October 2024 Announcements

Preserve, Educate, Collaborate
(https://springcreekforest.org)

Contact the Society: springcreekforestpreservation@gmail.com

Lenny Hughes of Halff Associates, Inc., the company hired by DCOS to help create the strategic plan, did a great presentation showing how public opinion and desires were merged with cultural and ecological studies to create a master plan that:

• respects the county’s natural resources,
• enhances passive outdoor recreation for the public,
• addresses concerns like security and lack of significant trails at the preserves, and
• makes the preserves more appealing and accessible to a wider range of people.

Dallas County Parks and Open Space is comprised of 21 preserves located around the county, totaling over 4,000 acres. The new plan outlines 164 preserve-specific project recommendations along with completion timeline and responsible party.

Three of the 21 DCOS-owned Preserves are in the Garland Parks system

• Lee F. Jackson Spring Creek Forest Preserve
• Spring Creek Park Preserve
• Rowlett Creek Preserve

Although the three Garland Preserves are owned by Dallas County Parks and Open Space, DCOS has a long-standing agreement that the city of Garland Parks and Recreation Department is responsible for maintenance and security.
Spring Creek Forest Preserve and Spring Creek Park Preserve are served by our volunteer group, the Preservation Society for Spring Creek Forest.
Rowlett Creek Preserve also has a hard-working volunteer group, the Dallas Off-Road Bicycle Association (DORBA).

Amy Martin, Trail and Preserve Program Board District 1 Member (1 of 2), summarized the meeting: 

Ed Koppman, the chair of DCOS Trails And Preserves Program (TAPP) board (where Amy Martin serves for Commissioner Theresa Daniel to represent her Dallas County district 1) spoke to commend the work of Halff Associates, Inc. and the DCOS staff, and shared how proud the board is of them.
Amy also spoke to the commissioners about how through her public speaking engagements titled Wild DFW she has perceived great public support for DCOS. She stressed the need for deep nature with dirt trails that provides restorative health benefits while moderating the urban heat island effect.
The 386-page report created by the DCOS team gives them a massive data document they can use to seek grants and corporate support, convince our partner cities to take a more active role, and much more. This is especially big news for the most popular preserves: Cedar Ridge, Goat Island, and Spring Creek Forest and Park Preserves and Rowlett Creek Preserve.
Over the next few months, Amy will share aspects of the master plan on the Wild DFW: Explore the Amazing Nature Around Dallas-Fort Worth Facebook page.

Congratulations to the team that made it happen!

• Jade Affleck, Open Space Coordinator
• Elizabeth Allen, Assistant Director of Dallas County Planning & Development Department
• Mia Brown, Open Space Administrator
• Amy Martin, TAPP board member
• Kendall Howard, Team Leader at Halff Associates, Inc.
• Lenny Hughes, Halff Associates, Inc. Principal in Charge

The Court Order and Plan (386 pp., 56 MB) can be found here:
https://dallascounty.civicweb.net/document/1001695/Adopt%20the%202024%20Dallas%20County%20Open%20Space%20Plan.pdf?handle=575473DA03A94AA89181385D92D83CA3#%5B%7B%22num%22%3A6%2C%22gen%22%3A0%7D%2C%7B%22name%22%3A%22XYZ%22%7D%2C0%2C612%2C0%5D

Speaker Series:
Nancy Wilson – Spring Creek at Home:
Native Plants at the Preserve that can work in Your Yard

Date: Tuesday, October 1, 2024
Meeting Time: 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Location:  currently meeting via Zoom call.

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

Meeting ID: 891 8700 2517
Passcode: 212786

Nancy Wilson will tell us about the many plants at our Preserve which are suitable for a home landscape. Learn about plant characteristics and how various plants provide food, shelter, or a place to raise young for many of nature’s wonderful creatures.
          Nancy will also lead our 4^th Sunday Nature Walk on October 27. See below.
Nancy is a Master Naturalist, Master Gardener, and the coordinator for the Native Landscape Certification Program through the Native Plant Society of Texas. She has been learning about native plants for many years by growing them in her own landscape, by attending many webinars and classes, and by hiking in natural areas. Her yard has been on the City of Dallas Water Wise Landscape Tour many times. She is passionate about helping others landscape for the benefit of birds, bees, butterflies, and garden joy!

Nancy Wilson

The featured plant is the Four-nerve Daisy (Tetraneuris linearifolia). Photo by Vince Hale

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Special City Event –
8^th Annual Tri-City Cleanup

Date: Saturday, October 5, 2024
Time: 9:00 a.m. – noon
Location: Halff Park at Ranger Drive

We are Keeping It Beautiful for the Eighth Time!
Keeping our waterways beautiful takes a community effort. Join volunteers from Garland, Rowlett, and Dallas to clean up over 20 designated sites surrounding or connecting to Lake Ray Hubbard from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Oct. 5. Our own Spring Creek Preserve is one of the Garland locations that will have a clean-up team because Spring Creek flows into Rowlett Creek, which flows into Lake Ray Hubbard.
Volunteers of all ages and abilities are invited. This is a great event for groups and families! Youth under 18 must be accompanied by an adult; no drop off/pick up of those under 18. All participants must sign waivers and youth under 18 need to have a guardian signature on the waiver.
There are multiple cleanup locations in each city from which to choose when you sign up. Go directly to your chosen location on clean-up day and we’ll be waiting with supplies for each volunteer! Come dressed to work in the elements: boots, pants, sleeves, bug spray, and sunscreen are recommended. Reduce waste, bring your refillable water jug!
    After the workday, celebrate at Hella Shrine Events Center with live music, food trucks, sweet treats, a petting zoo, and fun for all volunteers!

    Please reserve your spot: https://m.signupgenius.com/#!/showSignUp/805094FAEAF2AA7FF2-50868866-8thannual 

Questions? Contact Volunteer Garland for more information. 972-205-3583 Volunteer@GarlandTx.gov

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Texas Pollinator BioBlitz –
Be a part of community science

October 11-27, 2024
The 9th Annual Texas Pollinator BioBlitz returns in October https://tpwd.texas.gov/education/bioblitz
Mark your calendars and get ready for some photographic fun and the opportunity to contribute to community science!

• All ages and abilities are encouraged to find pollinators and nectar-producing plants and take photos to share with friends!
• Sign up for email updates during the event.
• Find events to attend near you (please note: new events added regularly) by using our online events calendar.
• Post your pollinator photos during the event to your own Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook accounts (use #TxPollinators).
• Follow the 2024 Texas Pollinator BioBlitz event on Facebook to see daily challenges, links of interest, share your own photos, and more: https://www.facebook.com/events/387887267673175/

The Society is not hosting specific events, but we hope you will visit the Preserve on your own and participate in the BioBlitz.
   

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2^nd Saturday Work Session
Date: Saturday, October 12, 2024
Time: 9:00 – 11:00 a.m.
Location: 1770 Holford. Trail maintenance and little Prairie maintenance

This will be a lot more fun than the title indicates. LOL We go down into our fabulous forest, walking the trails to remove obstacles such as downed tree limbs or over-grown plants. Or perhaps we will start at the little meadow and remove woody growth that is encroaching on the meadow.
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: 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.

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Trail Monitor Meeting –
Date: Saturday, October 19, 2024
Time: 9:00 a.m.
Location: 1770 Holford Road

Anyone interested is invited to attend.          

Led by Rob Kaaa and Steve Boeding, we have a great group of people that volunteer for the Trail Monitor project. Thank you! But we need more people. If you are ready to start regular walking or if you already walk the trails about once a week, this would be a great volunteer activity for you.

Duties generally include: 

• Hike your selected part of the trail weekly.
• Perform light maintenance such as litter pickup.
• Be familiar with Garland’s eAssist program that is accessed through an iPhone app and use it to report major maintenance issues such as trees fallen on the trail, vandalism, criminal activity, etc.
• Learn some unique features of your trail and share those with the Executive Committee.

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4th Sunday Nature Walk
Nancy Wilson –
What if Spring Creek Preserve was a Nursery?

Date: Sunday, October 27, 2024
Time: 2:00 – 3:30 p.m.
Location: 1770 Holford Road
Nancy Wilson will take us into the Preserve to find the trees, shrubs and other plants that would be suitable to grow in your yard. Learn about their places in a landscape and see how various plants provide food, shelter, or a place to raise young for many of nature’s wonderful creatures.
Nancy has many years of experience using native plants in our home landscaping. See more information about Nancy in the description of the October 1 Speaker event.

Photo by Vince Hale –
Coral Honeysuckle, a great native vine that hummingbirds love.

Speaker Series:
Jake Poinsett –
Wintering Sparrows of North Texas
Date: Tuesday, November 5, 2024
Meeting Time: 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Location:  currently meeting via Zoom call.

Fall Migration has already begun, which means the “little brown birds” are either here already or on the way! Jake Poinsett will show us the various sparrows that winter in North Texas, how to identify them, and where to find them. You will be amazed at the variety and beauty of the sparrows that reside in or migrate through north Texas.
Jake is the Education Manager at the Trinity River Audubon Center. Before his employment with the National Audubon Society, he worked for Texas Parks and Wildlife and South Carolina State Parks. When he is not geeking out about nature at work, you can find him birding around the state, flipping logs for reptiles and amphibians, and tending to his prairie at his house with the help of his dogs Charles and Pterodactyl.

White-throated Sparrow – one of the lovely Sparrows that come in the fall to spend the winter in DFW.

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2^nd Saturday Work Session
Date: Saturday, November 9, 2024
Time: 9:00 – 11:00 a.m.
Location: Halff Park at Ranger Drive
We will clear ragweed and work on trail maintenance. The trails through these magnificent trees aren’t used enough yet by walkers, so they get a little overgrown. Come spend a morning in the forest, not only enjoying the wildest part of our Preserve, but helping keep the trail walker-ready.

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4th Sunday Nature Walk
Caleb Hinojos – Wintering Strategies in the Forest
Date: Sunday, November 24, 2024
Time: 2:00 – 3:30 p.m.
Location: TBA

Caleb Hinojos was raised in the DFW metroplex. His love of wildlife began at the age of 3 with reptiles. Influenced by the great Steve Irwin and Sir David Attenborough, he knew that he wanted to pursue this passion. He received his BS and MS from the University of Texas at Arlington with a focus on genetic and genomic evolution.
Through the years, Caleb has worked a variety of scientific jobs both in the field and in the lab which has given him a unique perspective regarding the natural world. This experience led him to become a Master Naturalist with the intent of educating people about modern and classical biology and how these two disciplines intersect with conservationism.
Most weekends you can usually find him leading a bird walk, arthropod crawl, or manning a booth at various areas around the metroplex, but he also loves teaching on various scientific topics to whoever will listen.

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Special Event
Bird Walks with Reba Collins
Dates: Saturday, November 30 and Sunday, December 1, 2024
Time: 8:00 – 9:30 a.m. (Birds get up early!)
Location: 1787 Holford Road

What birds are in Spring Creek Park Preserve in late fall after Thanksgiving? Come for a morning walk and find out. Reba Collins is a Certified Birder and is known throughout the metroplex for her skill in identifying birds. She is a Master Naturalist and on the boards of our Society and Keep Garland Beautiful.

• Reservations required: Groups are limited to 10 people per walk because too many people scare away the birds. Contact Reba at rcollins20@verizon.net to reserve a spot.
• Bring binoculars.
• Dress for the weather. If it has been raining, rain boots may be appropriate.

Cedar Waxwing – another amazing bird that spends the winter in our area.