March 19 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Native plant communities throughout the Lower Galveston Bay Watershed have been on the decline as open green space is rapidly being lost to urban sprawl, industrial land use, and poor land management practices. The loss of biodiversity threatens the overall health of our bay system and its ability to provide habitat for wildlife. Local resources for native plant material adapted to our harsh coastal environment are difficult to find, forcing consumers to purchase material from non-local sources that lack the genetic adaptations to thrive in our coastal ecosystems.
To address these challenges, the Galveston Bay Foundation (GBF) operates a Native Plant Program that supplies native plant resources for landscape-scale restoration projects. These resources are available to conservation and restoration practitioners, as well as residential homeowners seeking to utilize native plants in their home landscaping. Through this program, GBF has implemented a variety of restoration projects across its conservation properties.
In this presentation, GBF will share both successful and unsuccessful stories from these restoration efforts, illustrating how the Native Plant Program has contributed to the recovery of local plant communities and highlighting lessons learned along the way. These real-world examples will demonstrate the importance of using locally adapted native plants and the impact of restoration work on the health and resilience of the Lower Galveston Bay Watershed.
About the Speaker
Ricci Simmons is the Conservation Stewardship Manager at the Galveston Bay Foundation (GBF). She has a B.S. in Wildlife Fisheries Sciences and in Rangeland Ecology Management from Texas A&M University, in addition to an M.S. in Hydrology from Boise State University. Her responsibility at GBF is to promote high species diversity, improve hydrologic function, and increase wildlife habitat through vegetation management on protected lands that are sensitive to the health of Galveston Bay.She also oversees monitoring of GBF’s properties using the Land Trust Alliance Standards and Practices, and manages an upland native plant and emergent freshwater wetland nurseries. Ricci spends most of her free time enjoying the outdoors with her family and especially loves collecting and pressing botanical specimens.
Our monthly chapter meetings are held on every 3rd Thursday, January – November. Our meetings are free and open to the public thanks to our members and sponsors.
The presentation will start at 7:00 pm, but come at 6:45 pm for a meet and greet with snacks.
Houston Arboretum and Nature Center
610 Entrance (preferred)
120 W Loop N Fwy
Houston, TX 77024
Woodway Entrance
4501 Woodway Drive
Houston, TX 77024
(Parking is free at the Houston Arboretum and Nature Center on Thursdays.)
Meetings will also be live-streamed and recorded for later viewing.
Return to Houston Chapter Page
