Preservation Society for Spring Creek Forest Educational and Service Activities for 2019
Please check out the activities below and plan your calendar.
Speaker Series:
April 2, 2019: John Watts, The Rise of the Arthropods
Location: North Garland Branch Library, 3845 North Garland Avenue, Garland, TX 75040
According to Webster: An Arthropod is an invertebrate animals (such as insects, arachnids, and crustaceans) that have a segmented body and jointed appendages, a usually chitinous exoskeleton molted at intervals, and a dorsal anterior brain connected to a ventral chain of ganglia. Who knew! Well, John Watts knows, and he will explain it to us on April 2.
John Watts holds a Master’s Degree in Entomology from the University of Florida with a specialization in insect husbandry. His professional career in live butterfly exhibition began at the Cockrell Butterfly Center at the Houston Museum of Nature and Science, before moving on to the Butterfly Pavilion and Insect Center in Westminster, Colorado and, finally, settling in Dallas. John is an avid gardener for both food and wildlife and readily shares his expertise as an entomologist at the Texas Discovery Gardens.
No meeting in May, but see below for the work session and picnic.
September 2019: To be announced
Field trips and Workshops:
Self-Guided Interpretive Trail: https://springcreekforest.org/interpretive-1787-holford-rd/
Watch our website for other seasonal walks, to be announced throughout the year.
Service and Volunteer Opportunities
Monthly Work Sessions– One Saturday a month, 9:00 – 11:00 am: Check Website for Details, including dates and locations which may vary or change: https://springcreekforest.org/
April 6, 2019 – Location is 1787 Holford. We will continue attacking invasive plants in the prairie and privet in the adjoining forest. Invasive plants are non-native species which grow aggressively and crowd out the native plants. Invasives don’t have the variety and multitude of predators to keep them in check. Come be a hero and champion for native plants. It is only two hours out of your day and it is amazing how much can be accomplished.
May 11, 2019 – Location is 1787 Holford. From 9 to 11, we will toil as usual, maintaining the prairie and forest. Then, at 11, we will gather at the picnic tables for a Bring Your Own Picnic. It is a fun way to end our year and start the summer break. Bring your own sack lunch and drink. (Sorry, no beer or alcohol allowed in the park.)
Having mentioned “summer break”, be aware that our Executive Committee is not only enthusiastic, but energetic. We might organize a work session or two in the summer just for the fun of it. Watch for the odd announcement from us.
Upcoming Dates: 2019 – Summer break, September (to be announced)
Safety Materials: Each work session will begin with a safety briefing. Wear work gloves, long pants, protective eyewear, and sturdy shoes (no sandals) for your protection from poison ivy and thorns. If you have them, bring loppers and/or small tree saws. All participants and the parents of minors must sign our Liability Waiver. All minors 16 yrs. and younger must be accompanied by an adult.
Service Projects- Need a project for your Gold Award, Eagle Scout rank, or organization? Contact David Parrish (dparrish1953@yahoo.com) or Maureen Bly (mbly08@gmail.com).
Garland Earth Day Celebration
Saturday, April 13, 2019. 11:00 am – 3:00 pm
Rain Date: Saturday, April 27
The City of Garland is holding is holding the annual Earth Day Celebration with all sorts of activities that benefit the community. The event is sponsored by the City of Garland, GISD, and Keep Garland Beautiful
8 a.m. – 11 a.m. – Trash Off – Check-in at the Fire Administration Parking Lot: 1500 E. Highway 66, Garland, TX 75040. For information, contact: KeepGarlandBeautiful@gmail.com.
PRE-REGISTRATION for the Trash Off is now open. Contact us via email at KeepGarlandBeautiful@gmail.com. All Garland residents are invited to participate. Free trash bags and gloves provided. Community teams or individuals may choose any location to pick up litter or obtain information on a location when registering in person on April 13. Bring full trash bags back to the Fire Administration Building; then be our guests at the city’s EWS-sponsored Earth Day festivities across the street at 1426 Commerce St. Enjoy information booths, entertainment, door prizes, and food.
11 a.m. – 3 p.m. – Celebration – at Garland’s Recycling Center, 1426 Commerce St. Garland, TX 75040
Residents can bring electronics such as TVs and computers to recycle for free.
Free paper shredding will also be provided: 4 boxes per household. Must show proof of Garland residency.
Recycling Center tours will be provided along with fun activities for the whole family.
More event details will be provided closer to time.
Contact: EWS@GarlandTX.gov, 972-205-3500 for more information.
NEWS – Sanitary Sewer Overflow Impacts Spring Creek
The first information source is NBC 5News, published Wednesday, March 20, 2019, paraphrased by Barbara Baynham
A sewer overflow Tuesday morning, March 19, released untreated sewage into Spring Creek. It happened at about 11:30 a.m. at a construction site near North Garland Avenue and Arapahoe Road. According to the City of Garland, construction crews struck a manhole, damaging an 18-inch wastewater collection pipe. The pipe is part of the city of Garland’s wastewater collection system.
City of Garland crews worked through the day and into the night to fix the break and contain the spill which was caused by a large piece of concrete that had become lodged inside the pipe. Crews bypassed the broken pipe and continued repairs on Wednesday. At one point, about 20 gallons of untreated sewage flowed from the damaged pipeline every minute. The overflow was stopped shortly after 9:30 Tuesday night. Officials in Garland are monitoring the quality of water in Spring Creek.
It was worried that the spill would also impact the Lake Ray Hubbard reservoir. The leak occurred about 10 miles upstream from the lake. Personnel there were monitoring the situation. Garland also notified Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
Update from Wes Kucera, City of Garland Managing Director of Water and Wastewater
Water samples were taken upstream and downstream of the overflow and were analyzed by our Health Department. The analytical results yielded slightly higher results for BOD, Ammonia, TSS and E. Coli downstream of the overflow, however Dissolved Oxygen levels were high and pH levels were normal as indicated by the Health Department samples. There were no fish kills with this event.
Since I know you are curious, according to Mr. Kucera, the BOD is a measure of Biochemical Oxygen Demand which is the amount of dissolved oxygen needed for microorganisms to oxidize organic matter. From a wastewater standpoint, we measure BOD in our influent (Raw Sewage) and effluent (Treated Wastewater) to determine plant efficiency at BOD removal. Typical raw sewage has a BOD of 100 – 500 mg/L, and treated effluent ranges from 2-10mg/L range.
The TSS is Total Suspended Solids which is a measurement of particles larger than 2 microns found suspended in the water. Typical raw sewage ranges from 100-300mg/L and treated effluent ranges from 3-15mg/L.
Also…
Thank you! to all the members that made the special effort to be a the March meeting so we would have a quorum of voters. With more than enough voters present, we elected our ongoing Executive Committee and approved the revised Society Bylaws.
And Finally…
A reminder from Cibolo Nature Center & Farm…
Society Membership
Membership: Join Us Today! Download our membership form: https://springcreekforest.org/join/
Monthly Email: To subscribe please contact: Barbara_Baynham2005@yahoo.com
Make a donation! Your donation helps the all-volunteer Preservation Society for Spring Creek Forest offer public lectures, conduct habitat management workdays, and offer public nature walks. Please mail your tax-deductible donation to: Preservation Society for Spring Creek Forest, Attn: Treasurer, P.O. Box 450176, Garland, TX 75045-0176
Executive Committee Meetings
The Executive Committee usually meets on the third Thursday of each month at 7:00 p.m. The meetings are open to the public. For location, please contact
David Parrish, President, Preservation Society for Spring Creek Forest.
Cell phone: 469-733-6089
Email: okcanoe@tx.rr.com.
For General Preserve information:
The above activities are specific to the Preservation Society for Spring Creek Forest. For general Preserve information, please call Garland Parks Department
