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Bayside Regional Park is a park located in an underserved community in Bacliff, Texas. When Texas Master Naturalist members Stennie Meadours and Sandy Parker learned about the new 64-acre park, they began the process to work with the Galveston County Parks Department for approval to install native plants in a one-acre area of the park. Members from the Clear Lake Chapter of the Native Plant Society and Texas Master Naturalists Patty Pennington, Martha Richeson, and Scott Buckel joined the team and propagated plants, purchased seeds and plants, and worked on soil amendments for the native garden area. The team applied for and was awarded several grants. Trees were secured by Bev Morrison and planted by chapter members. Join us to learn about the history of the park, the garden design, improvements to the soil, and the planned native prairie restoration.
About the Speakers
Galveston Bay Area Chapter Master Naturalist and San Leon resident, Stennie Meadours was alerted to the new park in Bacliff by Mark Fox. She gathered likeminded Master Naturalist and Native Plant Society supporters to begin the effort to establish a Native Plant area at the park. She communicated with Dr. Floyd Waller, Botanist, to request and receive a copy of his comprehensive plant survey of the Bacliff/San Leon area he conducted in 1974.
Sandy Parker is a Texas Master Naturalist and member of the NPSOT Clear Lake Chapter. Sandy helps to lead the team, although this group of self-starters needs very little leading. She helped develop the proposal to the County for the native plant area and provided input to the Memorandum of Understanding with the County Parks Department. In the early 1990s, Sandy spearheaded an effort to plant natives outside of Mission Control at the Johnson Space Center. She enjoys collecting native seeds and enjoys planting and maintaining the gardens at Bayside.
As a child growing up in Kentucky, Patty Pennington developed her love of gardening by spending many hours in her family’s large, wooded back yard and her grandmother’s flower garden. She especially loved her grandmother’s butterfly bush which was always decorated with colorful butterflies during the summer. Since moving to Texas over 25 years ago her gardening interests have turned to Native Plants and Landscaping for Nature. She is also an avid birder and enjoys travelling to add to her life list. In support of her love of nature, Patty volunteers as a Texas Master Naturalist. Patty is responsible for the demo garden plant design and assists with maintenance of the garden.
Martha Richeson is a long-time native plant enthusiast and a member of the Clear Lake chapter of NPSOT and the Galveston Bay Area Master Naturalist chapter. She has been active in collecting seeds and plants for the Bayside Project, growing, and planting them, and writing grants. Her current forte is weeding.
Scott Buckel is a Master Naturalist and a member of both the Clear Lake and Houston Chapters of the Native Plant Society of Texas. He has been involved in many projects involving planting, restoring, and using native plants.
Meetings are open to members and non-members. If you would like to become a member, you may join online. For more information about the Native Plant Society of Texas and the benefits of membership please visit: www.npsot.org.
Hosted by Environmental Institute of Houston, University of Houston-Clear Lake
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**ARCHIVED POST AUTHOR: debbiebush
