Resources

Week Two extras

Heather's PPTs - timeline and geology of Texas

Her Deep Dive Geology presentation from Aug 2023

Texas Through Time by Thomas E. Ewing (book)

Earth is a Geoid - European Space Agency website and earth without water

Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment  - maps of Earth's gravity field

Do plate tectonics affect Earth's rotation and/or tilt?

Heather's short answer - The movement of tectonic plates does have a minimal effect on Earth's rotation, primarily due to the redistribution of mass within the planet. (The technical explanation has to do with physics, reditribution of mass, and angular momentum, all of which are WAY outside my expertise).  There is also a tiny effect on Earth's polar wandering (wobble of the axis) also due to the physics mentioned above.  These changes are very small, imperceptible to us and does not affect Earth's overall stability. 

Two long scientific articles if you want to delve deeper: Robert Maurer and Geomatics

JBS Wetlands Center Eagle Tower Cam website and live link

VHAT opportunity list from the VMS practice

January 19, 2012

January 19, 2019

Connemara extras from Bob

Best address for visiting the Meadow:  8004 Greensboro, Plano. The gate is immediately to the right of that house. Park in front of the gate, room for 4 cars, walk around the gate, through the parking area and you pop out in the Meadow.

The book everyone should read (and heed) is Nature's Best Hope. 

The grasses being restored to the Meadow:  Big Bluestem (Andropogon gerardii), Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium), Indiangrass (Sorghastrum nutans), Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum), Eastern Gammagrass (Tripsacum dactyloides), Buffalograss (Bouteloua dactyloides) and Sideoats Grama (Bouteloua curtipendula) .

Week Four extras

Bryon's Mammal PPT and Skulls/Skins PPT

Bryon knows that he was talking very fast. He welcomes your questions. Send him and email at bkclark76@gmail.com.

Black Skimmer video & slo-mo version (ignore bad background music)

Barred Owl call   Dickcissel call       Carolina Wren call

Phalaropes spinning Laughing Gull call      Killdeer call

Wood Stork fishing Broad-wing Hawk mass kettle

Cedar Waxwings flock Common Nighthawk

Week Five extras

Sam's PPT (no video files) Sam's bird bait - peanut butter & corn meal on tree trunk

Books Sam mentioned: National Geographic Birds, Ken Kaufman Birds, Sam's own Birds of North America, Handbook of Bird Biology

birdcast.info tracks migration with radar Spotted Sandpiper bobbing

High Island on TX Coast to see migrating birds

HummerBird Festival in September                                  American Avocet feeding

Hawk Watch in Corpus Christi (2024 info, 2025 not posted yet)

terralistens is the football-shaped device that identifies birds by sound

iNaturalist usernames and links

Lisa intro to iNat presentation

John Bunker Sands Wetlands extras

Week Six extras

George's PPT slides

The Illustrated Flora of North Central Texas has over 1600 pages. The PDF is broken into 7 files. Download the PDF files HERE.

Pollen: The Hidden Sexuality of Flowers by Rob Kesseler

The Ghosts of Evolution: Non-sensical Fruit, Missing Partners, and Other Ecological Anachronisms by Connie Barlow

Peter Williams recommends a superb podcast episode: The Wild with Chris Morgan, 1/14/25 episode with Zoe Schlanger, "Do Plants Think: Why Eating a Salad May Never Feel the Same Again". Listen HERE or on your favorite podcast platform

Week Seven extras

Mike's Speaking Topics list

A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold (especially the last chapter)

Rick recommends Lessons from Leopold: Learning from the Land by Stephan Nelle

Dave recommends The Invention of Nature: Alexander von Humboldt's New World by Andrea Wulf

Silent Spring by Rachel Carson

HB4938 - proposed bill to dismantle TPWD (PDF or Word)

Find your Texas House and Senate representatives HERE

Week Eight extras

Dr. Baker's PPT slides

Community Collaborative Rain, Hail & Snow Network - info and volunteer link

Austin College Weather Station - Current Weather Data & Additional Resources tabs

NOAA GOES image viewer - global surface wind patterns,  with pink jet stream, & 3-hour cloud loop (dropdown menu changes view)

Space Science and Engineering Center's real-time composite satellite animation

National Weather Service, 7-day forecast, & 3-day forecast map animation

National Weather Service data turned into a wind map 

Project Drawdown's table of solutions for climate change

Week Nine extras

Molly's PPT slides and entomophagy slides

Molly's Butterfly Gardening online course 

Molly's Insects & Integrated Pest Management website

These mothing events can be found on the chapter calendar:

"The best interpretation comes from the heart and is laced with imagination, creativity, inspiration, revelation, and personal commitment."

-Enos Mills, naturalist and author

Hagerman NWR extras

To volunteer, contact the Friends of Hagerman at friendsofhagerman@gmail.com.

Opportunities:

Outdoor Work Crew - 1st Tues and 4th Sat of the month

Nest Box Monitor - maintain bluebird boxes along Raasch & Harris Creek Trails

Tram Driver - drive the electric, open-air tram along a 4-mile route while educating visitors

Butterfly Gardener - workdays every Wed morning, spring through fall

Visitors Center - welcome visitors, answer questions, and monitor gift shop

Field Trip Teacher - lead or assist in educating kids on a field trip

Butterfly Docent - be a guide to visitors about the native plants & butterflies in the garden (Apr-Oct)

Nature Walk Leader - lead a group of people on a guided hike **general knowledge of native plants, birds, and wildlife is required**

Refuge Rocks Leader - help educate kids ages 4-12 on various nature topics every 3rd Sat of the month