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As the West Texas dust settles on the Native Plant Society of Texas Trans-Pecos Fall Symposium, we want to take a moment to reflect on the event and share some exciting outcomes. The 2022 event was a success by the numbers, with 166 attendees registered to travel to Alpine, TX for in-person events, and 128 registrants registered to access the programming virtually. Two days of plenary sessions included twelve speakers, and we held the Annual State Meeting of Members, two receptions, and nine field trips, including grassland and ranch excursions which proved to be very popular.
The plenary sessions and panel discussions uncovered some take-aways that may expand NPOST support in exciting new directions. This included need to support younger society members, who can lack land access, and to support independent growers. The Panel Session “Independent Growers: History, Challenges, Solutions” with Bill Neiman, Burr Williams, and Hoven Riley dove into the economic realities of being an independent grower, and sparked audience comments and ideas, including grants for growers, land for growers, and an exchange for growers.
The final keynote speaker, Michael Eason, echoed their concerns about the future of the native plant trade. He said there is “no going back” to an earlier Texas landscape; it is being irreversibly changed by growth, urban sprawl, invasives, climate changes. He called for actions that NPSOT can take on a statewide level, but also things local chapters can do to increase diversity in the native plant trade. His suggestions included: do more seed collecting; support local growers; target uncommon plants not found in the regular nursery trade; target private landowners for support since 95% of land in Texas is privately owned; create NPSOT regional greenhouse/education centers; and establish a Texas Association of Native Nurseries.
The Annual State Meeting of Members is available for anyone to watch on Youtube or you can view a pdf of the presentation here. Incoming Executive Board Members Amy Birdwell, VP Education; Ann Yakimovicz, VP Administration, and Clarence Reed, VP Affiliations & Advocacy were announced as they begin two-year terms. The meeting also included a presentation by Ann Miller Gonzalez Research Grants recipient Sarah Ortiz. Sarah (whose $2500 grant was fully sponsored by Wilco Chapter member Jacqueline Gamache) discussed her work at University of Texas at Austin, “Texas biodiversity and ecosystem functioning from a belowground perspective.” Damla Cinoglu, another Ann Miller Gonzalez Research Grants recipient, and Brand Richter, a Dr. Alfred Richardson Scholarship recipient, also participated in the symposium poster sessions. All virtual poster session submissions are available here.
The passing of 23 members during the 2021-22 period were also acknowledged during the Annual Meeting with an in memoriam presentation: Ann Cox, Fredericksburg Chapter; Anna Gray Osborn, Kerrville Chapter; Betsy Ross, Wilco Chapter; Carolyn Hartwig, Boerne Chapter; Charlie Wiseman, Wilco Chapter; Dick Bartlett, Big Bend Chapter; Dora Sylvester, North Central Texas Chapter; Frank Wiseman, At-Large Member; Geyata Ajilvsgi, Austin Chapter; Jerry Kerr, Boerne Chapter; John Siemssen, Lindheimer Chapter; Katie Day, Fredericksburg Chapter; Kevin Sloan, North Central Chapter; Larry Fagarason, Kerrville Chapter, Mark Terry, South Texas Chapter; MaryAllen Meriweather, Kerrville Chapter; Mary Irish, San Antonio Chapter; Dr. Nan Hampton, Austin Chapter; Nancy C. Smith, North Central Texas Chapter; Owen Yost, Trinity Forks Chapter; Ronald Chang, Lindheimer Chapter; Ruth Fisher Rumelhart, Lindheimer Chapter; and Sharon Yeamans Rodriquez, Fredericksburg Chapter.
During the Symposium Banquet, twelve annual awards were presented to recognize organizations and individuals that advance our mission and they are detailed here. President Linda Knowles capped off the banquet with the selection of the Pines and Prairies Chapter as Chapter of the Year: “The Pines and Prairies Chapter is a relatively new NPSOT Chapter, but their plant sales, seed collecting events, demonstration gardens, workdays, anniversary celebration and more have been inspirational and a real benefit to their community. They have a good number of knowledgeable people on their board and in their chapter and they do a great job of communicating with their members. We are thrilled to have this new chapter and can learn a lot from their enthusiasm.” The Pines and Prairies Chapter is in Montgomery County, which falls in the Western Gulf Coastal Plain Ecoregion, and the chapter is led by President Gail McConnell.
Photo contest winners were also announced during the Banquet and their images are shown above. They included: Chihuahua Desert Ecoregion and Best in Show Winner Kit Sweeney, Yucca elata; Cross Timbers Ecoregion Winner Hollie Carron, Callicarpa americana; East Central Texas Plains Winner Winifred Flato Simon, Argemone albiflora; Edwards Plateau Ecoregion Winner Tom Lebsack, Eustoma exaltatum ssp. Russellianum; Gulf Coast Prairie and Marshes Ecoregion Winner Linda Kuhn, Rudbeckia hirta; and Texas Blackland Prairie Ecoregion Winner Tony Stanzo, Baptisia australis. The NPSOT newsletter contest winner was the Kerrville Chapter newsletter “Natives on the Grow” edited by Becky Leal, and you can read examples of this award-winning newsletter in their archives here. And finally, the video contest winner featured an uplifting entry from Meghan Peoples, The Ferris Cemetery, “A Future as Well as a Past”, which you can view here.
The photo above is a Madera Canyon field trip photo shared by the Trinity Forks Chapter on Facebook. To see more photos from the event, check Facebook and Instagram for the hashtag #npsot22sym or share with others by adding this hashtag to your own social media posts.
Chapter Leaders did a fantastic job selling Quilt Raffle tickets, raising over $2,700, and Brenda Linex was the lucky winner of the quilt made by member Liz Moyer. There were also 154 silent auction items which raised over $1,800. Proceeds from these both activities go toward the Kate Hillhouse Scholarship Fund and to the Ann Miller Gonzalez Research Grant Fund.
Thanks to those who donated to make this event such a success. If you or your chapter would like to donate to offset symposium costs, it is not too late. A donation can be made here and help underwrite symposium costs and fulfill one of the basic tenets of our Society’s mission – educating the general public about the need to conserve Texas native plants. Donations also contribute to affordable symposium registration fees, including lower student and educator rates, increasing access for those who want to learn about the importance of native plants.
This event would not have been possible without the assistance of members of the NPSOT Big Bend Chapter who were very generous with their time! Volunteers from chapters across the state also participated in many aspects of the event. Our sponsors were instrumental in our success and included the Chihuahuan Desert Research Institute (CDRI): Chihuahuan Desert Nature Center & Botanical Gardens; the Native Prairies Association of Texas, Texas Flora, and Vast Graphics. We also benefited from the support of the Alpine Visitor Center.
The lovely Trans-Pecos logo design featuring Tecoma stans by artist Ellen Ruggia of Vast Graphics adorned the presentations, the popular swag-bag bandanas, and was seen on participant t-shirts in the crowd. It’s not too late to shop for items featuring this logo at the NPSOT Café Press store.
And finally, while the focus in many chapters will turn to fall plant sales, 2023 Symposium planning has already begun. Any Society member can volunteer to be on the 2023 Symposium committee at this link or in the NPSOT member portal. If you have any questions or difficulties with this, just contact Renata Lucia at admin-assist@npsot.org.
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