Texas Monthly had an article on their website about the continuing drought. We've had some rain lately and everything is green (or as green as it gets in this part of the world) but locally we are still a foot below our annual rainfall normal. In some places in Texas, it is worse than that. With the exception of the moronic statement leading the article about Perry's Presidential candidacy being an important Texas issue, the rest of the article sums up some of the impacts the drought is having on the state.
This points out the need to continue to conserve water. Plant drought resistant plants and water only when needed. For more water conservation tips, see the City of Wichita Falls website.
If you would like to learn more about the future climate in our area and the likelihood of continuing drought, make time to attend the League of Women Voters meeting on Wednesday, January 4, at Luby's cafeteria. Bryan Rupp, meteorologist, is the featured speaker, presenting "Future Climate of the Rolling Plains." The meeting begins at noon and is open to the public. Just go through the line for your meal and be seated by the noon start. The meeting ends at 1:00 PM.
Showing posts with label water conservation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label water conservation. Show all posts
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Monday, October 10, 2011
Reports and Happenings
I'm catching up with some reports on events I posted earlier and also posting some reminders of upcoming events.
If you weren't at the Living Well With Less Water symposium on October 1, you missed a great learning experience. It was a full day of interesting speakers and vendors. The central theme of the conference was that our local area is becoming hotter and drier. The amount of rainfall has been dropping and the temperature has been climbing for years. Our "normal" annual rainfall, currently at 28 inches will be more in the neighborhood of 22 inches by 2040 and the hot summer of this past year will be the norm. The severe drought we experienced this year is forecast to continue for at least one more year and perhaps longer.
Given that cheery news, it wasn't surprising that the remainder of the day was spent talking about landscaping in a way that will conserve our water resources. If the Master Gardeners host a similar program in the future, plan to attend. It would be tough to top this year's program though.
Smith's Gardentown will be hosting a short workshop on this issue as well on October 22 at 10 AM. You can RSVP here The seminar is free, but Smith's is asking for an RSVP to have adequate materials and seating.
Lake Arrowhead State Park (LASP) has a lot going on. John Ferguson, the "new" park superintendent (he's been there a couple of years now, but that's still relatively new) has been working hard to add programs and amenities to the park to increase visitation. The Friends of Lake Arrowhead was formed in this past year to help the park do things with a more limited state budget. If you want to keep up with the programs at the park, friend the Texas Parks and Wildlife Lake Arrowhead State Park page on Facebook (there is another Lake Arrowhead State Park page as well, but that one isn't current, so be sure to get the correct one.) The Friends of Lake Arrowhead State Park also have a page. Although you don't have to be a member of the Friends group to like the page, it certainly would be nice if you would consider joining.
One of the projects under development is a large butterfly garden. The Rolling Plains Texas Master Naturalist chapter maintains a small butterfly garden near the main gate in addition to the nature trail. The new butterfly garden will be a much larger project and developed over the next couple of years. I imagine both the Master Naturalist chapter and the Friends of Lake Arrowhead will be involved (there is a lot of overlap between the groups.)
A couple of upcoming events at LASP that should be of interest to readers of this blog include:
October 28: Bring the kids out for a Halloween program at the park, beginning at 6:30 PM. Children will be able to color and wear various animal masks and there will be an after dark listening for night sounds activity. The program is free, although attendees will need to pay the park admission (why not make a day of it?)
November 5, 9:00 AM - Noon: Mark Klym, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Wildlife Diversity Program, will conduct a free workshop on wildscaping. If you want the CD with resources, it will be available for purchase for $5. Again, entry to the park is required.
December 12 - 15: LASP will be holding a Waterfowl Hunting Education class and mentored hunt. The 3-hour class will be held on December 12 and 13 at 5 PM and the mentored hunt for Canada geese will be on December 14 and 15. The park will be closed to the general public during the hunt for safety reasons.
There is a Sierra Club meeting Tuesday evening at 7:15, but I still don't know where. As soon as I hear, I will post the meeting here.
Don't forget the EcoFair meeting Thursday, 5:30 PM at River Bend Nature Center. With the change to the Earth Day time frame, there is much to be done in very little time.
If you weren't at the Living Well With Less Water symposium on October 1, you missed a great learning experience. It was a full day of interesting speakers and vendors. The central theme of the conference was that our local area is becoming hotter and drier. The amount of rainfall has been dropping and the temperature has been climbing for years. Our "normal" annual rainfall, currently at 28 inches will be more in the neighborhood of 22 inches by 2040 and the hot summer of this past year will be the norm. The severe drought we experienced this year is forecast to continue for at least one more year and perhaps longer.
Given that cheery news, it wasn't surprising that the remainder of the day was spent talking about landscaping in a way that will conserve our water resources. If the Master Gardeners host a similar program in the future, plan to attend. It would be tough to top this year's program though.
Smith's Gardentown will be hosting a short workshop on this issue as well on October 22 at 10 AM. You can RSVP here The seminar is free, but Smith's is asking for an RSVP to have adequate materials and seating.
Lake Arrowhead State Park (LASP) has a lot going on. John Ferguson, the "new" park superintendent (he's been there a couple of years now, but that's still relatively new) has been working hard to add programs and amenities to the park to increase visitation. The Friends of Lake Arrowhead was formed in this past year to help the park do things with a more limited state budget. If you want to keep up with the programs at the park, friend the Texas Parks and Wildlife Lake Arrowhead State Park page on Facebook (there is another Lake Arrowhead State Park page as well, but that one isn't current, so be sure to get the correct one.) The Friends of Lake Arrowhead State Park also have a page. Although you don't have to be a member of the Friends group to like the page, it certainly would be nice if you would consider joining.
One of the projects under development is a large butterfly garden. The Rolling Plains Texas Master Naturalist chapter maintains a small butterfly garden near the main gate in addition to the nature trail. The new butterfly garden will be a much larger project and developed over the next couple of years. I imagine both the Master Naturalist chapter and the Friends of Lake Arrowhead will be involved (there is a lot of overlap between the groups.)
A couple of upcoming events at LASP that should be of interest to readers of this blog include:
October 28: Bring the kids out for a Halloween program at the park, beginning at 6:30 PM. Children will be able to color and wear various animal masks and there will be an after dark listening for night sounds activity. The program is free, although attendees will need to pay the park admission (why not make a day of it?)
November 5, 9:00 AM - Noon: Mark Klym, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Wildlife Diversity Program, will conduct a free workshop on wildscaping. If you want the CD with resources, it will be available for purchase for $5. Again, entry to the park is required.
December 12 - 15: LASP will be holding a Waterfowl Hunting Education class and mentored hunt. The 3-hour class will be held on December 12 and 13 at 5 PM and the mentored hunt for Canada geese will be on December 14 and 15. The park will be closed to the general public during the hunt for safety reasons.
There is a Sierra Club meeting Tuesday evening at 7:15, but I still don't know where. As soon as I hear, I will post the meeting here.
Don't forget the EcoFair meeting Thursday, 5:30 PM at River Bend Nature Center. With the change to the Earth Day time frame, there is much to be done in very little time.
Monday, August 22, 2011
Water Symposium Registration Deadline Approaching
The Master Gardener North Texas Water Symposium will be October 1. For those wanting to sign up for the least cost ($40), September 1 is the deadline. You'll still be able to register up until September 16, but it will cost you more ($55.) Lunch is included in the registration cost.
With the horrific drought we are having this year, any information we can get to conserve water in our gardening and landscaping will be worthwhile. There will be 7 hours of information--Master Gardeners can count 5 toward their training requirements; the conference has been approved for 3 hours of advanced training for Master Naturalists.
If you need a conference brochure or to register, you can contact the County extension office or you can email me at green.wichitafalls@gmail.com and I will be happy to forward the information to you.
The conference is also looking for sponsors. If you are interested in sponsoring, contact Peg Marquardt at peg.marquardt@sw.rr.com.
I hope to see all of you at this important event.
With the horrific drought we are having this year, any information we can get to conserve water in our gardening and landscaping will be worthwhile. There will be 7 hours of information--Master Gardeners can count 5 toward their training requirements; the conference has been approved for 3 hours of advanced training for Master Naturalists.
If you need a conference brochure or to register, you can contact the County extension office or you can email me at green.wichitafalls@gmail.com and I will be happy to forward the information to you.
The conference is also looking for sponsors. If you are interested in sponsoring, contact Peg Marquardt at peg.marquardt@sw.rr.com.
I hope to see all of you at this important event.
Friday, July 22, 2011
More Complete Information on the North Texas Water Symposium
Fred Hall sent me the agenda/registration for the North Texas Water Symposium so I wanted to share it with all of you.
Texoma Living Well With Less Water 2011
October 1
MPEC
8:00 am - 4:00 pm
Registration $40 by September 1
Registration $55 between September 2 -16
No registration after September 16
Speakers:
Bryan Rupp, meteorologist: Weather Outlook Now and in the Future
Scott Calhoun, author of gardening books, Strategies for Water-saving Gardens
Michael Parkey, landscape architect, Drought Tolerant Native Plants for North Texas
Kevin Gustavson, OCC/WQ, Water Conservation with Xeriscapes and Rain Gardens
Dotty Woodson, Tarrant County Extension Agent, Irrigation Efficiency
I think we all recognize the importance of conserving water in our gardens and landscapes--this should be an interesting workshop.
If you are interested, you can contact the county extension office or a member of the local Texas Master Gardeners for a registration form or you can email me at green.wichitafalls@gmail.com. I hope there is a large turnout for this event.
Texoma Living Well With Less Water 2011
October 1
MPEC
8:00 am - 4:00 pm
Registration $40 by September 1
Registration $55 between September 2 -16
No registration after September 16
Speakers:
Bryan Rupp, meteorologist: Weather Outlook Now and in the Future
Scott Calhoun, author of gardening books, Strategies for Water-saving Gardens
Michael Parkey, landscape architect, Drought Tolerant Native Plants for North Texas
Kevin Gustavson, OCC/WQ, Water Conservation with Xeriscapes and Rain Gardens
Dotty Woodson, Tarrant County Extension Agent, Irrigation Efficiency
I think we all recognize the importance of conserving water in our gardens and landscapes--this should be an interesting workshop.
If you are interested, you can contact the county extension office or a member of the local Texas Master Gardeners for a registration form or you can email me at green.wichitafalls@gmail.com. I hope there is a large turnout for this event.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
North Texas Water Symposium
A symposium on water conservation strategies for agriculture and home gardeners will be held on October 1 at MPEC. I am hoping to get the agenda and registration information today and will pass it on when received. This is an important topic; I hope a lot of people show up.
Watering Trees in a Drought
We are definitely in a severe drought. Although everyone should be cutting back on using water, the trees (even native ones) are under severe stress. You can see the evidence all over town; many trees are dying. Austin Parks and Recreation has put out a nice handout on how to water your trees to help them survive without overuse of water. I thought it would be useful to readers.
If you do lose trees this year, consider replacing with drought resistant varieties this fall.
If you do lose trees this year, consider replacing with drought resistant varieties this fall.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
River Bend Lecture Series
The next presentation in River Bend Nature Center's Lecture Series will be Monday, April 11 at 7:00 PM. Daniel Nix, Utilities Operations Manager in Wichita Falls, will be talking about water conservation. This is an important topic, so I hope many of you can come out.
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