Bio
Jim Varnum is a self-taught student of nature whose interests range from birds to plants to prairies to land preservation. Jim has been a Texas Master Naturalist since 1999 and has completed over 10,000 volunteer hours.  He spends much of his time out and about searching for native plants as well as teaching, giving programs and leading trail walks.  Current interests include chalk prairies, Hexalectris and Spiranthes orchids, and Trout lilies.  He is a font of interesting nature trivia and a few bad nature jokes.  When asked about his philosophy and interest in the natural world, Jim quotes author Ellen Parr: “The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity.”

Walk “Spring Wildflowers on the Blackland Prairie”
The White Rock Lake Prairie is a prairie remnant, meaning a native prairie.  It has never been plowed; grazed yes, burned maybe, plowed no.  MN Jim Varnum takes you on a stroll sorting out the native wildflowers and recent additions: invaders and invasives.  And Jim explains the effects of the additions on the natives.