Tag: volunteer appreciation

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Plant Sale Thank You

— by Beth Erwin

Thank you to all who attended our Fall 2024 in person sale this past Saturday and those who purchased plants in our Fall online sale.  Our Plant Sale Committee works very hard to ensure that our sales are informative, educational, and very well organized.  Our teams of cashiers, ticket writers, setup, sales, hold area, and everything else that needs doing are outstanding.  Special thanks to the members of the Round Rock High School Plant Club that work every sale with us.  Their eagerness and enthusiasm for the sale and plants is infectious and makes us wonder how we ever did it without them.

 The growers that produce our plants work hand-in-hand with us to make sure we have high quality plants to offer our customers.  Collectively, we want everyone to succeed and embrace growing native Texas plants.  We were proud to have more species in this sale sourced specifically from plants growing in Williamson County.  This is largely courtesy of our Plant Rescue team with seeds also coming from member landowners.

Comments, questions and suggestions are welcome.  (Send comments to wilco-chapter@npsot.org.) So are volunteers!  We hope to see you at our Spring 2025 Native Plant Sale, a mere 20 weeks away, on March 29, 2025. 

Beth Erwin, Plant Sale Committee Chairman

image of a plant sale
Nov 2, 2024 Native Plant Sale at Williamson County Southwest Regional Park. Photo by Cindy Chrisler.


See more photos in our album=>

Plant Sale Photo Album
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Congratulations to Ashley Landry!

Chapter member Ashley Landry is the recipient of NPSOT’s Nancy Benedict Memorial Award!  

The news was announced by Chapter Vice President Gary Bowers at the chapter meeting on August 8, 2024. The Nancy Benedict Memorial Award honors an individual, a group or an organization for a specific act of conservation or public service in the field of Texas native plants.

Ashley is the founder and leader of the Native Plant Rescue Project, where she leads teams of volunteers to ethically rescue native plants from development in Central Texas. In addition, exposure to the project’s plant rescue mission in print and broadcast media is increasing the public’s awareness of native plants.

Congratulations, Ashley, from all of us!

Nancy Copperman, NPSOT-Wilco President, and all members of NPSOT

woman on magazine cover
Wildflower, the magazine of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. Click the image to read more.
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Landfill Pollinator Garden Workday – Part Deux

This image shows the volunteer crew gathered around the project sign in celebration of completing the mulch spreading.

— by Gary Bowers

Six volunteers from Master Naturalists and NPSOT Wilco started the chilly, breezy morning of Sun Dec 10, 2023 bundled up to begin spreading the 15 cu yds of mulch that Louis from Waste Management had delivered. The goal: spread the mulch along the pathway – covering the weed barrier that had become visible.

Photo showing piles of mulch with the pollinator garden and Willamson County Landfill sign in the background.
Mulch ready to be spread at Williamson County Landfill Garden on Sun Dec 10 2023.

The team exchanged introductions, unloaded the tools, and quickly got to work. By the end of the first hour, we had started shedding layers of clothing. Chilly days are the best for spreading mulch!

Photo showing volunteers using garden implements to spread mulch along pathway.
GWMN and NPSOT Wilco Volunteers spreading mulch along pathway.
This photos shows the completed pathway with the pollinator garden in the background.
The mulch has been distributed, the weed barrier is hidden, and the stones repurposed as a border.

The crew sat aside the limestone pavers that had been used as stepping stones and then repurposed those to use as a garden border. Stones like this create habitat for crickets, spiders, lizards, and various other critters.

After all the mulch was spread and the tools returned to the correct vehicles, the team spent some time walking the garden, checking on the new plants put in during the previous workday, and discussing the tasks needed for the next workday.

This image shows the volunteer crew gathered around the project sign in celebration of completing the mulch spreading.
The accomplished crew celebrating their work.

Thanks to all the hardworking volunteers! See you on the next workday!


If you have not yet been to this garden, it is open to the public. Sunday is the best time to drop by as the landfill is closed so there is no traffic and it’s safe to park along the road. If you choose to go during the week, park at the Recycling Center across the street.

About the garden: The Pollinator Garden is a collaboration of the NPSOT-Wilco chapter, Good Water Master Naturalists, and Williamson County Waste Management, located at the entrance to the Williamson County Landfill, at the corner of FM 1660 and Landfill Road in Hutto, TX, across from the Recycling Center. The garden includes a Monarch Waystation and is a Certified Texas Wildscape. Volunteers help maintain the garden when the collaborating organizations announce a maintenance work day.  Anyone interested is invited to help!