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Chapter Projects and Opportunities with our local Partners - these activities are pre-approved.
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Date |
Event & Location |
Details |
Contact |
Ongoing
(Saturday mornings, Fall and Spring)
10:00 AM |
Bastrop State Park Interpretive Hikes
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Lead an interpretive "Discover the Lost Pines" hike! The easy trail walks (about 1 mile) are each Saturday at 10 AM from October through early December and again in the spring from late February through early June. If you haven't done this before, contact Sue for a brief script to guide you through the process, and come along on one of the hikes for more training. A training hike will be held in September, date TBA. For details and background material, visit Discover the Lost Pines. |
To volunteer, or find out about training hikes, contact Sue Fischer at 512-321-1308 or by E-mail at smfischer@mdanderson.org |
Ongoing
Contact Kathy McAleese for dates
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McKinney Roughs Biosurvey
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This is a regular series of plant, bird and other wildlife monitoring at LCRA's McKinney Roughs Nature Park. Kathy McAleese will coordinates these. The schedule varies, depending on weather and other factors. Usually there will be two outings (one during the week; one on the weekend) each month. Bring your bird, tree or wildflower guide, binoculars and walking shoes. Dress for the weather. |
Contact Kathy McAleese (kmcaleese@austin.rr.com or 512-718-1313) for more information.
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Ongoing
(choose your own schedule)
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Bastrop State Park Nature Surveys
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Louise Ridlon has volunteered to lead nature surveys at Bastrop State Park similar to the CRR survey led by Kathy McAleese. Surveys can be done ad hoc on your own schedule. Go on your own, or with a group. Please make sure to use the proper reporting form for your results. You can download the report form here: (MS Word version; PDF version) |
Contact Louise at 512 985-5064 or at Louise Ridlon for details and information on reporting your findings. |
Ongoing
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McKinney Roughs Volunteer Activities
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McKinney Roughs has a variety of activities available to volunteers. Currently they are looking for people to help maintain the natural plant areas and beds around the visitor center, classroom building, dining hall, and parking lots. The demonstration trail and herb garden area have been getting spruced up. There is a structured pond in this area, as well as another one in front of the classroom building. There are also a couple of other ponds used for education programs that need to have vegetation restored and bank work. Assistance in any of these areas can be coordinated to work with volunteer schedules during the hours the park is open, 8-5 Mondays through Saturdays and noon to 5:00 on Sundays. Mckinney Roughs requires a volunteer form be filled out, and a background check is done on each volunteer before they start. |
Email Jana Hellbusch or contact her at 800-776-5272, ext. 8041, 512-303-5073, fax 512-303-5277. |
| Ongoing |
Friends of the Yegua Knobs
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Pines and Prairies Land Trust is starting a "Friends" group for the Yegua Knobs preserve near McDade. Volunteers are needed to survey plant and animal life, identify and clear camping areas and trails, plus other fun and rewarding tasks. Go to http://www.pinesandprairieslandtrust.org/ for more information about Yegua Knobs. |
To volunteer, Email Jeremiah Jarvis or call him at 512 281-2762. |
Ongoing
Watch for future dates TBA!
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Bastrop State Park Invasive Plant Removal
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English ivy and Asian honeysuckle have taken over near the historic "Settler's Trail" (across the loop road from Copperas Creek campgound). It will take several visits, plus regular follow-ups, to get rid of the problem. Our long term goal is to get the area cleaned up and then to develop new markers and a pamphlet for trail-side plants and other features along the interpretive trail. No experience necessary! Bring loppers, work gloves and water. Because there is also some poison ivy in the area, long pants and long-sleeved shirts are recommended. |
To volunteer, contact Andy Butler |
9:00 AM - 12:30 PM
Watch for 2011 dates.
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TPWD Free Family Fishing Clinics at Bastrop and Buescher State Parks.
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Volunteers are needed to assist with this free Go FIsh clinic. Clinics are designed for children ages 6 to 13, but all ages are welcome. This is a very basic clinic, and you don't need to be a fisher-person to help out. The kids really have a good time. There will be 5 learning stations with gifts at each station. A Certificate of Achievement and a cool fish pin will be given out after the classes. Participants will then get to fish with borrowed rods, reels, and bait provided by TPWD. At noon there will be a raffle for the kids. Parents must accompany their children. Everyone should bring water, insect repellent, sun block, a hat and wear closed-toe shoes. Regular park entrance fees apply. Park entrance is free for volunteers, and necessary training will be provided on site. Clinics will be announced later in the spring
At least 7 volunteers are needed for each clinic. |
Contact Bill Brooks at 512 581-0377 or by email Bill Brooks. |
Ongoing
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FireCAP Facilitator
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Interested volunteers will teach homeowners how to protect their homes agains wildfire, through creating defensible space and instituting other protective measures. Volunteers will need to attend one of the FireCAP Facilitator Training Workshops. |
Contact Michal Hubbard, 512-517-1416 or michal_photog@yahoo.com |
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Other pre-approved Volunteer Opportunities -
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President's Day Weekend
Feb. 17-20, 2012 |
Great Backyard Bird Count
PDF Brochure
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It's your chance to count birds for fun and count for the future, with the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) on President's Day Weekend. Whether you participate once or several times, by submitting your list of the birds you see at www.birdcount.org, you will help scientists learn more about how birds are faring in your neighborhood.
The more people who participate in the GBBC, the better the information scientists will have about how bird populations may be changing over time due to habitat loss, climate change, disease, or other factors. Here are some ways you can encourage family, friends and others in your community to take part and submit lists of their own. If you "tweet" on Twitter, add this "hashtag" to your messages about the birds you are seeing: #gbbc (make sure the letters are lower-case; a hashtag is simply text you leave at the end of your message). When you add that tag, tweets about GBBC will show up in a special widget on the GBBC home page so we can all share.
GBBC events are taking place around the continent. Discover what's going on in your area on the GBBC website's Local Events page. If you're hosting an event, email Pat Leonard at pel27@cornell.edu so your event can be posted on the GBBC website.
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 Visit www.birdcount.org to sign up and get instructions. |
| Ongoing |
Texas Nature Trackers
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These monitoring projects are coordinated byt he Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. In some cases, you will need to attend an appropriate training workshop prior to volunteering; in other cases, you may be able to obtain an information packet from TPWD and begin monitoring on your own. Current opportunities include: Box turtle survey; hummingbird roundup; monarch watch; amphibian watch; Horned lizard watch; and Mussel watch. |
Visit the Nature Trackers web page at www.tpwd.state.tx.us/learning/texas_nature_trackers/ . |
| Ongoing |
Colorado River Watch Network
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Colorado River Watch Network monitors must complete an eight-hour training process provided by LCRA (Eligible for LPMN Advanced Training Credit). Instructors show volunteers how to use testing equipment, then help volunteers practice their new skills at a designated testing site on the Colorado River to test for several water quality indicators.
A field kit is loaned to a volunteer individual or group for the duration of their active participation. As long as the group continues to regularly provide data, monitoring supplies are provided. |
Visit the LCRA volunteer web page at http://www.lcra.org/water/volunteer_monitors.html . |
| Ongoing |
Hornsby Bend Monthly Bird Count
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The Hornsby Bend Bird Observatory Monthly Bird Survey is usually held the 2nd Saturday of each month.
Meet at Hornsby Bend in the Center for Environmental Research at 7am for
the morning survey [Coffee and treats at 6:30am] or 4pm for the afternoon
survey. All levels of birders are welcome, although this is not a field trip
- the survey is a great way to improve your skills since we form teams
matching experienced and novice birders. In the morning, we have teams
covering different areas of the Hornsby Bend facility and count numbers of
all birds seen. It is 4 hours of hard hiking and counting, but lots of fun
along the way. We meet again around 11am to tally up the species. The
afternoon involves looking around for species missed that morning, and we go
until sundown.
If you'd like to join us for the morning or the afternoon or both - just
show up at 7am or 4pm. We meet at the CER building which is the first
building at the entrance to Hornsby Bend. We'd love your help! |
Location and Site map at www.hornsbybend.org
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Other Volunteer Opportunities - make sure to get prior approval for credit!
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