March 2024
Join a Guided Walk and
Celebrate OUR Old Growth Forest!
Spring Creek Forest Preserve is honored to join the national Old Growth Forest Network (OGFN). We are only the second forest in Texas honored to become a member. According to OGFN, “It is our turn to do what we can for those who will come after us and save the remnant old-growth (or future old-growth) forests across the country.” Over 200 nature enthusiasts visited our Forest at last weekend’s ceremony inducting our Preserve into the national network of old-growth forests and our Trout Lily walk event. Learn more about the OGFN at this link:
Spring Creek Forest Preserve — Old-Growth Forest Network (oldgrowthforest.net)
Now, join us for free guided walks in three separate sections of this beautiful and fascinating ecosystem. Each is led by a recognized area naturalist and supporter of the Preservation Society for Spring Creek Forest. Registration is required. See below.
Each walk will take place in a different section of the Preserve and registration is required.
- Sunday, March 3, 9:30-11am, led by Texas Master Naturalist Bill Holston.
- Sunday, March 10, 1-2:30pm, led by North Texas Master Naturalist Dana Wilson.
- Sunday March 17, 1-2:30pm, led by naturalist (and for over 30 years the leader of the annual trout lily walk in the Preserve) Tom Frey.
All walks will be on well-maintained natural surface trails; close-toe shoes are recommended. These walks will qualify for 1.5 hours of advanced credit for North Texas Master Naturalists.
Each walk is limited to 15 participants and registration is required. To sign up for a walk or for questions, please email Dana Wilson – danawilson59@yahoo.com – Location specifics and parking instruction will be emailed to you.
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Speaker Series –
Tina Rust – How to Map Trails using GPS
Date: Tuesday, March 5, 2024
Time: 7:00 – 8:30 p.m.
Location: Zoom
In November 2020, the Society sought volunteers to help map the park trails. David Parrish took the lead, collecting GPS points along most of the trail network; while Tina Rust, a Texas Master Naturalist and GIS analyst, then utilized these points in ArcGIS to begin creating a map for park visitors. Subsequent site visits were conducted to gather and incorporate landmarks such as picnic tables, benches, and parking areas. Through collaborative editing sessions with Dana Wilson and Society members, a full-color trail map was developed and added to the website. Go to our website, springcreekforest.org, Maps page, to see the result.
Tina and David will share their insights on the trail mapping process at Spring Creek Forest Preserve and offer valuable ideas that can be adopted by other parks. Tina will also lead our 4th Sunday walk at Spring Creek Park Preserve, 1787 Holford Rd, on Sunday, March 24.
Tina, a certified GIS Professional, Archaeologist, and Texas Master Naturalist, possesses a deep passion for merging her expertise in fieldwork, mapping, and databases. This passion found a perfect outlet in the project of mapping nature trails at Spring Creek Preserve. She is dedicated to nurturing a shared love for nature and committed to ensuring that others also find the same joy and fulfillment in connecting with the natural world.
Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89187002517?pwd=Ujc1UTEyVjNNbDhUUFJYMjFCV2lNdz09
Meeting ID: 891 8700 2517
Passcode: 212786
Note: Also on March 5, Society Members that attend the Zoom meeting will vote on incoming Executive Committee members.
Trail map created by Tina Rust and David Parrish
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Special Garland Cultural Arts Event
Night at the Museum: Gallery Walk
Including display of artwork by Anne Weary
Date: March 8, 2024
Time: 5:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Location: Granville Arts Center
Anne Weary grew up living in what was then a very rural part of Garland. Her father owned quite a bit of land along Holford Road between Arapaho Road and what is now George Bush Tollway. She rode her horse, they had a few cattle, and their historic house had been built in 1936. She loved to draw the creek, forest and prairie adjacent to their house . That forest and prairie is now our Preserve. She is a well-known artist who still loves to draw what she sees in nature. You can meet Anne at her display on March 8.
The Garland Night at the Museum program is a Gallery walk around Downtown Garland’s newly designated Bankhead Cultural Arts District. Check in for the free event at the Garland Landmark Museum, 393 N. Sixth Street, Garland.
At the Landmark, there will be an exclusive showing of a David Bates original sculpture. David Bates is a nationally acclaimed artist who grew up in Garland and attended Garland High School. Best known for his paintings on canvas or panel, Bates is also prolific in sculpture and works on paper. More than forty museums across the country have work by Bates in their permanent collections.
The gallery shows will continue (easy walking instructions will be provided) at Ninth Street Gallery, owned by Michelle Noah, and Epiphany Gallery, owned by Leslie Montena. Attendees can experience a ‘pop-up gallery’ at 716 Main Street, formerly a church and Williams Funeral Home, featuring a projection exhibit by Garland-based artist, Trayc Claybrook.
Finally, Anne Weary will be celebrating her exhibit opening at the Granville Arts Center. As a child and young woman, Anne’s summer residence was Casa del Sol, her family ranch in what is now the Spring Creek Forest and Park Preserve. She honed her art by drawing the beautiful nature that surrounded her. Now, Anne is a professional artist, having graduated from the oldest art school in the United States, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Her entire life is a perpetual love affair with the trees and creatures of her forests.
Night at the Museum: Gallery Walk is free and open to the public.
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Monthly Work Session –
6th Annual Death to Privet work session
Date: Saturday, March 9, 2024
Time: 9:00 – 11:00 a.m.
Location: 1787 Holford
Happily, the part of the Preserve at 1787 Holford is nearly clear of privet. So, why do we have our Death to Privet there every year? Because when there used to be a lot of privet there, the bushes dropped thousands of pretty red berries. The seeds in those berries don’t all start growing at the same time. Some will stay dormant for several years before they put out roots and a stalk. Also, birds eat the berries from other areas and drop the seeds where we don’t want them. So every year, we search the area for newly arrived plants.
We break into teams and each team has a knowledgeable volunteer, so you know exactly what to do.
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:
- BRING WATER and insect 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.
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4th Sunday Nature Walk –
Tina Rust – Hands-on with GPS Trail Mapping
Date: Sunday, March 24, 2024
Time: 2:00 – 3:30 p.m.
Location: 1787 Holford
Tina Rust will be our leader onto the prairie and forest trails, giving us hands-on how-tos of mapping trails using GPS. She directed other volunteers such as David Parrish on how to mark the trail on their iPhone as they walked. She could then transfer the data and create the map we have on our website today. See springcreekforest.com and go to the Maps page.
Note that you don’t have to be interested in GPS mapping to enjoy a walk in the Preserve with a group of other nature lovers. Come on and walk with us!
