help staying up on Sue Ann’s headPamela Neeley went for a glamor shot
The El Camino Real chapter training class of 2023 completed its final class for the year Thursday night. There was great joy by all attending. Training Director Kathy Lester and Training Assistant Alan Rudd may have been the most gleeful. TPWD Biologist Bobby Allcorn finished the training with lots of information on Texas native mammals.
The class of five is off to a good start. They all have all 40 hours of training (some have a few extra) and are already reporting volunteer and AT hours. Patricia Coombs will not only graduate from the class, but she will also be fully certified as a Master Naturalist.
We will have a celebration for them on April 26 at the All Saints Episcopal Church at 6 p.m. The dinner will be catered by Barbara Dominguez, owner of Hot Corner Catering and The Venue on Main. She will provide vegetarian dishes to complement the main course. You may BYOB. Students and members who organized the class this year will be treated by the chapter. All others, including guests, will pay for their meals. Guests are welcome. We will need a head count at the regular meeting April 13.
Please come celebrate the class who survived several major weather events that seemed to always occur on Thursday nights, and give a pat on the back to Kathy Lester, Alan Rudd, Michelle Lopez, Ann Collins, and Marian Buegler for their service to keep the class on track every week. I might add that several members attended regularly for support and several of them also helped host.
Pictured in the photo: Front row – Patricia Coombs, Ellen Luckey, Michelle Pierce, Brenda Ferris
Back row – Alan Rudd, Bobby Allcorn, Neil Wettstein, Kathy Lester
The El Camino Real Texas Master Naturalist training class met at Walker Honey Farm, where owner Clint Walker discussed all the wonderful things about bees. Attendees were able to handle the hive frames, see the queen bees, and observe at least three different colors of pollen carried by the bees. They were dressed appropriately for visiting hives.
Bee handler Blake explained the manufacturing process.
Then they had some great “retail therapy” at the Walker Honey Farm store.
Nature Along the El Camino Real 