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Native Plant Society of Texas

Video, chapter newsletter contests for 2020

NPSOT Archive

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The Native Plant Society will hold its annual video and newsletter contests again in 2020.

Rules for both contests will be substantially the same as in previous years. Each contest is judged by a three-member panel using a scoresheet and results are announced in the fall. In previous years the winners were announced at the annual awards banquet. In the event there is no banquet this year, the awards may be announced at an online event or in the newsletter.

Video Contest
A video contest has been held since 2016. Videos should be at least 45 seconds in length and no more than 5 minutes maximum. The contest is open to all our members and videos must feature some aspect of native plants or our organization. Here are some suggested topics:

  • Show and tell about a project you or your chapter is doing to promote or conserve native plants or habitats.
  • Interview with a local official or “expert.”
  • A profile of a particular plant. Maybe one for your local NICE Program.
  • A walk through your backyard garden.
  • A plant walk through a local park or field.
  • The relationship and interdependence of native plants and wildlife.

When your completed video is ready to be submitted, send an email to video-contest@npsot.org. Entries must be submitted by September 1. The video contest judges are Robert Kamper, Martha Peet, and Kay Jenkins.

Newsletter Contest
In order to prevent duplicate entries we ask that only the chapter president or a designated representative submit entries for the chapter newsletter contest. The president or editor should select the three best issues of the publication. All the selected issues must have been published between July 1, 2019 and June 30, 2020. Send an email to communications-contest@npsot.org that contains links to all the issues selected. Entries must be received before September 1, 2020. Chapter that have won the newsletter contest in the previous three years are excluded from entering the contest.

The newsletter contest judges are Lonnie Childs, Heidi Gigler, and Ricky Linex.

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**ARCHIVED POST AUTHOR: Bill Hopkins

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