Category: Chapter Meetings

Chapter Meetings

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Online Chapter Meeting Sep 10: Mushrooms of the Gulf Coast States with David P. Lewis

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Join NPSOT-Wilco’s online chapter meeting on Thursday, September 10, 2020, at 7:00 pm, when guest speaker David P. Lewis will present Mushrooms of the Gulf Coast States:  A Field Guide to Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida.

You must register in advance to attend the meeting.  See the information later in this post for details.

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David P. Lewis, M.S., is a retired chemist and avid mycologist with a BS and MS from Lamar University, Beaumont, TX, where his master’s thesis was based on a study of East Texas mushrooms. David is currently a Research Associate with the Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, IL, where 5000 collections of his fungi are deposited.

He is an honorary staff member associated with the Tracy Herbarium at Texas A&M University.  From 2006 to 2018, he had been the Fungal TWIG (coordinator for mycologists) for the Big Thicket National Preserve All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory. He is president of the Gulf States Mycological Society (since 1998), has authored many papers related to mycology, and discovered several new species of mushrooms. (Four species are named for him.)  In 2009 he received The North American Mycological Association’s award for Contributions to Amateur Mycology, and in 2010, the R.E. Jackson Conservation Award from the Big Thicket Association.

With Alan and Arleen Bessette, David co-authored “Mushrooms of the Gulf Coast States- A Field Guide to Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida”. He and his late wife Patricia live on 60 heavily wooded acres in Newton County, Texas where they study plants, fungi and wildlife.

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How to attend

  • You must register in advance to attend the online meeting.
  • After registering, you’ll receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar on the day of the meeting.

Please register for our Sep 2020 Monthly Meeting: Mushrooms of Texas, September 10, 2020 7:00 PM CDT at the following link:

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NPSOT-Williamson County meetings are free and open to the public. In this time of public health risk, our in-person meetings and field trips are canceled until further notice.

Check our blog announcements, calendar and Facebook for developing plans for virtual meetings and virtual field trips.

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Online Chapter Meeting August 13: “Native Plants Star in Monarch Waystations & BBMT” with Carol Clark

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Join NPSOT-Wilco’s online chapter meeting on Thursday, August 13, 2020, at 7:00 pm, when guest speaker Carol Clark will present “Native Plants Star in Monarch Waystations and the BBMT (Bring Back the Monarchs to Texas) Plays a Part.”  You must register in advance to attend the meeting.  Details are provided later in this post.

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Carol’s presentation includes an explanation of NPSOT’s Bring Back the Monarchs to Texas committee and its garden grant program, and illuminates some of the highlights and pitfalls of past grant applications. We’ll also learn how Monarchs depend on native plants for their breeding and migration success, why planting for Monarchs is urgent, and the key features of a good Monarch waystation. Then, we’ll have a look at beautiful Texas natives you can plant to provide for Monarchs.

Carol Clark is an amateur botany enthusiast, a Texas Master Naturalist, longtime member of the Native Plant Society of Texas, and a Conservation Specialist with Monarch Watch. She’s currently chairing NPSOT’s Bring Back the Monarchs to Texas committee. She also co-administers the Texas Native Bee Co-op Facebook page. She and her husband own and operate Clark Haven Farm, a wildlife preserve and custom wildflower seed business in Cooke County. Carol grew up with a nature photographer father and wildlife artist brother, and has spent much of her life looking around in the great outdoors. Her favorite things to do are leading discovery walks in local natural areas, and finding and photographing interesting plants and insects.

How to attend

  • You must register in advance to attend the online meeting.
  • After registering, you’ll receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar on the day of the meeting.

Please register for our Monthly Chapter Meeting: Native Plants Star in Monarch Waystations and the BBMT Plays a Part, August 13,  2020 7:00 PM CDT at the following link:

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NPSOT-Williamson County meetings are free and open to the public. In this time of public health risk, our in-person meetings and field trips are canceled until further notice.

Check our blog announcements, calendar and Facebook for developing plans for virtual meetings and virtual field trips.

** ARCHIVED POST – LINKS AND IMAGES MAY NOT WORK**

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On July 9, virtual chapter meeting: 2020 Results & 2021 Lookahead

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— by Randy Pensabene

Our chapter meeting on Thursday, July 9, will again be virtual. (We are extremely fortunate to have the in-house talent to host our virtual gatherings.) These online meetings have proven to be very effective and well received. We’re reaching a wider audience and are even sharing our meetings with other NPSOT chapters! Information on how to register for the July 9 meeting will be provided closer to the date via a blog post and on our website.   [UPDATED July 2, PD:  Register ahead for this virtual meeting at this link=> https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_De4NfWPiS464E-Gth_fSGQ.]

At the July meeting, Randy Pensabene, NPSOT-Wilco Chapter President, will summarize our chapter’s activities since September 2019 when the current board took office and she will review our financial status:

  • Our traditional fundraiser plant sale at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center that was canceled and how this impacts the chapter budget
  • What we can expect for the fall plant sale
  • What we learned at our much smaller recent plant sales at the Georgetown Farmers Markets

Looking to the future, Randy will present results from the 2020 NPSOT-Wilco Brainstorming survey*, discuss our plans for the chapter, and announce the much-anticipated NPSOT-Wilco Board of Directors election results.  (The election ballot will be emailed to members only on June 24.)

On July 9, pull up your chair, plug in your computer, pop open your favorite refreshment and join us for this annual review.  “See” you there!

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* The 2020 Brainstorming Survey is open for input and closes on June 30. All NPSOT-Wilco members and all blog subscribers, members and non-members, are reminded to fill out the survey – we want and need to hear your opinions so the chapter can continue to be vital and responsive to members’ interests and needs. (If you have not had a chance to submit your input yet, you’ll find the hotlink to access the survey in the blog post at this link.)

Whether virtual or in-person, NPSOT-Williamson County meetings are free and open to the public. In this time of public health risk, our in-person meetings and activities are canceled until further notice.

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