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Many people unfamiliar with the Native Plant Society of Texas envision the organization as just a collection of garden clubs for native-plant geeks. While it may be true that we have some obsessive enthusiasts (geeks), no chapter of our Society is a garden club.
Of course, cultivating native plants in home landscapes brings important benefits to the ecology, because natives in the garden reduce the need to irrigate and fertilize. As Douglas Tallamy writes, “… it will be the plants that we use in our gardens that determine what nature will be like in 10, 20, and 50 years from now.”
Gardening with native plants is one important focus of the Society, but chapters around the state are engaged in many other activities to protect and sustain our natural ecosystems by preserving and re-establishing native-plant habitats. Those activities are especially effective where the Society teams with other organizations.
For example, Boerne Chapter members have been involved in several projects with the Cibolo Nature Center, and Fredericksburg Chapter members have been major volunteers in developing the Fredericksburg Nature Center. Many Society chapters around the state cooperate with the local chapters of the Texas Master Naturalist Program and some work with local governments and private industries.
Williamson County Chapter members, led by Sue Wiseman, currently are working with Williamson County commissioners to judiciously develop over a thousand acres of land set aside for the future Northwest Regional Park. The Williamson County commissioners are seeking guidance from the chapter in planning the preservation and restoration of this piece of the southern Lampasas Cut Plains. The former ranch has lain fallow for several years, allowing many of the native-plant species to flourish.
In the face of unprecedented urbanization, Williamson County commissioners are purchasing several tracts of land for natural-habitat parks, where county residents can experience nature.
Sue Wiseman and her team of members make quarterly surveys of the future Northwest Regional Park. So far, they have identified about 200 native plants on this tract, and the list is growing.
In Comal County, several members of the Lindheimer Chapter are working through the local chapter of the Texas Master Naturalist program to participate in the habitat management of 300 acres of Blackland Prairie. This tract of land, owned by Waste Management, Inc., is the Mesquite Creek Wildlife Habitat Area located just northeast of New Braunfels.
Members John Siemssen, Susan Bogle, Charles Tubbs, Coco Brennan, and Monta Zengerle are among the key volunteers who answered Waste Management’s request for help and guidance in turning former farmland into habitat worthy of certification by the Wildlife Habitat Council.
Already they have created a large and lush pollinator garden, which attracts a great variety of butterflies almost year round. Other ongoing and proposed projects that involve native plants are pond enhancement and restoration, an invasive-species management program, a native grass/wildflower garden, and an environmental learning center at the habitat entrance.
Education is another area where the Society is active. The Society awards two research grants per year in memory of the late Ann Miller Gonzalez – one for undergraduate work and one to a graduate student. Last spring Jordan Sloop of the University of North Texas was awarded $1500 to further her research on “Understanding plant community dynamics in a remnant bottomland hardwood forest in North Central Texas.”
At the secondary level, the Society has also promoted education through its merit awards and scholarships awarded through the Texas Science and Engineering Fair.
The Boerne Chapter has established a grant program called Native Plant Watch for elementary and middle school teachers to encourage projects relating to the value, use or conservation of Texas native plants.
Several chapters also put on their own programs, often in conjunction with other organizations. The Fredericksburg Chapter for the last six years has put on a Wildscape Workshop in the fall. This September the featured topic was “Native Grasses – Not Just for Mowing” with speakers Bill Neiman of Native American Seed, Flo Oxley of Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center and John Snowden of Bluestem Nursery. Besides the speakers, the program featured exhibits, a plant sale, and a book sale.
Houston Chapter has also put on a Wildscape Workshop in previous years, but passed this year because of the demands of hosting the upcoming Fall Symposium, which begins October 13. The annual symposium, of course, is a major educational event itself with its many presentations, workshops and field trips, each year centering around a different bio-region of Texas.
Other local programs actively promote the use of native plants. For example, the Big Tooth Maples for Boerne program gives away big-tooth maples to residents and businesses in the Boerne area in order to promote the tree as well as to beautify the city. The big-tooth maple is known for its spectacular fall color. Last winter the program gave away 104 trees and included with each tree mulch and a wire cage to protect the tree from deer. Since the program was started by the Boerne Chapter in 2006 they have given away hundreds of trees.
NICE Native Plant Partners is a program sponsored at the local level by several Society chapters. In this program, a local chapter works with local nurseries and growers to promote native plants. For example, the Tyler Chapter features a different plant each quarter which is chosen in collaboration with sponsoring nurseries. The chapter promotes the plant by writing articles for the local newspaper and placing an on-site display and literature at nurseries.
The Trinity Forks Chapter in Denton follows the same pattern while chapters in other places choose to feature a different plant each month instead of quarterly.
The San Antonio Chapter decided to start its own education program at the professional level by creating a Native Landscape Certification program for landscaping professionals and other interested people who complete a series of educational programs that the Society sponsors each year in conjunction with Texas Master Naturalists, the City of San Antonio and Texas Parks and Wildlife. Melissa Miller coordinates the program which will eventually have four certification levels. With each level, knowledge of conservation, ecosystem assessment, wildlife benefits, restoration value, appropriateness of plants for landscapes and taxonomy increases.
Faye Tessnow of the Highland Lakes Chapter felt that Texas needed a set aside a special week to celebrate its native plants. She encouraged her state representative Donna Howard to introduce legislation to establish Texas Native Plant Week on the third week of each October. The governor signed the legislation into law in 2009.
These are just a few examples of the many things Society chapters and members do to promote native plants and plant habitats. The 33 chapters offer public lectures and native plant sales on a regular basis as well as often maintaining demonstration gardens in their local communities.
A society of garden clubs – definitely NOT!
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**ARCHIVED POST AUTHOR: Bill Hopkins
