Posted in Uncategorized, tagged conservation, Green Stormwater Infrastructure, Gulf Coast Bird Observatory, placemaking, runoff, stormwater wetlands, water quality, WaterSmart Landscapes, wetland restoration, wetlands, wildlife habitats on July 26, 2016| Leave a Comment »
Our bayous and bays are greatly impacted by the quality of the stormwater flowing into them, and now is a great time to start improving it with practices we can implement at home, work, or beyond.
Join us in a beautiful setting–the Gulf Coast Bird Observatory’s new LEED-certified building in Lake Jackson, TX.
Posted in children in nature, stormwater, stormwater wetlands, wetland restoration, tagged children in nature, floating wetlands, parks, stormwater wetlands, wetland restoration on January 28, 2014| 4 Comments »
Signs of an invasion were everywhere on a recent visit to the floating wetland islands at the Education Village. Plants had been devoured from the floating wetlands like they were buffet tables at SouperSalad. The students’ plantings along the shores of the stormwater pond were also missing. All around were footprints and scat from the prime suspect: nutria.
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged Sheldon Lake State Park, volunteers, wetland restoration, Wetland Restoration Team, wetlands on October 15, 2013| Leave a Comment »
Recently I have seen multiple articles on various wetland restoration projects from California to Florida and the consistent (and obvious) theme: return the land to the wetland habitat that once existed. Those stories just lend credibility to our wetland restoration project at Sheldon Lake State Park. The restoration of the 136 acres of prairie wetlands to date, and the upcoming additional 52 acres, reflects a true (as true can be) restoration–taking the landscape back to what it once was—wide-open coastal prairie and pine/oak savanna dotted and crossed by circular and linear marsh basins.
As we look forward to Phase 4 of the restoration, its amazing to look at the pictures from Phase 1 and see that what we attempted to do with our restoration model, and indeed, how well it established and flourished. Phase 1 was the beginning of the whole restoration process and we weren’t sure all we planned would work out–would the excavations be right? would the soils support the plant community? would the plantings take? By the end of Phase 2 and 3, we felt that our model was solid and the progression below offers the visual testimony (picture of Pond 2, Phase 1)
Phase 4 will take us into somewhat new territory but the principles of the model will remain the same. Investigate the landscape to uncover the past and precisely restore the wetlands were they once thrived and follow by restoring the native plant community by the hands of invested volunteers. (Follow our efforts on the Wetland Team blog)
Posted in native plants, The Wetland Restoration Team, Uncategorized, wetland restoration, tagged courses, native plants, Sheldon Lake State Park, texas master naturalist, volunteers, wetland restoration, Wetland Restoration Team on July 2, 2012| Leave a Comment »
Learn about the work of the Wetland Restoration Team and receive basic plant identification training which will aid in your participation with the Team. The course runs 5 weeks in August, 9-12am every Wednesday, at Sheldon Lake State Park in northeast Harris County. A different plant family– wetland grasses, rushes, sedges, and Sagittaria– will be the focus of each week, plus an introduction to our wetland restoration efforts of the past five years, current projects, and future projects.
For Texas Master Naturalists, the classes count toward advance training, even if the course has been taken previously. Volunteer hours will also be received for participation in Team workdays.
Due to the popularity of the course and the limitation of the classroom size, the class is limited to 24 students. You must register with Marissa Sipocz (m-sipocz@tamu.edu) by July 25, 2010 and receive a confirmation email to reserve a spot in the course. The fee for this course is $20. For more information on the course, including a carpool from our Clear Lake office, please see the online flyer.
Posted in The Wetland Restoration Team, tagged Sheldon Lake State Park, students, texas master naturalist, volunteers, wetland restoration, Wetland Restoration Team on June 25, 2012| Leave a Comment »
The Wetland Restoration Team gets a three-week boost from 14 high school and college students in the Student Conservation Association. TCWP staff and Texas Master Naturalist mentors have been showing the students how to identify and dig important wetland species, divide them into sprigs for transplanting, and replant them into the developing prairie wetlands at Sheldon Lake State Park. With the SCA’s help, a phenomenal 2875 sprigs of desirable sedge species were planted last week! The students also collect bushels of ripe seed heads and separate out the seed for future projects. The work of these young people is vital to the success of the wetland restoration program, and is greatly appreciated. Now, if we could only have some more rain…
John Jacob
Steven Mikulencak
Charriss York
Watershed Texas 