By Jennifer Weisensel

Meet Your Next Dragonflyer Newsletter Editor: Dorothy Buechel

Quick Facts:

Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee

NTMN Class: 2018

Fun Fact about yourself: I took the TMN training class with my father, Ted Bauman. He always finished the homework before I did.

Jennifer: How did you hear about the TMN program/NTMN chapter?

Dorothy: I first encountered NTMN at Native Plants and Prairie Day at White Rock Lake several years ago.

Jennifer: What made you want to become an NTMN member?

Dorothy: I love to be outside and was curious to learn more about nature and how to help local ecosystems thrive. I’m especially interested in butterflies and other pollinators. I love having a community of like-minded nature lovers to share my passion with.

Jennifer: What projects have you already gotten involved with as a NTMN member?

Dorothy: I volunteer in the greenhouse at Texas Discovery Gardens once a week and have loved learning about the plants that thrive here and how to propagate them.

Jennifer: What made you decide to volunteer to be the Newsletter Editor? What goals do you have for it?

Dorothy: Bruce called and asked if I’d do it, and I’m not that great at coming up with reasons not to do things, so I figured why not give it a try. I have experience with the software since I do a newsletter for Friends of Northaven Trail so it seemed like something that would be a good fit for me and would benefit the chapter. I’m looking forward to getting to know the people who contribute so much to the newsletter.

Jennifer: What do you think is the biggest impact the TMN program provides to the community?

Dorothy: TMN helps people learn about what is going on in their cities and why it is important to be friends of nature and wildlife. I believe it was Dan Northcut who made a comment that really struck me during one of our classes this spring. Paraphrasing what he said: “When you’re driving miles across Texas and you say there’s nothing out the window, it’s only nothing until you learn what it is: native grasses, wildflowers, habitat, and ecosystem that is important to a great deal of our native flora and fauna.” So if we can help make this “nothing” into “something” it seems people will appreciate it, care about it and hopefully take care of it a whole lot more.