Community Events - August 2008
August 12, 19, 16, 2008
Open Trails
Walk a wonderfully alive rice farm
KPC's new, Open Trails program encourages visitors to experience a beautiful and fascinating KPC preserve at their own pace along a self-guided path.
This month we encourage you to walk KPC’s Nelson Farms Preserve. This is a working landscape where agriculture and ranching coexist side-by-side with wetlands, prairies, and
forests. You'll discover that the Nelson Farms Preserve, although transformed over the last fifty plus years for agriculture, is still a favorite spot for nature lovers because of its inspiring wildlife viewing opportunities.
Dates: Sunday, August 3, 2008 from 9:00 AM-12:00 PM and each Tuesday in August from 8:00 AM-
11:00 AM
Location: Barn Owl Woods @ Nelson Farms Preserve
What to Bring: All participants should wear appropriate outdoor clothing, including closed-toe shoes and long pants. A long-sleeve shirt is also recommended. Participants should bring their own water and insect repellent.
Registration not required: Up-to-date information and event status will be posted on our homepage and on our phone answering system by 7:00 AM on the day of the event.
August 8, 15, 22 29, 2008
Coastal Prairie Native Seed Nursery
Help KPC expand its growing nursery for future restoration efforts
KPC needs your help to expand and improve its Coastal Prairie Native Seed Nursery. Once fully established this nursery will provide seeds for thirteen species of native prairie plants. These seeds will help KPC and other regional conservation organizations to restore patches of the critically endangered Coastal Prairie habitat.
Dates: Sunday, August 8,15, 22, 29, 2008 from 10:00 AM-2:00 PM
Location: KPC Field Office
What to Bring: All participants should wear appropriate outdoor clothing, including closed-toe shoes and long pants. A long-sleeve shirt is also recommended. Participants should bring their own water and insect repellent.
Registration not required
August 30, 3008
New Volunteer Orientation
Get involved in our missions of conservation and education
Are you looking for a way to do your part for the planet? New Volunteer Orientation participants will learn about the mission of the Katy Prairie Conservancy; the animals, plants, and agricultural heritage that we are seeking to protect; how we partner with the community to
accomplish our goals; and volunteer opportunities that are available with KPC. The orientation
session will include an informative hike on one of our wide-open prairie preserves.
Date: Saturday, August 30, 2008 from 9 AM-12 PM
Location: KPC Field Office
What to Bring: All participants should wear appropriate outdoor clothing, including closed-toe
shoes and long pants. A long-sleeve shirt is also recommended. Participants should bring their
own water and insect repellent.
Registsration required: Up-to-date information and event status will be on our website and on our
homepage and answering system by 7:00 AM on the day of the event.
Community Events - September 2008
September 1, 2008
NABA/Best Butterfly Count
Help local enthusiasts count butterflies
The North American Butterfly Association (NABA) is the largest organization of butterfly
enthusiasts in North America. The local chapter (Butterfly Enthusiasts of Southeast
Texas or BEST) will conduct a butterfly survey of KPC properties in an ongoing effort to
document local butterfly communities. For more information, contact David Henderson
at dandewild@consolidated.net.
Date: September 1, 2008 (Labor Day)
Location: TBA
What to Bring: All participants should wear appropriate outdoor clothing, including closed-
toe shoes and long pants. A long-sleeve shirt is also recommended. Participants
should bring their own water and insect repellent.
Registsration required: For more information, contact David Henderson
at dandewild@consolidated.net.
September 7, 2008 & each Tuesday morning in September
Open Trails
Prairie Peak
KPC's Open Trails program encourages visitors to experience a beautiful and fascinating KPC preserve at their own pace along a designated path.
This month you'll discover how tallgrass prairies got their name. September is a great time to visit a
prairie patch. The prairie is at its peak with some grasses shooting up to 8 feel above ground,
wildflowers brightening the landscape with showy yellow and purple blossoms, and clouds of
butterflies taking to the wing in search of nectar. Explore a wonderful rice prairie remnant
on the historic Warren Ranch - the prairie is alive with the sights and sounds of the best of what the prairie
has to offer.
Dates: Sunday, September 7, 2008 from 1 PM-5 PM & each Tuesday in September from
8 AM-11 AM
Location: Warren Ranch – Rock Hollow Creek Location
Podcast: To be posted
What to Bring: All participants should wear appropriate outdoor clothing, including closed-toe shoes
and long pants. A long-sleeve shirt is also recommended. Participants should bring their own
water and insect repellent.
Registration not required: Up-to-date information and event status will be posted on our homepage
and on our phone answering system by 7:00 AM on the day of the event.
September 13, 2008
PrairiECOnnections: Insects and Everything
Learn about the most dominant animals on earth
Can you think of a living thing that doesn’t interact with insects?
Insects are involved in the lives of nearly every living thing, including us. Some will surprise you –
misplaced ladybugs, fake bees, and flies that steal from spiders! Come explore the relationships of insects to the living puzzle of the Katy Prairie, including some oddities you may never have heard of!
Instructor(s): Maggie Honig, KPC volunteer and naturalist & Jaime Gonzalez, KPC Community
Education Manager
Date: Saturday, September 13, 2008 from 2:30 PM-4:30 PM
Location: KPC Field Office
What to Bring: All participants should wear appropriate outdoor clothing, including closed-toe shoes
and long pants. A long-sleeve shirt is also recommended. Participants should bring their own water
and insect repellent.
Registration required: Up-to-date information and event status will be posted on our homepage
and on our phone answering system by 7:00 AM on the day of the event.
September 13, 2008
Prairie Discovery Tour
Visit Warren Ranch South
Warren Ranch South is a rarely visited gem. Within a short walking distance you can explore a prairie remnant, a wooded creek, and a recently created wetlands complex that provides a home for wintering ducks, geese, and other aquatic creatures. Our September tour wil be led by expert tour guides and will focus on revealing the awesome natural and cultural treasures of this historic Texas ranch. You are sure to be amazed at what you see and hea along the way.
Date: Saturday, September 13, 2008, from 5:30 PM-7:30 PM
Location: Warren Ranch South
What to Bring: All participants should wear appropriate outdoor clothing, including closed-toe
shoes and long pants. A long-sleeve shirt is also recommended. Participants should bring their
own water and insect repellent.
Registration required: Up-to-date information and event status will be posted on our
homepage and on our phone answering system by 7:00 AM on the day of the event.
September 20, 2008
2008 Katy Prairie Bioblitz
Professional and amateur naturalists will count every species of living organism found in a
one-day period.
Experts and novices will take to the field to observe and count as many different living species of birds, mammals, amphibians, reptiles, invertebrates, plants, fungi, and microorganisms as they can in
a 24-hour period. This event will be important in cataloging the biodiversity of Conservancy
properties as well as raising awareness about the key role that the Katy Prairie plays in providing
habitat for increasing rare plant and animal communities.
Date: Saturday 20, 2008, all day, start time 6:30 AM
Location: Multiple KPC Preserves. Teams meet at KPC Field Office for orientation.
What to Bring: All participants should wear appropriate outdoor clothing, including closed-toe shoes
and long pants. A long-sleeve shirt is also recommended. Participants should bring their own
water and insect repellent.
Registration limited and required: call Jaime Gonzalez at 713.523.6135 for details
September 27 & 28, 2008
Bridgeland's 2008 Nature Fest Celebration
Walk a new trail at Bridgeland and help support the Katy Prairie Conservancy.
Bridgeland, a residential community east of KPC's preserves, is hosting Nature Fest, a two-day grand opening of the Cypress Creek Nature Trail. There will be activities for the whole family, including fishing clinics, pony rides, a petting zoo, a walk along the trail on Cypress Cree, and more. Visitors who donate $10 to the Katy Prairie Conservancy will receive a reusable grocery bag stuffed with Nature Fest goodies.
Date: Saturday, September 27, 2008, 10 AM to 6 PM and Sunday, September 28, 2008, Noon to 6 PM
Location: Bridgeland
Registration not required: For more information call Bridgeland at 281.304.5588 or visit www.bridgeland.com.
Community Events - October 2008
October 5, 2008
Open Trails
Following Fall Flyers
KPC's Open Trails program encourages visitors to experience a beautiful and fascinating KPC preserve at their own pace along a designated path.
Discover why the Katy Prairie is an autumn birding paradise. The Katy Prairie is one of the North America’s premier places to observe winter birds. October is your first chance to see many of the colorful,
feathered wonders that will spend the winter on the Katy Prairie such as the Blue- and Green-winged Teal, Norther Harriers, and American Kestrel.
Dates: Sunday, October 5, 2008 from 1 PM- 5 PM and each Tuesday in October from 8 AM-11 AM
Location: Warren Ranch – South Entrance
Podcast: To be posted
What to Bring: All participants should wear appropriate outdoor clothing, including closed-toe
shoes and long pants. A long-sleeve shirt is also recommended. Participants should bring their own water and insect repellent.
Registration not required: Up-to-date information and event status will be posted on our homepage
and on our phone answering system by 7:00 AM on the day of the event.
October 11, 2008
Stewardship Saturday
Help the Coastal Prairie Native Seed Nursery expand
KPC’s nursery is growing! We need volunteers to help us plant new seeds for 2009, weed nursery beds, help install new irrigation hoses, and much more.
Date: Saturday, October 11, 2008, from 9AM-12 PM
Location: KPC Field Office
What to Bring: All participants should wear appropriate outdoor clothing, including closed-toe
shoes and long pants. A long-sleeve shirt is also recommended. Participants should bring their
own water and insect repellent. Also, please brind sharp-shooter shovels and gardening gloves, if you have them.
Registration required: Up-to-date information and event status will be posted on our
homepage and on our phone answering system by 7:00 AM on the day of the event.
October 18, 2008
2008 Family Day on the Prairie
As Seen on the Katy Prairie Celebration
Have you ever seen 1,500 ducks splash down onto a lily-covered lake? Have you
ever seen beavers build a 15-foot wide winter lodge? Have you ever seen a 20-foot tall
rice harvester? Come out to the Katy Prairie where you can still view nature and agriculture
that are as big and special as the State of Texas.
The Katy Prairie Conservancy (KPC) will host a free family event and preserve tour on Saturday,
October 20, 2008, on its Nelson Farms Preserve. Families can participate in fun and interactive
hands-on-activities which highlight some of the magnificent creatures and agricultural products still
seen on the Katy Prairie insects, plant grass seedlings to help restore a prairie patch, get up
close and personal with huge farm equipment, bird watch through binoculars and scopes, and much more.
Date: Saturday, October 20, 2008 from 9 AM-12 PM
Location: Nelson Farms Preserve – Main Entrance
What to Bring: All participants should wear appropriate outdoor clothing, including closed-toe-shoes
and long pants. A long-sleeve shirt is also recommended. Participants should bring their own
water and insect repellent.
Registration not required: Up-to-date information and event status will be posted on our homepage
and on our phone answering system by 7:00 AM on the day of the event.
