June 8 Chapter Meeting: “Living Soil: The World Beneath Our Feet” with Jim Williams 

Join NPSOT-Williamson County on Thursday, June 8, 2023, when our featured topic will be Living Soil: The World Beneath Our Feet with Jim Williams.  Free and open to the public. The meeting begins at 7:00 PM.  Our guest speaker’s presentation begins after a short business meeting.

==> 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). Come early (6:30 PM) for expert advice, to check out the seed swap board, or just to visit.

==> To attend via Zoom instead of in person, register at https://npsot-org.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUrcOGvqDsqHtGoN0st66ntnbAbzkplFoX7#/registration

About our topic: Most of the living organisms of Earth reside in the soil and support the life that exists on the surface. This living community existed for millions of years before plants and animals appeared on land and provides the supporting structure for life on Earth. In this talk we will explore the structure of our soil, the diverse life within it and how it works to benefit our environment.

image of person

About our speaker: Jim Williams is a retired physician, life-long gardener and a Williamson County Master Gardener where he manages the demonstration gardens. He graduated in 1979 from UT-El Paso where he majored in Microbiology and Chemistry. Jim was active in undergraduate research in soil microbiology cataloging the microflora of West Texas, Southern New Mexico and Northern Mexico. For the past six years he has resumed his soil studies and he applies this to the demonstration gardens where the Master Gardeners practice no-till regenerative gardening.


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. See info about upcoming topics on our page Wilco Home.

May 11 recording available, “Medicinal Applications of Native Plants by Native Americans”

The video recording of our May 11, 2023 chapter meeting is now available for Medicinal Applications of Native Plants by Native Americans with Ricky Linex.

NOTE: Due to a hiccup in the Zoom recording, some plant names on some slides are obscured in the video. With Ricky’s permission, chapter member Gary Bowers put together a list to supplement the video. See this link in iNaturalist. Thank you, Gary!


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You can see business slides for 2023 chapter meetings here, listed by date. (If this particular meeting’s business slides were not added yet, they will be soon. Please check back later.)

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.

Free native plants at May 11 meeting; Guest topic “Medicinal Applications of Native Plants by Native Americans” with Ricky Linex

Along with our terrific speaker, Ricky Linex, we will have free native pollinator-friendly plants at our May 11th meeting for in-person attendees.

Species include:  

  • Conoclinium betonicifolium (Betony-leaf Mistflower)
  • Wedelia acapulcensis var. hispida (Zexmenia)
  • Salvia roemeriana (Cedar Sage)
  • Chamaecrista fasciculata (Partridge Pea)
  • Aristolochia serpentaria (Virginia Snakeroot aka Va. Dutchman’s Pipe)
  • Helianthus maximiliani (Maximilian Sunflower)
  • Ratibida sp (Mexican Hat)
  • and some others

Georgetown Public Library, 2nd floor. Come at 6:30 to browse. Meeting starts at 7 PM. See this previous meeting announcement for more info.

Please note: This month our meeting may run a little longer than usual with a 1 hour guest presentation.

==> 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).

==> To attend via Zoom instead of in person, register at https://npsot-org.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0ufuCrqjsiHtUy9eE2yXIdOX30bxjrxkAd#/registration

Maximilian sunflower, Helianthus maximiliani
Maximilian sunflower, Helianthus maximiliani