April 9 Chapter Meeting: “Agaves, Yuccas, and Related Plants of Texas – Tough Plants for Tough Times” with Lonnie Childs @ GT Public Library

Join NPSOT-Williamson County on Thursday, April 9, 2026, when our featured topic will be Agaves, Yuccas, and Related Plants of Texas – Tough Plants for Tough Times with Lonnie Childs. Free and open to the public. The meeting begins at 7:00 PM.  The guest presentation begins after a short business meeting.

Please note => The video for this month’s guest presentation will be available on YouTube for 30 days. We’ll publish a blog post the day the video is posted.

About our topic: This month’s presentation will provide background information on the agaves and yuccas found in Texas including their taxonomy and ethnobotanical uses and importance to indigenous cultures. We will examine some of the more common species and highlight their potential use in the home landscape.

About our speaker: Lonnie Childs enjoyed a 30-year career as a business executive before retiring to the Fredericksburg area to pursue his interests in history, nature, and land conservation. In 2004, he earned the Texas Master Naturalist designation and now serves as an instructor in that program. After serving as President of the Fredericksburg chapter of NPSOT, Lonnie was State President of NPSOT in 2012-2013. In 2017, the society awarded him the Benny Simpson Fellows Award for service to NPSOT. Lonnie currently serves as the Newsletter Editor and President of the Friends of the Fredericksburg Nature Center.

==> This month’s in-person location is the Georgetown Public Library, 2nd floor, 402 West 8th St, Georgetown, TX 78626. 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/IKtidaM8Q-aWs9g7KxlYhg#/registration

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

Red yucca, Hesperaloe parviflora
Available at the in-person plant sale on March 28, 2026! Red yucca, Hesperaloe parviflora. Photo by Agnes Plutino.

If we have permission from our guest speaker, we record the presentation for our YouTube channel. (See a list of past topics at this link.)

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 Home page or on the Calendar.