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Join us Monday, August 17 when Rich Jaynes will present: Into the Prairie: A Celebration of Native Prairie Grasses. This presentation gives an overview of the role of native grasses in contributing to the high biodiversity of native tallgrass prairies. Experiences with native prairie surveys and prairie restoration efforts in the Connemara Meadow Preserve are used to illustrate approaches to helping visitors to better appreciate the central role of the tallgrass prairie in the ecological and cultural history of north central Texas. The “miracle” of the native prairie that is part of the Old Frankford Cemetery will be highlighted. We will discuss basic terms that botanists use to describe and differentiate one grass species from another, and will review some distinguishing morphological features and ecological attributes of 10 famous native grasses of the Blackland Prairie.
Rich Jaynes has an academic background in Range Science (BS) and Watershed Science (MS) and several years of work experience in performing field biology studies before taking a 20-year detour to serve as an officer in the U.S. Army. He retired from the Army in 2003, and started working in 2005 as an environmental scientist for Halff Associates, an engineering firm where he performs field botanical surveys and prepares environmental impact studies for major infrastructure projects. Also, as part of a landscape architecture planning team, he has opportunities to inventory and analyze natural resources for nature preserves. During the summer of 2007 he served as field biologist for the Native Prairies Association of Texas and surveyed Ellis County for native tallgrass prairie remnants. He is a Texas Master Naturalist, who spends most of his volunteer time studying the ecology of the Frankford Prairie in north Dallas, leading wildflower and natural history walks there. He spent several years assisting with prairie restoration efforts in the Connemara Meadow Preserve in Plano. He occasionally gives presentations on prairie grass identification and ecology, and on prairie restoration activities.
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