Join / Renew / Gift Donate Shop Member Portal Language

Search
npsot_bluebonnet_full_color

Native Plant Society of Texas

Clear Lake Chapter

FIELD TRIP: Tour of Galveston Bay Foundation’s EcoCenter

Saturday, March 29, 2025

Join us on Saturday, March 29, for a guided tour of the GBF EcoCenter with Carter Clay. Located northeast of Baytown, this site has long been a hub for plant propagation and potting and is now expanding its efforts to include marsh restoration.

Carter will lead a two-hour in-depth tour of the EcoCenter. Additionally, he is offering to host a visit to the Galveston Bay Foundation’s Turtle Bayou property, a lesser-known corridor rich in wildflowers. He describes the area as providing a unique perspective on the area’s prairie, with a nearby exposed midden where indigenous hand tools have been discovered as recently as six months ago. This optional, but highly recommended tour, includes an additional 25-minute drive, a 1/3-mile walk, and a guided visit lasting 1–2 hours, depending on the group’s interest.

Lunch will not be provided, nor will it be easy to obtain. Bring your own lunch and water. There are no designated dining facilities, so plan to eat on the hood of your car, inside your vehicle, or wherever is most convenient.

Schedule

  • 8:15 a.m. – Meet at the Environmental Institute of Houston for carpooling
  • 9:00 a.m. – Arrive at the EcoCenter; tour until 11:00 a.m.
  • 11:00 a.m. – Depart for Turtle Bayou parking lot
  • 11:30 a.m. – Arrive at Turtle Bayou; tour prairie area for 1–2 hours

Limited to 20 participants. Please register and submit a waiver by March 29.

Clear Lake Chapter members have priority registration. Any remaining spots will open to the public and guests on Thursday, March 20.

Register here

About the Region

2026 Fall Symposium Logo

This low-elevations region of Texas extends inland from the barrier islands, about 60 or so miles, and stretches from Brownsville to Louisiana. In total, it covers about 9.5 million acres, with a high point of 150 feet in elevation. More than 1000 species of plants can be found in this region. On the southern end, species more common in Mexico (such as Sabal mexicana) and Central America occur.

The barrier islands provide us with dune systems, and clay flats to the inland side, which have species found in these areas alone. Many plants here, such as Ipomoea pes-caprae (beach morning glory), can be found throughout tropical regions of the globe. I’ve encountered the same species on the beaches of Guam.

Once inland, vast marshes and wet prairies occur. Occasionally, oak (Quercus fusiformis) groves can be found. Common grasses include species of Bothriochloa, Paspalum, and Sporobolus; eastern gamagrass (Tripsacum dactyloides); and switchgrass (Panicum species). Many rivers and creeks cut through the Gulf Prairies, and along these riparian areas various species of trees, Sabal minor, and other plants adapted to clay soils can be found. Due to overgrazing, farming, and fire suppression, woody species such as mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa) and huisache (Acacia farnesiana), and invasive species such as chinaberry (Melia azedarach), Brazilian pepper (Schinus terebinthifolius), and Chinese tallow (Sapium sebiferum) have increased and displaced our native flora.

Source: Wildflowers of Texas by Michael Eason