August 11 Chapter Meeting (in-person and virtual): “Advanced Monarch Biology and Conservation for Urban, Suburban and Rural Texans” with Ray Moranz, Ph.D.

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Join NPSOT-Williamson County on Thursday, August 11, 2022, when our featured topic will be Advanced Monarch Biology and Conservation for Urban, Suburban and Rural Texans with Ray Moranz, Ph.D.  Free and open to the public. The meeting begins at 7:00 PM.

Please note, whether you attend on August 11 in person or via Zoom, this month’s speaker will be virtual, joining us from Oklahoma.

About our topic:  Dr. Moranz will summarize some of the latest science regarding milkweeds and monarch nectar plants to help you choose the native plant species to add to your garden, farm or ranch. He will also discuss land management practices and sources of financial assistance with regards to creating and managing habitat for monarchs and other pollinators.

About our speaker:  Dr. Ray Moranz is the Grazing Lands Pollinator Ecologist for the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation. Ray also serves as a Partner Biologist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and assists the Central National Technology Support Center (CNTSC) in Fort Worth, TX, with pollinator conservation throughout the central U.S. Ray began studying grassland plant and butterfly communities in 2004 and earned his Ph.D. in Natural Resource Ecology and Management from Oklahoma State University in 2010. Following his PhD, Ray was a post-doctoral researcher at Iowa State University, and an adjunct professor at Oklahoma State University. Prior to joining the Xerces Society, Ray worked as a rare plant conservationist for The Nature Conservancy in Florida, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in California. Ray lives with his wife, son and daughter on a small farm just outside of Stillwater, OK.

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

Monarch on White Mistflower, Ageratina havanenis. Photo by Greg Donica.

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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.

  • When:  We meet the second Thursday of each month from 7:00 to 8:30 PM. A short business meeting begins at 7:00 PM followed by our guest presentation.  (For in-person meetings, doors open at 6:30 PM. Check out the seed swap board, get advice from expert members, or just visit.)
  • Where:  In person and via Zoom. When in person, we normally meet at the Georgetown Public Library, 2nd floor, Hewlett Room, 402 West 8th St, Georgetown, TX 78626. If we are at a different physical location for any given month, the exception is announced in our blog, on our calendar, and on Facebook.
  • Monthly Meeting Guest Speakers: See past and upcoming topics at this link.
  • Recordings: Find video recordings of previous meetings and field trips on our YouTube channel at this link.

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Recording available for June 9, 2022’s ”Gardening for Bats” with Erin Cord

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The video recording of our June 9, 2022 chapter meeting is now available with Erin Cord’s presentation Gardening for Bats. You’ll find the video on our YouTube channel at this link.  Erin’s topic begins at 12:30 into the video.

Also, a PDF version of Erin’s presentation is available on our website. Click here or navigate to the PDF any time by  choosing “What We Do” on the main menu, then choose “Chapter Meetings/Speakers” and scroll down the list of 2022 dates.  (Please note that videos embedded in the PDF file do not play. They do play in the YouTube recording.)

On YouTube we are www.youtube.com/NPSOTWilliamsonCounty.  While you’re on our channel, remember to Like and Subscribe.  Check our blog or follow us on Facebook or Instagram to stay updated on chapter virtual events.

Business slides from the chapter meeting are here.

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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.

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July 14 Chapter Meeting (in-person and virtual): Annual Meeting, 25th Anniversary and “Landscaping with Native Plants Series: Session #2, Gary Bowers’ Yard”

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This year is NPSOT-Williamson County Chapter’s 25th anniversary! 

Fireworks on black background

Celebrate with us at the chapter meeting on Thursday, July 14, 2022, at 7:00 PM.  We’ll recognize this great milestone and briefly cover annual chapter business before proceeding with our featured topic, Landscaping with Native Plants Series: Session #2, Gary Bowers’ Yard, presented by…. Gary Bowers!

Whether you attend in-person or via Zoom, our meetings are free and open to the public. (Trying to decide how to attend in July?  This month we have native plants to give away to in-person attendees and refreshments to celebrate our 25th.)

About our topic:  This month’s topic is the second session in a series called Landscaping with Native Plants which the chapter will lead over the coming months. On July 14, learn how one chapter member has embarked on a multi-year project to, in his words, “have a nicer view from the kitchen window.” This home is in Round Rock, east of I-35, in Blackland Prairie soils. Other topics in the series will be announced at a future date.

About our speaker and homeowner:  Gary Bowers grew up in northeast Tennessee and has always had a keen interest in nature and the outdoors — though he harbors a special passion for trees. Since moving to Central Texas in 2012, he has discovered the wonderful variety of Texas native plants. Gary is a past president of the NPSOT-Williamson County Chapter and has also served the chapter as an instructor for the chapter’s Native Landscape Certification Program (NLCP), a field trip leader, and more.  Gary works as a software developer in order to pay for new plants.

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

Bluebonnets, Lupinus texensis
Bluebonnets, Lupinus texensis

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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.

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