Gardening

Tired of watering your lawn? Come learn from the best about landscaping with native plants. Carol Feldman of Feldman Design Studios will be joining us to discuss the benefits of using native plants to beautify your yard while conserving water. This is a great opportunity to get a sneak peek into the plants that will be showcased in the following weekend’s Texas SmartScape Tour of Coppell. Free. No registration required. Info: coppellcommunitygarden.org

Do you have areas in your landscape where nothing grows because there is not enough sunlight? With the right care, those shady areas can have vibrant color all year round. Learn a new way to landscape for the shade. Free. No registration required. Info: coppellcommunitygarden.org

Dr. Sula Vanderplank, BRIT's Biodiversity Explorer, is one of the co-authors on this recently released publication, Plant Guide: Maritime Succulent Scrub Region, Northwest Baja California, Mexico. She will be providing a brief look into this magnificent wildflower guide.

The Plant Guide: Maritime Succulent Scrub Region, Northwest Baja California, Mexico is a bilingual wildflower guide designed to reach a broad audience of botanists, conservationists and lay people. But the Guide is more than a mere wildflower identification book; it also is an educational resource for beginners with a brief introduction to plant evolution and a quick guide to plant families. Beautifully illustrated with numerous drawings and color photos, the Guide covers over 210 plants in 44 families and includes the most common plants encountered in the area.

Light refreshments will be provided. Free

Barney Lipscomb, the director of BRIT's Press, will be discussing the hidden jewels that lie within BRIT's collection. After his presentation, participants will have time to visit the research exhibit to learn more about this impressive natural history collection as well as have an opportunity to see the rare book collection in the BRIT library.

Light refreshments will be provided. Free.

Rich Jaynes will present: Into the Prairie: A Celebration of Native Prairie Grasses. This presentation gives an overview of the role of native grasses in contributing to the high biodiversity of native tallgrass prairies. Experiences with native prairie surveys and prairie restoration efforts in the Connemara Meadow Preserve are used to illustrate approaches to helping visitors to better appreciate the central role of the tallgrass prairie in the ecological and cultural history of north central Texas. The “miracle” of the native prairie that is part of the Old Frankford Cemetery will be highlighted. We will discuss basic terms that botanists use to describe and differentiate one grass species from another and will review some distinguishing morphological features and ecological attributes of 10 famous native grasses of the Blackland Prairie.

A free, family-oriented event, helps build a sense of community, stimulates environmental awareness, and promotes stewardship across North Texas. Free.

Meetings are held on the fourth Sunday each month, except for November and December.

Social and snacks @ 6:30 pm, educational lecture @ 7 pm.

Join the Swarm and take part in an annual national campaign of global actions to Save the Bees! Together we will pester the pesticide pushers and swarm together to BAN neonicotinoids and other poisonous chemicals. We need to keep the bees alive to pollinate our food!

Start getting your BEE costumes ready now! We'll have a family-friendly gathering with pot-luck brunch, BEE flash-mob dance lessons/practice, and dance for all ages.

Dress as a bee, or bee-keeper...or wear yellow & black...or just come as you please!  

--We'll have a pot-luck brunch with food made from ingredients that are pollinated by bees. (We'll post a list of pollinated foods for you.) 

--We'll hear from speakers and beekeepers, and, for those who are so inclined, we'll practice and perform the "Bee Dance" (see instructional video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrgUXy05KP0&feature=youtu.be ).  

--We'll have activities and favors for the kids. 

--We'll make group photos, posing with "Bee Brunch" signs and with a "bee slogan" spelled out in lights.  

Seed Mixer! Chapter Board Election & Future Prairie Goals

This meet-up, we are going to have a seed mixer. This is a fun way to exchange seeds, learn about some of our prairie plants and visit with each other about what we love! We will also have a quick election to get chapter board members in place. The Fort Worth chapter has accomplished a lot. In fact, we've accomplished all the goals that the founding steering committee set forth in early 2015. Now, it's time to pass the reins to a newly-elected Board & hear from you what you'd like the chapter to accomplish in the future.

In it's 6th year, Okrapalooza is home to Dallas' one and only okra cook off competition. Founded by the Promise of Peace Community Gardens, local celebrity chefs compete to showcase their skills in a two hour cooking and tasting event open to the public.