The April Field Trip took chapter members to San Antonio, where we were treated to a guided hike in Phil Hardberger Park. The park is perhaps most famous for its award-winning land bridge for pedestrian and wildlife traffic over Werzbach Parkway, a multilane road in northern San Antonio.
We met Education Coordinator David Jimenez at the outdoor classroom and took a leisurely walk on one of the many improved trails through the park that led to the land bridge. The bridge itself is planted with native plants that were blooming prolifically, attracting pollinators as well as providing a beautiful setting for a stroll. Interesting plants featured in the park included cacti growing in the canopy of an oak tree and plateau milkvine, which we could identify although it was not blooming.
Those who participated spent a very enjoyable morning identifying plants in the company of fellow botanical enthusiasts.
Plateau Milkvine, Matelea edwardsensisCactus on log
April’s field trip heads to Phil Hardberger Park in San Antonio on Saturday, April 29, from 10am to 12pm, for a guided tour. Arrive at 9:45am so we can start the tour at 10:00 sharp. We’ll meet at the Salado Outdoor Classroom building at 13203 Blanco Rd, San Antonio TX, 78216.
Free and open to the public. Carpooling is highly encouraged as parking is limited. Wear clothing appropriate for the weather, especially comfortable walking shoes. Be prepared for sun by wearing sunscreen and a hat.
Please RSVP at this link by April 27 so we have a head count for the tour. See the announcement post published April 3, 2023, for more details
If you have a question before you RSVP, let us know by email or contact form. See Contact Us.
Join NPSOT-Williamson County on Thursday, May 11, 2023, when our featured topic will be Medicinal Applications of Native Plants by Native Americans with Ricky Linex. Free and open to the public. The meeting begins at 7:00 PM.
Please note: This month our meeting may run a little longer than usual with a 1 hour guest presentation.
==> If you attend in person, we’re at the Georgetown Public Library, 2nd floor. If you attend in person, you are giving consent to be videoed for Zoom and YouTube (if the meeting is to be posted on YouTube).
About our topic: This presentation showcases 45 native Texas forbs, shrubs and trees that were used medicinally by many tribes across Texas and the southern US. The treatment method and the illness or disease treated will be discussed for each plant. Resources will be shown that can be used to research plants you are interested in to see what tribes might have used the plants. The Native Americans utilized many native plants for treatment of various illnesses for thousands of years, much of this knowledge was set aside when synthetic medicines became widely available.
About our speaker: Ricky Linex retired in 2021 as a wildlife biologist for the Natural Resources Conservation Service and works as a range and wildlife consultant. With NRCS, Ricky worked 52 counties in north central Texas covering the Rolling Plains, Cross Timbers, Blackland Prairie and Post Oak Savannah vegetational regions. He worked 38.5 years with NRCS in Goldthwaite, Snyder, Abilene and Weatherford.
Ricky is the author of Range Plants of North Central Texas, A Land Users Guide to Their Identification, Value and Management, a plant identification book for Texas. Range Plants was recognized in 2015 as an outstanding publication by the Texas Chapter-The Wildlife Society, the Native Plant Society of Texas and the Texas Section-Society for Range Management.
At every meeting, we give away a book — about native plants or the meeting topic — to one randomly chosen 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.
