Blog – Page 4 – NPSOT-Williamson County Chapter

October 27, 2025November 12, 2025

November 13 Chapter Meeting: “Intro to Pocket Prairies” with John Hart Asher @ GT Public Library

[Updated Nov 12, with topic and speaker details; will be recorded for YouTube.]

Join NPSOT-Williamson County on Thursday, November 13, 2025, when our featured topic will be Pocket Prairies with John Hart Asher. Free and open to the public. The meeting begins at 7:00 PM. The guest presentation begins after a short business meeting.

About our speaker and topic: John Hart Asher is Principal and Senior Environmental Designer at Blackland Collaborative, where “Our mission is to create diverse ecosystems that reconnect people and nature.”

[Added Nov 12] About our topic: It’s time to up the biodiversity in your life and grasslands are a great way to do so!

[Added Nov 12] About our speaker: John Hart Asher has over 15 years of experience designing and building functional ecosystems within urban conditions. He has conducted basic research in ecological engineering, ecological restoration, and land management, offered workshops to professionals and the general public, and provided fee-supported ecological consulting expertise to clients across Texas. As part of the consulting team at Blackland Collaborative, John Hart works with integrated design teams composed of engineers, architects, landscape architects, and developers to integrate sustainable design, practices, and philosophies into projects. He specializes in translating sustainable design into successful projects that provide varying layers of ecosystem services. His main interest is the application of ecological design, resulting in functional sustainable landscapes within urban ecologies. A few of his current projects include: Tall grass prairie restoration in an urban riparian corridor, native prairie green roof design, residential pocket prairies, sustainable roadsides, and green infrastructure.

John Hart worked on the green roof design and implementation for Bercy Chen Studio’s Edgeland House, which was featured in Dwell and Texas Architect magazines and has won several awards, including Architizer’s A+ Jury and Popular Choice Awards, the 2016 Design Award of Excellence from Green Roofs for Healthy Cities and the Texas Society of Architects 2016 Design Award. Edgeland House was also featured in Phaidon’s “Elemental Living: Contemporary Houses in Nature,” and most recently was documented in AppleTV’s HOME series that explores exemplary and innovative designs. He holds a bachelor’s in history from the University of Mississippi and a master’s in landscape architecture from The University of Texas at Austin, which awarded him a President’s Outstanding Staff Award in April 2018. He’s a dedicated environmental professional who specializes in bridging design concepts and ecological function and demonstrates strong project management skills with the proven ability to design, assess, and investigate landscape restoration installations, performance, and measures. He has carried out research and development of green roof technology with the aim of improving performance and application within semi-arid, sub-tropical climates, and has helped design and build numerous native prairie green roofs all over the state of Texas. In 2019 he also stepped in to serve as host of the nationally syndicated PBS show, Central Texas Gardener. You can bet he’s got a pocket prairie in his yard!

~~Please note: We do not know yet whether this month’s guest presentation will be recorded for YouTube.~~

[Updated Nov 12] The presentation will be recorded for YouTube.

==> This month’s in-person location is the Georgetown Public Library, 2nd floor, 402 West 8th St, Georgetown, TX 78626. 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/VvNFIPIbTiWZqyl1gB1zqA#/registration

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

* If we have permission from our guest speaker, we record the presentation for our YouTube channel. (See a list of past topics at this link.)

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 Home page or on the Calendar.

October 26, 2025

Field Trip: Godwin Ranch Preserve Plant Survey, Sunday, November 16, 2025

— by Cindy Chrisler

What: Plant survey and tour of the Godwin Ranch Preserve
When: 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM on Sunday, November 16, 2025
Where: Near the corner of DB Wood Road and Williams Drive in Georgetown.
- Park near the Starbucks strip mall at 4410 Williams Dr, Georgetown, TX 78628 and walk east along the road on Williams Drive to the gate (a quarter mile or less).
Members and non-members are welcome! No RSVP is required.

Join NPSOT members on the last of four scheduled plant surveys at the Godwin Ranch Preserve in Georgetown. We will begin at 2 p.m. at the gate to the preserve. Godwin Preserve is not open to the public, although several groups utilize it for bird walks, volunteer projects, and cave exploration.

All levels of plant identification expertise are welcome. Even if you don’t know plants, each participant is an observer and may notice and draw attention to something others do not.

Park at the Starbucks strip mall parking lot and walk east along Williams Drive to the gated entrance (a quarter mile or less). There will be a NPSOT sign at the gate. If walking that distance is a problem, you may be dropped off at the gate but there is no parking along Williams Drive or in the preserve.

There are no restrooms or water, so please plan accordingly. Bring your own water and snacks. Wear clothing suitable for the weather, including long pants and closed toed shoes. We suggest you use bug spray and sunscreen, and wear a hat.

We will walk around a mostly flat mowed path for about a mile and a half. There are some rocks and stumps that may pose a trip hazard, and walking sticks are recommended. In addition to plants, we should see several species of insects and birds.

You may put observations on iNaturalist but please obscure any rare plants. All surveys will be combined into a single plant list for the preserve and shared with the preserve manager.

If you have questions, please contact the Field Trip Committee (contact form here).

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See photos from some of our previous field trips in our Field Trip Album.

Field Trip Album

October 10, 2025October 10, 2025

Field Trip: Berry Springs Park and Preserve, Sunday, October 26, 2025

— Cindy Chrisler

Renovations and improvements are near completion at Berry Springs Park and Preserve in Georgetown. Improvements include the new Milkweed Trail that takes visitors to the newly opened South Acres, across the county road from the main entrance. We will take a leisurely walk from the Donkey Viewing Area to the Milkweed Trail entrance, under the bridge where CR 152 crosses Berry Creek. The Milkweed Trail is about a mile of mowed grass or mulched pathways that encircle a 30 acre meadow and meander through the tip of an historic pecan grove. We will encounter some riparian habitat along Berry Creek and Dry Berry Creek, where flying squirrels and swamp rabbits have been documented. Bring your camera to capture late summer flowers, bees, butterflies, and birds. Visitors are allowed to harvest pecans if you can beat the squirrels to them.

What: Easy walk for about 1.5 miles on mulch, mowed grass, and pavement
When: Sunday, October 26, 2025, from 1:30 pm to 4:00 pm
Where: Berry Springs Park and Preserve, 1801 CR 152, Georgetown, TX. Meet at the donkey compound.

The field trip is open to all, members and non-members, and no RSVP is required. Wear clothing appropriate for the weather and bring water and snacks. We recommend using bug spray and sunscreen.

Directions from the south via I-35: From I-35, take exit 265 and stay on the service road for about 0.7 miles. Turn right at the stop sign for TX 130 and remain on its service road for about 0.8 miles. Turn left on CR 152 and proceed for about a mile to the park entrance. Turn left into the park and proceed about a quarter mile to the first parking lot. Park in front of the Visitor’s Center or the donkey compound. Meet at the donkey compound.

There is no entry fee. Take a few minutes before or after the field trip to visit the new Visitor’s Center and pet the donkeys!

There are restrooms and water stations at the Visitor’s Center, at the top parking lot, and in the campground. There are small pollinator gardens at the end of the entrance avenue, at the campground entrance, near the large pavilion, and at the observation deck for the springs.

If you have questions, please contact the Field Trip Committee (contact form here).

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See photos from some of our previous field trips in our Field Trip Album.

Field Trip Album