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Texas State Parks Offer Up a Frightfully Good Time for Halloween

texas parks christopher le hSThAXPXEBM unsplasht webGhouls and goblins of all ages are invited to a variety of family-friendly Halloween-themed events at state parks across Texas that are guaranteed to provide a witchy good time. Activities range from educational conversations on creepy crawlies and nocturnal animals to pumpkin scavenger hunts along park trails. Anyone interested in finding an event in their area can visit the TPWD state park calendar at https://tpwd.texas.gov/calendar/holidays for a list of spooky events and updates.

For those still traveling through the state of Texas on their way to the Rio Grande Valley, here is a list of some events at state parks you might want to take part in.

Read more: Texas State Parks Offer Up a Frightfully Good Time for Halloween

Master Gardener Plant Sale this weekend

20211020 MasterGardenerPlantSale Courtesy webWelcome back Winter Texans. The Deep South Texas Master Gardeners will be holding its fall plants sale on October 23 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. The event will take place at the educational garden located at 509 E. Earling Rd. in San Juan.

There will be a large variety of landscaping and house plants, cactus, succulents, Texas superstars, and native plants for sale. There will also be fruit trees such as fig, pink and white guava, and of course, banana as well as some native trees. There will be decorative trees including Jacaranda, Flamboyant, Kapok and Moringa available.

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Empty Bowls event is October 26

The 15th Annual Empty Bowls Luncheon and Silent Auction will take place from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on October 26, at Bert Ogden Arena in Edinburg.

This year’s Empty Bowls Luncheon and Silent Auction will benefit the Food Bank RGV’s 1,000,000-holiday meal campaign, which will ensure that RGV families have healthy and complete meals on the table this season. Food Bank RGV’s signature fundraising event features food from over 30 local restaurants, music, silent auctions, and raffles. Restaurants wishing to participate in and support Empty Bowls may still sign-up.

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Native Plant Night at Quinta Mazatlán

20211020 John Brush webQuinta Mazatlán will celebrate Texas Native Plant Week on Thursday, October 21st, from 5 p.m.-7 p.m. Join us for an opportunity to learn, appreciate, and cultivate native plants with a Presentation by John Brush and Plant Sale by Mike Heep. 

In 2009 Texas Legislature officially designated the third week of October as Texas Native Plant Week in efforts to conserve and recognize the importance of native plants and their role in the environment. A native plant is one that has “developed over a period of time (hundreds or thousands of years) in a particular region or ecosystem.” Native plants have adapted to survive their environment and developed mutually beneficial symbiotic relationships with the local wildlife. Native plants have the potential to offer ecological services that benefit humans, animals, and even the landscape itself. Native plants attract a diversity of wildlife, support a healthy and more sustainable ecosystem, require less water, reduce strain on local water supply, add aesthetic beauty, and give character and a sense of place to a region. The more we know and understand our native plants the better we can help our environment.

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Time to start those vegetable gardens

20211027 Time to start those fall Vegetable Gardens 02 CourtesyThe Deep South Texas Master Gardeners welcomes our winter Texans back and wood like to help you start your winter vegetable garden. Unlike in the north where gardening is done during the summer months, we here in Texas do our gardening in the fall and winter. Many of those wonderful vegetables that you enjoy back home can be grown here in Texas during the winter months.

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Exploring the Queen Isabella Causeway collapse

The Collapse Movie Poster WEBDiscover more about the Queen Isabella Causeway collapse during the Sunday Speaker Series Online presentation, “The Collapse: The True Story of the Queen Isabella Causeway Collapse,” at 2 p.m. on Oct. 3 on the Museum of South Texas History’s Facebook page.

In 2001, a tow boat pushing four fully loaded barges hit a pillar of the Queen Isabella Causeway, which connects South Padre Island and Port Isabel. On that day, four fishermen saved three people, but the tragedy ultimately claimed the lives of eight individuals. During the presentation, guest speakers Joshua Moroles and Robert Espericueta will discuss how they have documented that fateful day.

Read more: Exploring the Queen Isabella Causeway collapse

Food Bank RGV Joins Feeding America’s Hunger Action Month Campaign

RGVFoodBankFor Hunger Action Month® this September, the Food Bank RGV will join Feeding America and other network member food banks to inspire people to take action and raise awareness of people facing the impossible choice of hunger. Food banks around the country are working to make an effective and lasting impact on food insecurity in their communities and they are asking for the public’s support.

Read more: Food Bank RGV Joins Feeding America’s Hunger Action Month Campaign

Humane society of Harlingen at capacity

The Humane Society of Harlingen’s kennels are completely full. The busy season is upon us at HSH and every single kennel and cage is occupied. We need adopters and fosters right now!

The Humane Society of Harlingen is offering a free spay/neuter surgery for anyone able to foster a cat or dog for at least 2 weeks. Additionally, anyone adopting a pet from today until Friday, August 6th will receive free vaccines and medications for one year for that adopted pet at our monthly clinics.

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Save our pollinators, save our world

20210414 The Gardens LM 0037Written by Laura Muntean, TAMU

Pollinators serve a great purpose in the agriculture world. Without them, humans and animals would have little to no food at all.

Texas A&M AgriLife researcher Juliana Rangel, Ph.D., director of the Texas A&M Honey Bee Lab and associate professor of apiculture in the Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Department of Entomology, explains the incredible impact that such typically small animals and insects play in the role of our food supply.

Read more: Save our pollinators, save our world

Gladys Porter Zoo Debuts Two New Babies

Baby Camel 1Gladys Porter Zoo staff are excited to introduce two new babies at the Zoo: a dromedary camel and a reticulated giraffe. Both babies made their debut on exhibit this week.

The healthy male giraffe was born to parents Priscilla and CJ on June 14, 2021. Now one month old, he joins another calf in the giraffe yard that was born just a few months ago.

Reticulated giraffes, like the ones at the Zoo, are listed as Endangered with an estimate of less than 10,000 remaining in the wild. Their numbers have decreased by 50% in the last three decades.

Read more: Gladys Porter Zoo Debuts Two New Babies

Begin to birdwatch class offered

thumbnail Begin to Birdwatch ps July 2021Learn about the world of birds and birdwatching, full of colorful birds with interesting lives. After a fun-filled introduction to the diversity of birds, we will focus on the tips and tricks to identifying birds. The Rio Grande Valley is one of the best regions in the country for birdwatching - all we need is to look outside!

Join John Brush, urban ecologist from Quinta Mazatlan, for a presentation on how to begin birdwatching! The class will be available on Saturday, July 31 from 2-3 p.m. at the McAllen Public Library (Main Library, meeting room A, 4001 N. 23rd St.)

Register here: https://mcallenlibrary.libnet.info/event/5268889 . For more information, contact Grace or Nicole at (956) 681-3060.

Join Texas Parks & Wildlife Magazine’s Great Outdoor Scavenger Hunt

AUSTIN – The Texas Parks & Wildlife magazine’s Great Outdoor Scavenger Hunt (GOSH) returns for another year of summer fun across Texas. Travel to various locations regionally or statewide, take a selfie and post it with the hashtag #GOSH2021. Discover history, wildlife, parks, waterways and quirky attractions — plus iconic Texas food stops as a “bonus” to enjoy along the way. The GOSH 2021 challenge ends at midnight on Labor Day, Sept. 6.

Select from six regions, including Dallas, Central Texas, Houston, Panhandle, South Texas and West Texas. Register on the Texas Parks and Wildlife Magazine website or the TPWD Facebook Page, then find the spot, take a smiling selfie and tag it on Twitter or Instagram. Participants can also post and tag it on the TPWD Facebook Page with #GOSH2021. Partakers can visit locations regionally or statewide and complete one or all GOSH activities.

Read more: Join Texas Parks & Wildlife Magazine’s Great Outdoor Scavenger Hunt

New Monarch Butterfly Conservation license plate available for Texas drivers

AUSTIN — The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) will be launching the long-awaited Monarch Butterfly conservation license plate on June 21 that will raise money to help conserve monarch butterflies and other native Texas, non-game, at-risk species.

“The monarch butterfly is a species that is beautiful and iconic in that it is one of nature’s great migration stories,” said John Davis, TPWD’s Wildlife Diversity Program Director. “This species migrates through Texas from Mexico in the spring making its way to the northern extremes of the U.S. and into Canada, then reverses that feat in the fall to overwinter in Mexico. This great migratory story is in jeopardy with the overwintering population experiencing steep declines in the last decade. By adding the monarch to our family of plates, we hope to increase support for this beautiful migration event and through our conservation efforts, brighten the future for this, and many other species.”

Read more: New Monarch Butterfly Conservation license plate available for Texas drivers

Humane Society of Harlingen At Capacity for Cats, Calling Community to Help

Harlingen, Texas – The Humane Society of Harlingen’s cat spaces are completely full. Yesterday, someone reached out to HSH looking for help rehoming 13 cats, as their living space was increasingly unsafe and unsustainable. HSH answered the call, and this morning HSH took in all 13 cats. HSH is asking the community to help us find foster or forever homes for our feline friends!

All adoption fees are completely waived. All adopted pets will go home up to date on vaccinations, dewormed, on preventatives for fleas/ticks/heartworms, microchipped and either already spayed/neutered, or with an appointment to spay/neuter at no cost to the adoptive family.

Read more: Humane Society of Harlingen At Capacity for Cats, Calling Community to Help

Humane Society of Harlingen hosting low-cost community clinic

The Humane Society of Harlingen will be hosting a community clinic on Saturday, May 29th from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. This will be a pre-registration only clinic. During this clinic, HSH will be providing discounted vaccinations and medications. Pets must be present in order for medications to be distributed or vaccinations administered.

This will be a drive-thru clinic with the entrance on the 77 Sunshine Strip side of the building. To protect the health and safety of our staff and the community, we require that anyone coming to the clinic wear a mask covering their nose and mouth.

Spots are filling up quickly, register your pet today! More information and registration can be found at hshtx.org/monthly-clinic.

For more information, please contact the shelter at info@hshtx.org or (956) 425-7297.

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