March 14 Chapter Meeting: “Drop by Drop: The Impact of Small Changes” with Jessica Woods

Join NPSOT-Williamson County on Thursday, March 14, 2024, when our featured topic will be “Drop by Drop: The Impact of Small Changes” with Jessica Woods, City of Round Rock Water Conservation Coordinator.  Free and open to the public. The meeting begins at 7:00 PM.  Our guest speaker’s presentation begins after a short business meeting.

==> This month, if you attend in person, we’re at the Round Rock Public Library, 200 E Liberty Ave, Round Rock, TX 78664.  Come early (6:30 PM) for expert advice, to check out the seed swap board, or just to visit.

==> To attend via Zoom register at https://npsot-org.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUvde2srT8sHdxPatHqpIPtD7TxxHHj_1ZO#/registration

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Jessica Woods on Round Rock’s historic round rock.

About our topic: During warm weather, a large amount water is used outdoors on lawns and landscapes and much of it is wasted. With Central Texas still experiencing drought and low lake levels, we want to prevent water waste. This presentation will cover the current drought conditions and several steps homeowners can do to effectively use water. Conservation programs the City of Round Rock offers will also be covered.

About our speaker: Jessica Woods has worked as the City of Round Rock’s Water Conservation Program Coordinator since 2009. She manages all aspects of the growing city’s conservation program, drought outreach, and education efforts on a tight budget. Jessica earned a Master’s of Applied Geography degree from Southwest Texas State University. She’s the Texas Section AWWA Conservation and Reuse Division Chair and a certified Master Naturalist. She enjoys spending time outdoors, attempting to garden, and lounging around water with a good book and cold drink!


At every meeting, we give away a book — about native plants or the meeting topic — to one randomly chosen in-person attendee!


Have an idea for a speaker?  Let Program Leader Susie Hickman know via  email to wilco-chapter@npsot.org.

NPSOT-Williamson County meetings are free and open to the public. We hope you attend!  Meetings may be in person, virtual, or both, so be sure to check details in the meeting announcement. Meetings are announced on our website, our calendar and Facebook. See upcoming topics on our page Wilco Home or on our Calendar.

[Post updated to add Zoom link. 2/23, 7pm]

Field Trip: March 17, 2024, Tree Walk at Old Settlers Park

— by Gary Bowers

What: Tree Walk in the Park, led by Gary Bowers
Where: Old Settlers Park, 3017–3099 Whitlow Way, Round Rock
When: 10:00am-Noon on Sunday, March 17, 2024
Our field trip is free and open to the public.

Join us for the 2nd Tree Walk of 2024 at Old Settlers Park on Sunday, March 17, 2024. We will continue learning about identification of trees during dormancy but, with some luck…

🍀

… and good weather, we will hopefully start seeing some trees break dormancy and bud out.

View directions on: Apple Maps or Google Maps

We’ll meet in the parking area at the Virgil Rabb Pavilion off of Whitlow Way, in Old Settlers Park. From there we will walk around the pavilion to the nature trail. The walk is around 2 miles and will take around 2 hours to complete with relatively brisk walks between talking points.

For anyone interested, a few of the NPSOT members will continue on to Cork & Barrel after the walk to celebrate St. Patricks Day (and native plants).

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Meeting point and parking. Rabb Pavilion, Old Settlers Park, Round Rock, TX.

Trip Report: Twin Creeks Historic Park

— by Pat Donica

Eighteen people enjoyed a simply beautiful Sunday on Feb 4’s field trip to Twin Creeks Historic Park in Cedar Park.  This little gem sits tucked in the hills between a couple of subdivisions and a golf course just inside northwestern Travis County.  

A paved path runs nearly the length of the park; a dirt path continues farther.  Sunday’s hike was almost a mile from parking lot to pavement’s end and then back the same way. There are benches along the trail if you care to pause and ponder.  About halfway in, the path meets up with and follows the banks of a creek, taking a turn past an 1859 log cabin (not open to visitors) preserved in the hollow.   

Led by Sue Wiseman and Kathy Galloway, we found Texas red oak, twistleaf yucca, sycamore, little bluestem, Lindheimer silktassel, American elm, seep muhly, possumhaw, yaupon holly, box elder, river fern, and more.  Recent rains ensured the creek was bubbling and flowing.  And seeing the old cabin was a real bonus.  You just have to think, oh, the stories it could tell!

Photos by Greg and Pat Donica.


See photos from this field trip and others in our album=>