Botany-- April 17, 2024

The Nature of Naming - Unit 10 in your textbook

Plants - Unit 11 in your textbook  Complete the optional quiz HERE.

Dr. George Diggs, Professor of Biology and Co-Director of the Public Health Program, Austin College 

Read Dr. Diggs's BIO

1. Use the VMS Checklist to make sure you have logged everything you need to.

2. Look over Units 10-11 in your textbook. Complete the optional quiz HERE.

3. Watch the assigned videos

Classification of Life (6:11)

Invasive Plants in Texas (8:49)

Dr. George D iggs on Plants (28:00) 

4. Check out the Go Botany Online Illustrated Glossary It is extremely useful when trying to decipher the many unfamiliar botanical terms used in keys and plant descriptions.. Complete this crossword puzzle on botanical terms, using the Go Botany Glossary as a reference. (Alternate activity: if you don't like crossword puzzles, here's the same information in a simpler fill-in-the-blank format.)

5. Complete the What Does That Botanical Name Mean? worksheet.

Optional Activities

Read this article on identifying plants by common plant families: Plant Identification Patterns. See Resources section for more information on identifying plants by families.

Watch additional videos:

Phototropism (6:54)

Taking Better Plant Photos for iNaturalist (7:07)

• Your lighted loupe from your Meet & Greet swag bag

Logging Hours

*Make sure that you have recorded last week's attendance in VMS.

(If you missed class, contact your pod guides to schedule a make-up.)     

Opportunity: Init Training-Class 10      

Date: April 10, 2024       

Hours: 3.0 

Description: Mammalogy, presented by Sam Kieschnick

If you attended the Chapter Meeting Tuesday evening (either in person or online), 

here's how to enter it in VMS:

Opportunity: AT: BPTMN Chapter Monthly Meeting   

Date: April 9, 2024      

Hours: 1.0     

Description: Learning to Read Tracks & Signs with Dwight Wilson

If you attended the TMN Tuesday at noon (online) or if you watch the recording,

here's how to enter it in VMS:

Opportunity: AT: TMN Tuesday  

Date: April 9, 2024       

Hours: 2.5 hours (if you watched the whole thing)    

Description: Virtual Volunteer Fair

If you attended the Field Trip to John Bunker Sands Wetlands, enter it in VMS.

Opportunity:  Initial Training: Field Trip (A) or (B) or (C) 

Date: April 13, 2024    

Hours: 2.5 hours  

Description: Field trip to John Bunker Sands Wetlands

IF YOU HAVE ALREADY COMPLETED YOUR THREE FIELD TRIPS, Log as Advanced Training

Opportunity: AT: BPTMN Other Pre-approved training  

Date: 

Hours: 2.5 (or actual time you spent there)     

Description: ADDITIONAL Field trip to (location)

Advanced Training (AT) Opportunities

• Pod 3's BioBlitz at Chaparral Trail-Memorial Park Trailhead in Farmersville, April 12th, 9am-12pm, see chapter calendar for details

• Hagerman NWR's 2nd Saturday Bird Walk, April 13th, 8-10am, see details on chapter calendar

• The Heard's 2nd Saturday Bird Walk, April 13th, 8-9:30am, see details on chapter calendar

Volunteer Service (VH) Opportunities

Look for opportunities on the chapter calendar

• Dr. Diggs's Slide Deck

• Slide Deck for Plant ID by Families Quiz

• Field Identification of Fifty Common Plant Families The Botany Depot site offers this free handbook, available as a PDF.

• Go Botany Online Illustrated Glossary  This site is a life saver when it comes to using botanical keys!

• Eat Your Weeds! Also from Botany Depot: several brochures about edible wild plants including recipes, plus info on plant toxicity.

• Shinner's and Mahler's Illustrated Flora of North Central Texas the book is available for free as downloadable, searchable PDFs. 

WEEK ELEVEN CLASS UPDATE

 Happy Thursday, Class of 2024!

We are down to the last few weeks of class! If you haven’t signed up for at least three field trips, do that as soon as possible. We started out with NINE field trip options, but after this week there are only three more. If you’re having scheduling issues, contact your guide for help. Also, be aware that our last few classes are difficult to make up! Weeks 12 and 13 are lab classes, and our final class will be your class Ted Talks. We still have openings for Ted Talk presenters, so please consider signing up to present one of these talks! Even if it is out of your “comfort zone,” I’d encourage you to do it: you’ll never find a friendlier audience! There is no better way to learn a topic than to prepare to teach it to others, so don’t think you have to be an expert on anything. Find a topic you’d like to learn more about: if you find it interesting, your audience will, too. Sign up HERE

Reminders:

• iNaturalist Outing sponsored by Pod 3:

Date: April 12th (Friday) at Chaparral Trail in Farmersville

Time: 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM

Address: POD 3: Chaparral Trail - Memorial Park Trailhead - The trailhead is located a block from downtown at the Onion Shed, a restored building from the 1930s that was once used as a loading dock for the onion industry. Public restrooms are located at the Onion Shed only. There are no facilities on the trail. Parking and Trail Access: Parking is available at the trail's western end at the historical Onion Shed (151 S. Main Street) and at the J.W. Spain Athletic Complex (400 Merit Street).We'll gather at the trail head at 8:45 and begin exploring at 9:00.   Bring your bike if you like. More info in the Sign-up Genius.

• Field Trip this Saturday to John Bunker Sands wetlands. Be sure to check out the driving instructions on the class website, and allow plenty of driving time!

• If you aren’t going to JBS, you might want to attend the Tracking Hike with Dwight Wilson at Oak Point Park, Saturday morning at 9:00 AM. This is a rare opportunity that people have been requesting for years!

The RSVP for our class graduation on May 15 is now live. You should receive an email with a link to sign up, or you can sign up HERE. We will need a final count by May 8, so I’ll give you a reminder in a couple of weeks.

Have a great week!

Cheers,

Lisa