November 9 Chapter Meeting: “Rare Plants of Williamson County” with Bill Carr

Post updated 10/20/2023, with a new title and an updated topic description from our speaker.

Please note: our in-person location this month is the Round Rock Public Library, not the Georgetown Public Library.

Join NPSOT-Williamson County on Thursday, November 9, 2023, when our featured topic will be “Rare Plants of Williamson County” with Bill Carr.  Free and open to the public. The meeting begins at 7:00 PM.  Our guest speaker’s presentation begins after a short business meeting.

This month’s presentation will NOT be recorded for YouTube.

==> If you attend in person, weโ€™re at the Round Rock Public Library, 200 E Liberty Ave, Round Rock, TX 78664.  Come early (6:30 PM) for expert advice, to check out the seed swap board, or just to visit.

==> To attend via Zoom, register at https://npsot-org.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwtdequqTwrH9FgCya3ZfZv2DICiTjhLA2Z#/registration

About our topic: Although every plant is interesting in its own way, this talk will focus on some of the rare species known from Williamson County, including some that were reported from the area within the past few years, thanks to the efforts of Dr. Art Gibson* and others. This information will be provided within the natural regions framework in the hope that it will help others appreciate the botanical diversity in their neighborhoods.

* Note from NPSOT-Wilco => Dr. Art Gibson is a long-time chapter member!

About our speaker: Bill Carr received a B. S. in botany from The Ohio State University in December 1978 and wasted no time moving to Texas, settling in Alpine in January 1979 before eventually relocating to Austin. He spent 35 years doing field work for Texas plant conservation programs, first with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and later with The Nature Conservancy of Texas. After leaving TNCT in 2011, he formed his own company, Acme Botanical Services, to continue to help private landowners with plant conservation efforts. Bill is now working part-time as a file clerk at the Billie L. Turner Plant Resources Center at the University of Texas at Austin, the herbarium to which he contributed about 25,000 specimens during his field career.

image of group on a country road
April 2015 field trip exploring native plants in (far) eastern Williamson County.

At every meeting, we give away a book โ€” about native plants or the meeting topic โ€” to one randomly chosen in-person 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 upcoming topics on our page Wilco Home or on our Calendar.

Landfill Pollinator Garden Workday, Sunday, Nov 19, 2023

Come help during a workday at the Landfill Pollinator Garden on Sunday, November 19, 2023 from 9:30am to noon. Bring boots, tools, hat, bug spray and water.

Signup at this link https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0F4AADAC28A5F58-45176394-pollinator#/

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 theย corner of FM 1660 and Landfill Roadย in Hutto, TX, across from the Recycling Center.ย 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.ย  Anyone interested is invited to help!

image of large native plant garden

Liatris punctata Plant Rescue in Round Rock, October 7, 2023

Volunteer with us Saturday, October 7, 2023, from 8:30am-11am as we return to this Round Rock rescue site for a second time. There are hundreds of Liatris punctata available in the clay soil meadow. You may dig plants to take home and for your own projects, and if you are able, you may contribute to digging a combined 125 Liatris punctata for the San Antonio Botanical Gardens and the UT Microfarm.

You must be a current NPSOT member and at least 18 to attend. (Join NPSOT or renew here.)

For more details and to sign up for this rescue, go to https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B0A4CADA62AA75-44668081-liatris#/

Learn more about the Native Plant Rescue Project at this link.

Photos by volunteer Kenny Pailes.