February 2025 Announcements

          At the January 2025 Executive Committee meeting, we were honored to recognize two of our long-serving volunteers, Secretary Ginny Wilcox and Treasurer Marvin Rogers. Awards presented by Society President, David Parrish.

Ginny Wilcox – Outstanding Service to Spring Creek Preserve

Ginny Wilcox has been Secretary of the Executive Committee since before the Society was formed in 1989. She says someone handed her a note pad at the first meeting regarding the creation of the Society, and she has been doing the meeting minutes ever since, with her husband Bernie acting as editor and spell-checker.

She was on the volunteer team in the early 1990s that helped clear the path for our first concrete trail at 1770 Holford Road where it goes down the hill to the creek overlook. She has served through the flow and ebb and flow of the Society. If it had not been for Ginny’s tenacity, the Society might have disappeared.

Although Ginny has recently resigned from the Executive Committee and her role as Secretary, she will continue to advise and to lead the annual Christmas is for the Birds event that she created nearly 15 years ago.

Thank you, Ginny, for your Outstanding Service to Spring Creek Preserve.

Marvin Rogers – Honorary Lifetime Membership

Luckily for the Society, Marvin Rogers decided to attend the 12th Annual Trout Lily Walk in 2005 where walk leader Tom Frey mentioned that the Society needed folks to help contain the odious, invasive privet plants. Marvin decided he could help with that and arrived at the next work session.

By 2006, he was on the Executive Committee, and in 2009, he accepted the responsibility of being the Society Treasurer. He has cared for the Society finances ever since.

Although he is great at taking care of memberships and donations, his second love (the first love being his wife, Ruth) is bird watching. He helped install the original set of Bluebird boxes on our Prairie in 2006 and has taken the job of monitoring the boxes ever since. He cleans them every winter and soaps the interior to help deter the wasps from nesting in them. He makes repairs as needed and collects data on which birds use them to nest and have fledglings. We know he loves it, but that is a lot of miles walked over the years.

Thank you, Marvin. We are delighted to announce your Honorary Life Membership.

Speaker Series –
Bob Mione speaks about
Prairie Management at Connemara Conservancy

Date: Tuesday, February 4, 2025
Time: 7:00 – 8:30 p.m.
Location: Currently meeting on Zoom

Join Zoom Meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89187002517?pwd=Ujc1UTEyVjNNbDhUUFJYMjFCV2lNdz09

Meeting ID: 891 8700 2517
Passcode: 212786

Bob Mione is the Meadow Manager at Connemara Conservancy in Allen, TX. Connemara is a 72-acre meadow nature preserve. His presentation will track the history of active native grass and wildflower restoration at the Connemara Meadow from 2012 until the present. Various successes and failures will be discussed to include details on ground preparation, seeding techniques, irrigation techniques and other forms of restoration.

The goal is to restore the natural, biologically diverse ecosystem that is native to the area. Volunteers help with restoration work to re-establish native prairie plants, remove invasive species, maintain trails, guide nature walks and other educational events for the public. The meadow connects people with nature and is open to the public on weekends.

Bob has been serving as the volunteer Connemara Meadow Nature Preserve Manager since 2010. He completed his Texas Master Naturalist training in 2012 and has been a member of the Blackland Prairie Chapter since then. Bob has been actively involved in the native grass and wildflower restoration efforts at the Connemara Meadow since 2009. Bob provides guidance and suggestions to many organizations on the topic of restoration.

2^nd Saturday Work Session
Date: Saturday, February 8, 2025
Time: 9:00 – 11:00 a.m.
Location: 1787 Holford
We will work on woody species removal, plus possible wildflower seed collection.
We break into teams and each team has a knowledgeable volunteer, so you know exactly what to do. You could be clearing trails, taking out invasive plants, opening up the prairies, even picking up trash.

For last-minute information, especially if the weather is questionable, check our website or Facebook page for updates, including dates and locations which may change because of conditions. We don’t want anyone working in the forest or on the prairie if there is a chance of lightning strikes.

• Safety Information: Each work session begins with a safety briefing.
• BRING WATER and bug repellant.
• Close-toed shoes are mandatory. Heavy work gloves, long pants, and protective eyewear are recommended for your protection from poison ivy and thorns.
• If you have them, bring loppers and/or small tree saws. (No power tools.)
• All participants and the parents of minors must sign our Liability Waiver.
• Youth under 18 must be accompanied by an adult; no drop off/pick up of those under 18.
• For Master Naturalists, this may count as Volunteer Hours on the Preservation Society for Spring Creek Forest project.

4^th Sunday Nature Walk
32nd Annual Trout Lily Walk
Date: Sunday, February 23, 2025
Time: 2:00 – 3:30 p.m.
Location: 1770 Holford Rd.

Yes, Tom Frey, a regionally acclaimed naturalist, will be with us again for the 32nd year.

Stroll on our trails to find Tom at the Trout lily field. Trout lilies are one of the first plants to flower in the spring. The tiny flowers are only in bloom from about mid-February through mid-March. Then, they disappear until next year.

Come any time between 2:00 and 3:00 p.m. When you arrive, volunteers at the pavilion will welcome you and give you introductory information. Then, we will send you along the clearly marked trail to the Trout lily field. Tom Frey, our adviser, mentor, and friend will be at the Trout lily field. After you have seen the lilies and talked to Tom, you will walk along to the next marked spot, where we will have another knowledgeable naturalist that will tell you about the significance of that area of the Preserve. The volunteer naturalists will be at several stations along the trail from 2:00 until the last walkers go through.

This format helps solve the problem of so many folks in line on the walk that they can’t hear the information. It also allows folks to go at their own pace rather than having to follow a group. We hope to see you there!

Speaker Series –
Michael Smith, Mindfulness in Nature
Date: Tuesday, March 04, 2025
Time: 7:00 – 8:30 p.m.
Location: Currently meeting on Zoom

Michael will talk about how time spent in nature affects our minds and bodies. He will describe mindfulness and why it is valuable. Michael will also lead the nature walk on March 23.

He will tell us about his visits to memorable places all over Texas. For a couple of years, he and photographer Meghan Cassidy traveled to the Big Thicket, the prairies and woodlands in North Texas, the Big Bend, Caddo Lake, and other locations, photographing and writing about practicing mindfulness in these wild places. From these travels he created the book Mindfulness in Texas Nature (Texas A&M University Press, 2024).

Michael is a retired Psychological Associate, writer, and naturalist. He has written three books; two of them on the subject of herpetology and natural history and the third on the practice of mindfulness in various natural places in the state of Texas. He also writes for Our Lives in Nature (https://livesinnature.com) and for Green Source DFW (https://greensourcedfw.org).

His books are: Herping Texas: The Quest for Reptiles and Amphibians (coauthored with Clint King); The Wild Lives of Reptiles and Amphibians: A Young Herpetologist’s Guide; and Mindfulness in Texas Nature. All three are published by Texas A&M University Press.

Photo – Barbara’s Button (Marshallia caespitosa) with bee by Vince Hale

2^nd Saturday Work Session The 7th Annual Death to Privet
Date: Saturday, March 8, 2025
Time: 9:00 – 11:00 a.m.
Location: 1770 Holford
The 7^th Annual Death to Privet is at 1770 Holford this year. We have changed locations because…thanks to the dedicated effort of our fabulous volunteers, the privet at 1787 is currently wiped out. So, we are attacking the privet at 1770. Rather, we are re-attacking.

Some years ago, several stands of privet were cleared from the trail at 1770. We were thrilled to find that a Trout lily colony had been hiding in the area, waiting for enough sunlight to emerge. Now, the berries dropped by that privet have sprouted into new, small bushes. Let’s get those taken out before they spread more seeds!

We break into teams and each team has a knowledgeable volunteer, so you know exactly what to do. You could be clearing trails, taking out invasive plants, opening up the prairies, even picking up trash.

4th Sunday Nature Walk
Michael Smith – Mindfulness in the Preserve
Date: Sunday, March 23, 2025
Time: 2:00 – 3:30 p.m.
Location: 1770 Holford
According to Michael, a mindfulness-based walk in nature is apt to be slower and quieter than the average hike! It also will rely less on cameras and community science apps like iNaturalist.

We will walk for short distances, noticing all that we can and welcoming our experience with all the senses. We will stop at intervals and talk briefly about what we noticed. And, we will take note of how much we were able to let go of distracting thoughts and how such things as “beginner’s mind,” gratitude, and affection might apply to what we experience.

We hope you will join us!

Black and yellow garden spider (Argiope aurantia)

The Executive Committee usually meets once a month. The meetings are open to the public. For information, please contact us at springcreekforestpreservation@gmail.com.