Botany-- April 1, 2026

The Nature of Naming - Unit 10 in your textbook

Plants - Unit 11 in your textbook  Complete the optional quiz HERE.

Dr. George Diggs, Professor of Biology and Co-Director of the Public Health Program, Austin College 

Read Dr. Diggs's BIO

1. Use Lisa's VMS slides to log last week's attendance in VMS

(If you missed class, contact Nancy to schedule a make-up.)   

Opportunity: Init Training-Class 08   

Date: March 25, 2026

Hours: 3.0     

Description: Laws & Ethics and Ecological Grief with Mike Mitchell

2. Complete your class feedback survey ASAP

3. Look over Units 10-11 in your textbook. Complete the optional quiz HERE.

4. Watch the assigned videos

Classification of Life (6:11)

Invasive Plants in Texas (8:49)

Dr. George Diggs on Plants (28:00) 

5. Check out the Go Botany Online Illustrated Glossary It is extremely useful when trying to decipher the many unfamiliar botanical terms used in keys and plant descriptions. Complete this crossword puzzle on botanical terms, using the Go Botany Glossary as a reference. (Alternate activity: if you don't like crossword puzzles, here's the same information in a simpler fill-in-the-blank format and answer sheet)

6. Complete the What Does That Botanical Name Mean? worksheet.

NOTE: The full Shinner's and Mahler's Illustrated Flora of North Central Texas is available as downloadable, searchable PDFs

Optional Activities

Read this article on identifying plants by common plant families: Plant Identification Patterns. See Resources section for more information on identifying plants by families.

Watch additional videos:

Phototropism (6:54)

Taking Better Plant Photos for iNaturalist (7:07)

• Your lighted loupe from your Meet & Greet swag bag

Logging Hours

If you attended the Field Trip to Chalk Hill Farm, enter it in VMS as:

Opportunity: Init Training - Field Trip (A) if it was your 1st, (B) if it was your 2nd, (C) if it was your 3rd

Date: March 27, 2026

Hours: 3.0

Description: class field trip to Chalk Hill Farm with Fran & Bill Woodfin

If it was your 4th or more field trip, log it as:

AT: BPTMN: Other Pre-approved Training

Date: March 27, 2026

Hours: 3.0

Description: ADDITIONAL class field trip to Chalk Hill Farm with Fran & Bill Woodfin

Advanced Training (AT) Opportunities

• see chapter calendar 

Volunteer Service (VH) Opportunities

• Chapter BioBlitz at Oak Point Park: Saturday, March 28th, 3-5pm, sign up here

• Prairie Creek Wetland and Wildscape Workdays - contact Peter Williams at petew59@gmail.com, see calendar for details

• Gardening at Monarch View Park - contact Laura Kuwayama at laurak@bptmn.org

• Baha'i Faith Plano Center Native Plant Bed Workdays - contact Valarie Atwood at atwood.valarie@gmail.com

• McKinney Green Gardens at Gabe Nesbitt Park - contact Paulette Platko at paulette.platko@gmail.com

• Pollinator Garden at JM Caldwell, Sr. Park - contact Donna Vickers at cross.vines.gardens@gmail.com

• Garden bed maintenance at Holifield Science Learning Center - contact Brett Taylor at brett.taylor@pisd.edu

• Garden bed maintenance at Heritage Farmstead Museum - contact Heather Fell at heatherf@bptmn.org or LuAnne Ray at luanner@bptmn.org

• City of Plano park workdays - contact Jean Higgins at jeanh@bptmn.org

• City of Frisco park workdays - contact Rick Travis at travisfam2@yahoo.com

• Collin College Farmersville Prairie workdays - contact Katelyn Miller at katelynmmiller88@gmail.com

• Farmersville Heritage Museum Pocket Prairie workdays - contact Diana Tesky at tesky1@yahoo.com

• Heard Museum native plant sale - contact Laura Ragan at lragan@heardmuseum.org

• LLELA greenhouse workdays - contact ERichard Freiheit at freiheit@unt.edu

• Milkweed Grow Out Initiative - contact Carol Clark at carol@r-d-clark.com

• Gardening & Prairie work at Blackland Prairie Raptor Center - contact Stephanie LoSoya at stephanie.losoya@bpraptorcenter.org

• Hagerman NWR Butterfly Beds Maintenance - check Friends of Hagerman website

• Dr. Diggs's Slide Deck

• Slide Deck for Plant ID by Families Quiz

• Field Identification of Fifty Common Plant Families The Botany Depot site offers this free handbook, available as a PDF.

• Go Botany Online Illustrated Glossary  This site is a life saver when it comes to using botanical keys!

• Eat Your Weeds! Also from Botany Depot: several brochures about edible wild plants including recipes, plus info on plant toxicity.

• Shinner and Mahler's Illustrated Flora of North Central Texas the book is available for free as downloadable, searchable PDFs. 

• Carolsworld.net - Carol Clark's (BPTMN member) naturalist blog

• Audubon's Native Plants for Birds database - put in your zip code and see what birds are attracted to specific native plants in our area

• Botanical Research Institute of Texas (BRIT)

• www.foragingtexas.com - website

• Plants of the World Online

• Native, Invasive, and other plant-related definitions - USDA

• Native Plant Society of Texas (NPSOT), Collin County Chapter - website

• Native Plant Nurseries and Events in DFW - from the Collin County NPSOT Chapter.

• Native Plants for Landscape Use for DFW from NPSOT

• Native Texas Plants: Landscaping Region by Region - book by Sally Wasowski &Andy Wasowski (2003)

• Plants of Texas Rangelands

• Illustrated Flora of North Central Texas by George M. Diggs et al - online or hardback

• The Biota of North America Program's North American Plant Atlas - internet database

• GoBotany Illustrated Botanical Glossary - website

• Texas Native and Adaptive Water Conscious Landscape Plants - brochure created by Lauren Kraus, 2024

• Getting Started with Native Host Plants - brochure created by Joshua Peterson, 2024 

WEEK NINE CLASS UPDATE

 Every year, I am amazed by Mike's ability to take such a "dry" subject like laws & ethics and transform it into such a good, interactive presentation. This was our first year to also feature his Ecological Grief presentation. It was a challenging topic, but hopefully you felt that it was worth the time. You will find a ton of links in the "extras" section found at the top of the Laws & Ethics webpage.

Notes from Last Night:

The end-of-class presentations are OPTIONAL, but if you choose to do one, you can count all of your preparation & presentation time as VH.

Makeup work has been sent to those who have missed classes. Keep in mind that the questions included in the makeup work are for discussing with one or both of your pod Guides. Submitting a list of answers does not meet the state's requirements for class work. There has to be an interactive, live component to the makeup.

Week NINE: Mar 26-Apr 1

Pre-Work:

Check out your pre-work for next week so you'll be ready for Plants with Dr. Diggs. (He has the perfect name for his chosen profession, right? Not as on the nose as Sam Crowe, but still funny.) Bring your lighted loupe for the rotations.

Events This Week:

Field Trip to Chalk Hill Farm

Friday, March 27th

9:00-11:30am

4696 County Road 412, McKinney 75071

After turning into the drive, bear right at the Y and park at the barn on your right. Walk up to the house to meet.

Dress for the weather and bugs. Wear your nametag.

If your plans change, don't forget to update the SUG.

Chapter BioBlitz event (VH event)

Oak Point Park & Nature Preserve

Saturday, March 28th

3-5pm 

5901 Los Rios Blvd, Plano, TX 75074

Meet at the main entrance to the park, near the park map.

Sign up on SUG to stay in the loop for any event communications. 

Wear your nametag.

Deep Dive - ZOOM  (AT event)

"From Screens to Streams: The Decline of Outdoor Play and How We Can Reverse the Trend"

Monday, March 30th

7pm

Registration link

Events Next Week:

Field Trip to Blackland Prairie Raptor Center

Saturday, April 4th

12:00-2:30pm

1625 Brockdale Park Rd, Allen 75002

(Do not put Blackland Prairie Raptor Center in your GPS! Navigate to Brockdale Park)

Park in the gravel lot and make your way to the picnic tables near the entrance. 

Please arrive early to park and settle in,12:00pm is late. 

Wear your nametag, outdoor walking shoes and dress for the weather.

If your plans change, don't forget to update the SUG.

Looking Ahead on the Calendar:

Eco Explorers (VH event)

Saturday, April 11th 

10am-noon

They are DESPERATELY looking for volunteers to help teach eco lessons. Sign up on their SUG.

Heard Spring Native Plant Sale

The Heard will be hosting their native plant sale in a month so mark your calendars!

Friday, April 17th 4-7pm, for Heard Museum Members only (that's YOU! 🙂)

Saturday, April 18th 9am-5pm, open to the public

Sunday, April 19th 1-5pm, open to the public

Please note: Museum admission is not required to attend the public sale days. Spread the word to your family and friends.

Heritage Farmstead Native Plant Beds Construction Project (VH event)

April 17th, 18th, and 19th

8am-noon, come & go when you can

Sign up here

Monarch View Park Planting (VH event)

Saturday, April 18th

9am-noon

Sign up here

City Nature Challenge (VH event)

Friday, April 24th - Monday, April 27th

TONS of iNat activities in our area that weekend so go ahead and pencil all of the dates on your calendar.

Join the iNaturalist CNC group for DFW here. You can see general CNC info here. 

Mothing Events (VH or AT)

No registration needed, just show up.

Saturday April 25 Frisco Commons

Sunday April 26 Heard Museum

Friday May 8 Erwin Park

Friday May 22 Hagerman NWR

Saturday May 30 Brockdale Park

Saturday June 6 Breckinridge Park

Saturday June 20 Oak Point Park

Saturday July 18 Spring Creek Forest Preserve

Saturday July 25 Heard Museum

Saturday September 12 Connemara

Interested in joining the Moth Squad? Contact Rick at travisfam2@yahoo.com

Project WILD Training (AT event)

Saturday, May 1st  

10am-4pm

Lewisville Lake Environmental Learning Area (LLELA)

Registration link

Until April 1st, registration is open just to chapter members. On the 1st, it will open to the public.

Helpful Links:

Field Trip SUG

Class Snacks SUG

VMS login

Class Website

Chapter Website

Past Chapter Meeting videos

Volunteer Opps & How to Log

See you next week,

Nancy

Nancy Casillas, Training Director

Texas Master Naturalist, Blackland Prairie Chapter

nancyc@bptmn.org

214-725-2309