JIM’S THIS & THAT: March 15-31, 2017
Jim’s This & That is a personal communication, begun by avid naturalist Jim Varnum, which strives to fulfill Jim’s vision of connecting individuals interested in the natural world — primarily in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas area — with each other and with resources to increase an appreciation of nature.  If you have comments and questions about its content, or wish to receive – or not receive – Jim’s This & That e-mails, please contact nature_links@yahoo.com.

Celebrate spring in East Texas! Texas Conservation Alliance has launched a new website – EastTexasOutdoors.org – which features great spots in East Texas to hike, bike, paddle and enjoy all the unique beauty that the woods and waters of East Texas have to offer. Check it out at www.easttexasoutdoors.org
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Are you surrounded by concrete and starved for green, growing things? The City of Dallas has 35% impervious surfaces. The “urban heat island effect” is impacting our ability to draw and retain new talent, meet air quality standards, control flooding, and guarantee a good quality of life for Texans and visitors. Texas Trees Foundation’s new 2017 Urban Heat Island Study reveals the consequences if we do not address this issue through mitigation of existing conditions, new urban design and policies to mitigate the impact of our existing heat island effect. Learn more at the Grey to Green 2 Symposium, hosted by the Texas Trees Foundation, March 23, 2017  8:00am – 4:00pm, Dallas Scottish Rite Museum and Library, 500 S. Harwood Dallas, TX 75201. Questions to matt@texastrees.org.
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Who lived here before us…and why? Join Joan and Ernest Stokely for a guided nature walk in Spring Creek Nature Area (Richardson, part of the Richardson Urban Naturalist program). Learn more about the Campbell and Routh  families, and visit the cemetery where they’re buried. Learn about paleo and later Indian habitation, and the flora and fauna of the area. Saturday, April 1, 8:30-10:30 a.m. Preregister by calling Heights Recreation Center (972-744-7850) or Huffhines Recreation Center (972-744-7881) or going to www.cor.net/parksonline   Course Number 94665.
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Last year, San Francisco and Los Angeles had a competition on which urban area has the most citizen scientists and most species.  Well, they want to extend this competition to the rest of the country.  New York City, Boston, Raleigh, Washington DC, Nashville, Duluth, Chicago, Miami, Minneapolis, Salt Lake City, Seattle, Austin, Houston, and Dallas/Fort Worth are the participating cities…  Which area has the most citizen scientists and most species?!?  Can DFW compete with the rest of the country? Yes we can!…by joining the City Nature Challenge, April 14 – 18. Make iNaturalist observations anywhere in Dallas/Fort Worth on April 14 – 18 (Easter weekend)!   Show the rest of the country how many different critters and plants and fungi live in our urban area!  Citizen scientists unite!    All observations have to be observed on April 14 through 18, and must be uploaded before April 22 to be counted in this City Nature Challenge.  For more information see http://tpwd.texas.gov/naturechallenge  or contact Sam Kieschnick, Urban Wildlife Biologist (DFW) at 972-293-3841   sam.kieschnick@tpwd.texas.gov     sambiology on iNaturalist
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Dallas Central Appraisal District presents “Agricultural Valuation – The Basics”; the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service presents “How can NRCS help landowners?” March 23, 2017, 8:30am-12pm at Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service, 15515 I-20 @ Lumley, Mesquite, TX 75181. Free, but seating is limited; register at http://dallas-tx.tamu.edu/agriculture-and-natural-resources/   ???s to elizabeth.rudd@ag.tamu.edu / 214-904-3056
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Dr. Fouad Jaber of the Texas AgriLife Extension Service and the City of Plano have partnered to bring you an Introduction to Stream Processes and Restoration Training on April 17, 2017, 9am-3:30pm.,  Plano Senior Recreation Center, 401 West 16th Street, Plano, TX 75075 The training is open to the public and will include field work (bring your waders).
More information can be found at http://plano.gov/streamworkshop
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Another good webinar: “Pollinators and Native Plants, Forever Intertwined”, March 16th, 2017, from 12- 1pm CST. This presentation will briefly introduce participants to habitat requirements for pollinators, especially native bumblebees, European honeybees and Monarch butterflies.  Beneficial plants will be showcased that are important pollen and nectar producers during spring, summer and fall.  The importance of planting and managing for a diversity of flowering plants will be emphasized.  This presentation aims to show the importance of pollinators to humans and to land managers, be they livestock producers or wildlife managers. Many times we talk about managing “habitat” by controlling grazing or wildlife numbers but it goes deeper, we must manage to have healthy pollinators to ensure that we have flowering forbs and woody species.  Without the pollinators, the future of agriculture and wildlife is in peril. https://texas-wildlife.webex.com. If you cannot make the live webinar, each webinar is archived and available for viewing following the initial air date at the TWA website: https://www.texas-wildlife.org/webinars
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National Geographic contributing photographer Joel Sartore is 11 years into a 25-year endeavor to document every captive animal species in the world using studio lighting and black-and-white backgrounds. So far, he’s photographed 6,500 different species, which leaves approximately 6,000 to go. Learn more at http://www.npr.org/2017/02/27/517481473/photographer-builds-a-photo-ark-for-6-500-animal-species-and-counting .  And watch for the Dallas Zoo’s exhibit of many of these amazing photographs opening April 20, 2017.
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The National Environmental Education Foundation is now accepting applications for Capacity Building Grants. The National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF) is the nation’s leading organization in lifelong environmental learning, connecting people to knowledge they use to improve the quality of their lives and the health of the planet.

NEEF, with generous support from Toyota Motor Sales USA, Inc., will be awarding grants of up to $5,000 each to Friends Groups to fund organizational capacity-building projects. NEEF defines a Friends Group as a nonprofit organization whose core mission is to support the improvement and responsible use of a public land or water site in the United States. Friends Groups may serve more than one site, such as a regional group of parks. Applicants must have had an established collaborative relationship with a local public lands site (including federal, state, regional, county, city or other local public lands area) for at least one year.

For more information about what constitutes capacity building and for the complete Request for Proposals, application instructions, and lists of previous grant recipients, visit  https://www.neefusa.org/resource/2017-every-day-capacity-building-grants. The deadline to apply is 11:59pm CT April 12, 2017.
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On April 22-23, 2017, the annual Spring Plant Sale fundraising event at Heard Natural Science Museum & Wildlife Sanctuary will feature a huge selection of native plants, hard-to-find herbs and well-adapted plants. This year, the plant sale will also offer over 1,000 native milkweed plants—even more than last year.  By purchasing and planting milkweed to help feed Monarch butterfly caterpillars, North Texans will be able to both help the recovery of this species and support the Heard, a private 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. All purchases are also tax-free. Please see www.heardmuseum.org/plantsale for the complete plant list (available soon). at Guests are welcome to bring carts or wagons to facilitate their purchases.

The plant sale will be open to the public on April 22nd from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and April 23rd from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. A Heard Museum Member Pre-Sale will be offered on April 21st from 4-7 p.m. The Member Pre-Sale is open to Heard Museum members only; however, memberships will be available for purchase at the event or online beforehand. Due to overwhelming support last year, the plant sale sold out early making the Member Pre-Sale all the more advantageous for Heard Museum members.
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Thanks to all the contributors who have shared the following terrific links and resources! Do you have a favorite book, movie, website, field guide, app, or other nature-related news or resource you’d like to share? Write a brief description and send it to nature_links@yahoo.com – we’ll help spread the word.