OCTOBER 21, 2026 www.wintertexantimes.com 6 WINTER TEXAN TIMES www.sharylanddentalcare.net 2407 E. Griffin Pkwy. – Mission, TX - 956-581-2773 @Sharyland Dental Care Richard A. Young D.D.S. FIND US ON FACEBOOK Now Accepting Cigna Medicare Advantage We’re All About Smiles Invest in your smile, and change your life. Your smile and your health deserve the best in decision making!!! • For dental care you can trust and have confidence in • Come See Us At Sharyland Dental Care Registration opens for Texas Master Naturalist training Texas Master Naturalist program training registration for the 2027 new class session is open through November 30. Weekly classes are held each Thursday from January 7 through March 25, 2027. Registration is open to Winter Texans and residents of Cameron, Hidalgo and Starr counties over the age of 18 to join the South Texas Border Chapter that meets in Edinburg. Texas Master Naturalist is a unique educational volunteer program sponsored by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and Texas Sea Grant Program. “Texas Master Naturalists are volunteers with diverse interests. They receive in-depth training about the wildlife and natural resources of the Rio Grande Valley’s unique ecosystem,” said Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Wildlife Biologist and chapter advisor Ernesto Garcia-Ortega. “Volunteers work with community partners in approved activities and help educate others about the special land in which we live and how to help sustain it.” Students attend threehour evening classes at the Edinburg Scenic Wetlands and World Birding Center at 714 S. Raul Longoria Rd. Classes are taught by local 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. Daytime and two evening field trips are arranged for trainees, providing special 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 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. Class size is limited. The cost is $150 and includes textbook, fees, T-shirt, name tag and one-year membership. Limited scholarships of $100 are available as first come. Completed form is due by November 30. Visit this website to apply South Texas Border Chapter Texas Master Naturalist members (from left) Mirtala Rodriguez, Velma Schmidt, Bob Schmidt and Phoebe Fry set up an outreach table for a local nature park event. (Photo by Ruth Flores) See NATURALIST pg. 11 Butterflies, costumes and Halloween fun come together on South Padre Island when Hallowings: A Monarch Migration Celebration takes over the South Padre Island Birding, Nature Center & Alligator Sanctuary on Sunday, October 25, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sponsored in part by Visit South Padre Island, the free-admission celebration combines the excitement of Halloween with the annual fall migration of monarch butterflies, which is one of the Island’s most See HALLOWINGS pg. 10 Monarch migration meets Halloween fun at Hallowings celebration Monarch Butterfly. (National Butterfly Center courtesy photo)
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