OCTOBER 18, 2023 www.wintertexantimes.com 6 WINTER TEXAN TIMES cal university professors, and other field experts, including those from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; and U.S. Department of Agriculture. Students attend weekly Thursday classes from 6 to 9 p.m. beginning January 11 through March 29, at St. George Orthodox Church Hall, 704 W. Sam Houston, in Pharr. Special field trips are arranged for trainees, providing unique access, and learning opportunities. Trainees join volunteer teams with other chapter members and work among more than 60 local partners that include the chapter’s special projects, federal and local wildlife parks, coastal naturalist programs, cities, schools, and other public entities. Hundreds of opportunities are available to volunteers from studying wildlife to taking part in university studies, developing public native gardens, learning about native plants and habitat, citizen science projects, bird migration and shore birds to Gulf and beach inhabitants and trends. Texas Master Naturalist members offer free PowerPoint presentations to groups on a variety of native subjects; they train as docents and nature guides at local wildlife preserves. The deadline to apply for the 2024 class is December 15. Class size is limited. The cost is $150 and includes textbook, fees, t-shirt, name tag, and one-year membership. Scholarships of $100 are available and completed form is due by December 15. To apply for the class or request a scholarship, follow the instructions in the pdf icons on the New Class Webpage at https://www.stbctmn. org/the-next-class. If you have questions, please contact the new class director, Jim Gerry, at jimgerry@gmail.com or (630) 464-4622. Check out the chapter website at https://www.stbctmn.org/. The South Texas Border Chapter meets at 6:30 p.m., the third Monday of each month at St. George’s and has a guest speaker. Meetings are free and open to the public. Reunions are a great time to catch up with friends, old and new. Here we will feature reunions and meetings that are happening throughout the Valley. We hope that if you are having such a meeting, you will send the information to us so we can help you spread the word. Right now, there are several meetings already taking place. Red Hatters are getting together on at least a monthly basis. The RGVWoodcarvers are getting together weekly too. I am sure there are others that are meeting up for little get-togethers here and there. If you would like to share your information, please send it in. If you have a great photo from your reunion or meeting, we would love to see that too. You can send your information to news@wintertexantimes.com. Model Rail Roading & Railroaders Model Rail Roading & Railroaders have started getting together. Anyone interested in joining the group can join them Monday through Friday at the Hidalgo Pumphouse. Call Red at (313) 532-8549 for more information. Registration open for Texas Master Naturalist training program Registration is open to join the 2024 South Texas Border Chapter of the Texas Master Naturalist training class. Cameron, Hidalgo, and Starr County residents over the age of 18 and Winter Texans are welcome. Texas Master Naturalist is a unique educational volunteer program sponsored by Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, Texas Sea Grant Program, and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. “Texas Master Naturalist chapters are made up of volunteers with diverse interests who are involved in myriad activities to learn about, work with, and help educate others about the special land in which we live,” said Tony Reisinger, Cameron County Extension Agent for Coastal & Marine Resources with Texas Sea Grant at Texas A&M University and the Texas AgriLife Extension Service. “When nature is left to itself, a unique ecosystem develops – after hundreds of years,” Reisinger said. “Today, that unique ecosystem is what Texas Master Naturalists learn about and help sustain: the Rio Grande Valley’s native habitat and the critters that depend on it.” Reisinger and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Park Superintendent Javier de Leon are chapter advisors. Classes are taught by loSouth Texas Border Chapter Texas Master Naturalist members maintain gardens they have developed as chapter projects. Photo courtesy of Becky Jones Texas Pollinator Bio Blitz has started Through October 22, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) will host the eighth annual Texas Pollinator BioBlitz, celebrating the bees, wasps, butterflies, moths, beetles, flies, hummingbirds, nectar-feeding bats, and other animals that serve as pollinators across Texas. Join event partners TPWD, National Butterfly Center, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, National Wildlife Federation, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to celebrate the importance of pollinators. Individuals and families can join in to observe, identify, and share at this time of year, when cooler temperatures across the state alert bees to eat as much as they can before hibernation begins, making October the perfect time to photograph, post, and record the insects you see while enjoying the great outdoors. “Documented declines in insect populations, particularly pollinators, have brought to the forefront the need to better understand these species and the support they provide Texas rangelands, agriculture, and native ecosystems,” said Ross Winton, invertebrate biologist for TPWD. “Texas is home to thousands of pollinator species from the iconic monarch down to the smallest solitary bee.” Citizen scientists and outdoor enthusiasts of all ages are encouraged to simply enjoy these various pollinators or even to take it a step further and help collect iNaturalist observations during the peak of fall butterfly and bird migration. Participants can look for pollinators as well as nectar-producing plants, photograph or take video of them, and share their discoveries on iNaturalist, Instagram, or Facebook, using the hashtag #TXPollinators. Observations documented on the iNaturalist app help biologists learn See BIO BLITZ pg. 10
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