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Earth Day at Exploration Green

Posted in Uncategorized on March 25, 2015| Leave a Comment »

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The Texas Coastal Watershed Program will host visitors and volunteers at the wetland plant nursery from 9am to 12pm, as part of the Exploration Green Earth Day. Have some muddy fun for a good cause! Join TCWP staff as we demonstrate how to propagate plants in the wetland plant nursery, then it’s your turn to get new plants potted up. When you are ready to take a break, try our wetland scavenger hunt and see the range of plants and aquatic animals that call the nursery home.

See other activities planned for the event, from a cyclo-cross biking exhibition to geocaching.

The nursery is near 1801 Neptune Lane, Clear Lake City (Houston) 77062. Park along the street near the bridge (from which you can see the nursery) and take the northeast trail.

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Wetland Economic Benefits on the Upper Texas Gulf Coast: A Workshop

Posted in Uncategorized on March 24, 2015| Leave a Comment »

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Natural mosquito control in the wetland nursery

Posted in environmentally friendly landscaping, stormwater wetlands, Uncategorized, tagged , , , on December 11, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Mosquito season is over for now, but even when it’s in full swing, we don’t get a lot of bites as we work in the wetland nursery.  I am often asked what we do to control mosquitoes in our wetland nursery at Exploration Green.

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This little fish, Gambusia affinis, is our first line of defense against mosquitoes in the wetland nursery.

Mosquito fish, or Gambusia minnows, are by far the most efficient natural predators of mosquitoes. They are utilized by some mosquito control districts across the country. We collected ours in nearby ditches and set them loose in the nursery ponds, where they rapidly breed schools of hungry fish. (more…)

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Stormwater Wetland Thursdays commence with a little rain

Posted in Galveston Bay, native plants, runoff pollution, stormwater, stormwater wetlands, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , on September 8, 2014| Leave a Comment »

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Smiles from Jerry Dollinger of the Gulf Coast chapter, Chris Kneupper of the Cradle of Texas chapter, and Ray Rottman and Nancy Saint of the Galveston Bay Area chapter of Texas Master Naturalists light up a cloudy summer day.

The wetland plant nursery at Exploration Green conservation area is up and running! We held our first volunteer morning on Thursday, September 4, with the able assistance of the Texas Master Naturalists. We loved the cooler overcast weather, even if it meant waiting out a 20 minute tropical downpour. About a hundred sprigs each of Maidencane (Panicum hemitomon)and Marsh hay cordgrass (Spartina patens) were potted up and added to the nursery ponds you can see in the background here.

The nursery will provide plants for the stormwater-cleansing wetlands planned for Exploration Green. These stormwater wetlands will be a model for naturally managing water pollution in our region.
Thursday mornings in the nursery will be a regular event and will be open to all interested volunteers in October. Contact Mary Carol Edwards for more information.

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What’s the name of THAT plant?

Posted in Uncategorized on July 17, 2014| 1 Comment »

 As I am organizing for the upcoming Wetland Plant ID class, it strikes me that I have actually lost count of how many years we (“we” being Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service) have hosted this class.  This will be either the 10th or 11th class we have held to teach some of the basic plant family groups we utilize in our wetland restoration efforts.  It has always been a lab-oriented class with hands-on specimens that students can touch, examine and rip to shreds (per the instructor’s guidance).  In the last couple of years, we added a class to review botanical terminology which has been taught by our own Charriss York. Now students are less confused when Andy talks about the pedicels on the Sagittaria flowers and verifying if they are recurved or not to determine the difference between species.

Could you identify WHICH two species of Sagittaria (Arrowhead) are pictured here? You could after taking this class.

For Wetland Restoration Team members, the class comes as a welcome relief from the heat of the summer.  The class is a chance to sit indoors, use our heads and refresh our memories about the plants we handle regularly.  I always encourage folks to retake the class a couple of times–that way the information gets really “implanted”. 

If you are interested in taking the class, please contact Marissa at m-sipocz@tamu.edu.  Class size is always limited, and spots get claimed quickly.  Register early!!!

 

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