Liability Waiver: We now ask volunteers to sign a liability waiver for all work days which they can either sign and FAX back to us, or sign on site when they arrive.
Bolivar Flats Beach Cleanup: September 25, 9 – Noon
WE NEED YOUR HELP!!!!
High tides from tropical Storm Alex floated Hurricane Ike boards out of the marsh and into the sanctuary. We need lots of hands to pull them out. Houston Audubon will supply water, gloves and mosquito spray. Bring your sun screen. Meet on the beach at the vehicular barrier. Beach parking permits are NOT needed for beach cleanups.
High Island Work Days: October 9, November 13, December 11, January 8, February 12, March 12
It's once again time to start looking forward to spending 2nd Saturdays with the most dedicated conservation volunteers around Galveston Bay. October 9 is our first fall work day to prepare the High Island sanctuaries for birders and to improve habitat for birds and all other forms of wildlife. The first work day is always a lot of fun as we return to the trails, boardwalks, and habitat restoration areas we know so well. And yet the first work day is also like walking into the sanctuaries for the first time as we check in on how things have grown, and what areas need the most work. Depending on how much rain we’ve had, you can usually expect to see a big brush pile ablaze, dutifully turning plant debris into carbon and vapor and warming the hands of volunteers who need a break. We start work around 8:30 a.m. and work until about noon, when we break for lunch, provided by Houston Audubon and prepared by the lunch crew. Lunch at the picnic area of Boy Scout Woods is a good chance to visit with other volunteers and recharge from a morning of exercise and work. After lunch, we take about an hour to tie up any loose ends and clean up.
Come be a part of sanctuary maintenance, habitat restoration, and Houston Audubon’s amazing volunteer workforce.
Email Andrew Beck for more information or to be put on the email list.
Grow Out Native Plants for Houston Audubon
by Flo Hannah, Sr. Sanctuary Steward
The biggest roadblock to coastal prairie
restoration is the lack of available native plant
material specific to the Upper Texas Coast. We
have collected native seed all summer and fall
and are asking individuals to propagate the
seed at home for restoration projects.
I hope you will join in this fun,
important wildlife enhancement project. I will
mail you the native plant seed along with a
photo of the native plant you are growing. Full
instructions on native plant germination are
available at the Coastal Prairie Partnership website. Jaime Gonzalez has prepared a Coastal Prairie Plant Growers' Handbook,
available on that site, which explains everything
about seed collecting and propagating.
Once your plants germinate, and are hardy
enough to bump-up to 4" or 1-gallon
containers, you can join us at a potting-up work
day, or drop off the seedlings and we will do the
rest. The plants will be used in one of our many
restoration projects. We encourage you to
retain some of the native plant material for your
own backyard, helping to create a wildlife
corridor throughout the Houston-Galveston
region.
If you're not able to propagate plants but
would still like to participate, other
ways to help are by joining us on one of our
work days or assisting with a donation.
If you would like to help us grow seedlings, please contact me at fhannah@houstonaudubon.org. We have prepared a Secure Online Form for you to donate to this program.
