Category: Native Plants

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Adopting an Orphaned Kiosk

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– by Belinda and John Buescher

John and Belinda Buescher like to walk along a trail that connects their neighborhood (Parkside at Mayfield Ranch) to Williamson County’s Southwest Regional Park. The path is charming – bordered with Indian Blankets in late spring, punctuated with prickly pear, and dancing with butterflies in the summer. In winter the wind whispers through stands of little blue stem.

The county had constructed an information kiosk where the neighborhood trail met the park trail. But it had been neglected in recent years and had become, well, less than inviting:

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The orphaned kiosk.

The Bueschers offered to “adopt” the orphaned kiosk and spruce it up with native plant signs that NPSOT’s Field Trip Committee had already developed. The signs would be affixed with Velcro so they could be switched out seasonally. Committee Chair Kathy Galloway arranged a meeting with the park manager, Toby Bonnet, who enthusiastically accepted their offer.

The couple compiled a list of native plants along the trail. Kathy McCormack, a fellow NPSOT Field Trip Committee member, arranged for the printing and lamination of the signs. Toby consolidated the park information that would need to remain in the kiosk, leaving half of the display area for NPSOT information. Belinda ordered Velcro squares; John bought a vinyl tablecloth and a staple gun. And the fun began!

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Work underway.
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John, Belinda, and the finished kiosk.
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Up close.

NPSOT has now been invited to update all the kiosks in the park!

Photo credits:  “Before” photo by John Buescher.   Remaining photos by Kathy McCormack.

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About the Native Orchid Conference

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Interested in our native Texas orchids? Here’s news for you from the Native Orchid Conference.

Whatever your location, it’s likely that the [native] flora of your area includes orchids. The Native Orchid Conference (NOC) was founded in 2002 as a “non-profit education and conservation organization, the purpose of which is to increase awareness of, and interest in, native orchids of the United States and Canada. Its mission is to promote and support the enjoyment of native orchids and the protection of orchid habitat through education, conservation and research.”

  • WHO WE ARE
    • A twenty plus year old organization with an active membership that spans North America from coast to coast
    • Diverse membership with backgrounds in architecture to zoology and everything in between
  • WHAT WE DO
    • Maintain a dynamic network of native orchid enthusiasts
    • Support, promote and actively participate in conservation efforts
    • Collaborate with universities, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center & conservation groups to restore and preserve orchid habitat
    • Participate in ongoing scientific research
    • Maintain an internet forum
    • Publish a peer reviewed journal
    • Award grants to students engaged in native orchid research
    • Sponsor online presentations
    • Conduct an annual symposium at various venues across the continent

    To learn more, visit the NOC website at nativeorchidconference.org.

    Spiked Crested Coralroot, Hexalectris spicata var spicata.
    Spiked Crested Coralroot, Hexalectris spicata var spicata. Photo by Bob Kamper.

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    May 12 Chapter Meeting (In Person and Virtual), “Riparian Management, Why Creeks Act the Way They Do” with Ricky Linex

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    Join NPSOT-Williamson County on Thursday, May 12, 2022, when our featured topic will be Riparian Management, Why Creeks Act the Way They Do with Ricky Linex.   Free and open to the public. The meeting begins at 7:00 PM.

    About our topic:  This presentation goes into the relationships of riparian areas to the uplands that provide water to the riparian areas and the importance of good land stewardship for the maintenance of healthy creeks and rivers. I will show several native riparian plants and discuss a strength rating of each plant as well as its wetland indicator rating which shows how much wetness a plant can tolerate. We will discuss what goes wrong when vegetation and landform cannot support the excessive amounts of water provided to the creeks, say from overgrazing or urban growth, and how erosion results. We will show how creeks can be restored by removing the hindrances that created the problem.

    Ricky has provided a handout for his presentation (see this link) listing riparian plants of north central Texas including their strength ratings and wetland indicator ratings.

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    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 meeting attendee!

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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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