• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
Texas Master Naturalist ProgramTexas Master Naturalist Program
  • Home
  • About
    • Want to be a Master Naturalist?
    • Nature Reflections
      • Nature Reflections 2021
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Contact
  • Events
  • Naturalist News
  • For Chapters
    • Volunteer Management System Portal
    • Chapter Documents
    • Curriculum
    • Merchandise & Name Tags
    • Brand & Marketing
    • Certification and Service Pins
  • 2023 Annual Meeting
  • #TMNTuesdays
Search

#TMNTuesdays

Join us each month for #TMNTuesdays Webinars!

On the second Tuesday of each month at 12:00pm Central Standard Time, the TMN State Office will offer an hour-long virtual advanced training event – with fantastic new and returning guest speakers. Scroll down the page and select a month for upcoming and past webinars.

Frequently Asked Questions
WebEx Guide
2021 #TMNTuesdays Webinars
2022 #TMNTuesdays Webinars

2023 #TMNTuesdays

We are excited to once again host our TMNTuesdays webinar series on the second Tuesday of the month through the 2023 year. TMNTuesdays are a way to learn about top conservation issues of the state, earn advanced training hours, and interact with wildlife professionals from across the state!

Register to Attend Now

2023 TMNTuesdays Calendar
January 2023 February 2023 March 2023 April 2023 May 2023 June 2023 July 2023 August 2023 September 2023 October 2023

October 2023

Project Fair Contest

Schedule

11:00am – Official Program Starts

11:10am – Rio Grande Valley Chapter presents Rio Grande Valley Pollinator Project + Q&A

11:30am – Hays County Chapter presents Beautiful Hays County Activity and Coloring Book + Q&A

11:50am – Rio Brazos Chapter presents their Brazos River Cleanup/Campout and Educational Extravaganza + Q&A

12:10pm – Galveston Bay Area Chapter presents their Bayside Regional Park: From Fish Farm to Natives + Q&A

12:30pm – Additional Questions, Final Wrap Up, and Closing

About the Projects

Rio Grande Valley Pollinator Project: The Texas Master Naturalist Rio Grande Valley Chapter welcomes the support of our community and partners as we come together to improve the habitat for our pollinators. Founding member and Texas Master Naturalist Chery Brummett took notice of the lack of habitat for pollinators during the 2022 Monarch Butterfly tagging season. She began reaching out to like-minded individuals within the community, and the Rio Grande Valley Pollinator Project was formed. The 1st meeting made it clear that we had a strong group of volunteers from the Chapter as well as the surrounding communities who were ready, willing, and able to do their part to improve the local habitat for these pollinators. Through outreach and education, we established a conduit to get the tools needed into the hands of our family, friends, and neighbors so they, too, can participate in making a positive difference. On a monthly basis, we continually meet to strategize and collaborate on both ongoing and upcoming projects. Outreach events have enabled us to share our passion for improving the pollinator habitat across the valley, not just for native pollinators but also for migratory species. Some of our efforts have included successful grants from Monarch Watch for native milkweed, assisting in city gardens, and working with city officials to bring more awareness about the benefits of native plants. A relocation initiative was launched to transfer native milkweed and plants from areas designated for development to community gardens in the same area; the partnership with local developers continues to expand with positive results. We have also established multiple media platforms to connect residents with native plant information and resources. Several members have pursued cultivating our own plants for distribution and seed harvesting with much success. Our vision includes obtaining a greenhouse for cultivating additional native milkweed and pollinator plants to address the scarcity of seeds and distribute them within the local region and beyond.
Mission Statement: Raise awareness across the Rio Grande Valley of pollinators and their need for sustainable, native-plant food sources and ecosystems so they can thrive and multiply.

Beautiful Hays County Activity and Coloring Book: Beautiful Hays County is a children’s activity and coloring book, published in spring of 2023 by the Hays County Chapter of the Texas Master Naturalist™ program. This 25-page nature discovery guide showcases eleven Master Naturalist projects across Hays County. Created for promotional and educational purposes, the book encourages Hays County children and their parents to GO, KNOW, and GROW as citizen naturalists, learning ways to appreciate and cherish the natural world close to home. The book contains information and detailed illustrations about each site, a glossary, and a passport page to encourage and reward those who visit the parks, refuges, natural areas and preserves that are featured. The book aligns with the TEKS standards and the content of the Texas Master Naturalist™ training program. This foundation creates the platform for additional service-oriented programs – a Spanish translation, a website with supplementary resources for teachers and parents, a promotional tool for Outreach for our chapter and our partner sites, collaboration with schools and libraries, and the Nature Superstars – a month-long event this fall where we bring the book to life with educational events at each of the eleven sites.

Brazos River Cleanup/Campout and Educational Extravaganza: The Rio Brazos, known for recreation, electrical generation, irrigation, and home to countless animals, has also been used as a tire and trash dumping ground for over 100 years. In 2017 the Texas Master Naturalist, Rio Brazos Chapter, created a project to cleanse our namesake of tires, trash, and other debris that has accumulated over the decades. The project has morphed from a simple 4-mile section with 13 chapter members participating in 2017 to a 17-mile stretch worked by four crews and over 60 participants this year. Our goal is to continue bringing other groups into the project as we expand our footprint (or should I say erase footprints) up and down the Brazos. We utilize canoes, kayaks, and foot patrols to clean the river, sandbars, and banks. In 2018 we added a weekend campout to the cleanup as a way for chapter members to have the time to visit and really get to know each other. In 2019 we began utilizing chapter members to give advanced training classes on Sundays. This multiple-event weekend of cleaning the river on Saturday and engaging in classes on Sunday quickly became a successful template to draw volunteers from the community as well as a tool for recruiting new members. We have had several non-profit groups join the project as we gained experience each year handling volunteers on the river and want-to-be naturalists attending weekend lectures. This year we invited five other chapters to join us for the weekend event. We now set up tents and campers on Friday and start the festivities with a welcome dinner that night. Saturday is reserved for our river cleanup, and Sunday is a full day of advanced training classes. The 2023 classes were taught not only by our educators but also those from other chapters, as well as individuals from TPWD, NRCS, the Brazos River Authority, and the Lower Brazos Riverwatch. On Monday, we have a long bird walk followed by a final brunch, break down, and goodbyes. With measurable results of over 20,000 pounds of tires and trash collected, new members recruited, and new friends and chapters participating, we would like to invite all Texas Master Naturalist members to join us in 2024.

Bayside Regional Park: From Fish Farm to Natives: Bayside Regional Park is in a diverse, under- served community in Bacliff, Texas. When GBAC members learned that Galveston County had purchased a 64-acre fish farm and intended to convert it to a park, they began working with the Galveston County Parks Department for approval via a Memorandum of Understanding, to install native plants in a 1-acre area of the park. A Steering Committee of the GBAC was formed to plan the project. Volunteers collected seeds, propagated, purchased, and planted plants, developed soil amendments, created an iNaturalist project, installed a water feature for wildlife, built and installed Bluebird nesting boxes, applied for grants, conducted outreach activities for Seniors and the public, and planted native trees along a planned pathway. Using only native plants found on the Floyd Waller 1974 Plant Survey, a Native Plant Exhibit was planted, including a demonstration Pollinator Garden, and a demonstration Prairie Garden. A native prairie re-creation is underway. Future plans include forming a youth birding and/or junior naturalist group.

September 2023

Title: Safer Skies for Migrating Birds

Description: Every spring and fall, Texas skies become a superhighway for migrating birds. Artificial light at night and collision with buildings and glass are a significant cause of death to migratory birds in the United States. This presentation will introduce this challenging issue, why it matters to bird conservation, what we’ve learned through research and monitoring efforts, and strategies to make Texas skies safer for migrating birds.

August 2023

Session Title: “Management and Educational Activities for Community Ponds”

“This TMN Tuesday presentation will cover educational and selective management activities TMN chapters can implement to both educate the public about management of water resources and improve the health of community ponds.”

July 2023

Texas is uniquely situated with the crossroads of two major astronomical events crisscrossing the state in the coming year – an Annular Solar Eclipse October 14th, 2023 and a Total Solar Eclipse April 8th, 2024.  All Texas Master Naturalist volunteers are welcome to learn about these upcoming natural events, how to safely watch them, and other programs our partners at NASA are hosting. Using your learned naturalist skills to study natural life, master naturalists can apply those same skills to this event and engage the public in learning about the natural world’s reaction to eclipses.

Join us to also learn about two projects sponsored by NASA’s Science Activation (SciAct) Program that you, and your community, can participate in for the October 14, 2023 and April 8, 2024 solar eclipses.

GLOBE Eclipse: Energy from the Sun warms our planet, and changes in sunlight can also cause changes in temperature, clouds, and wind. What happens when the Sun is blocked by the Moon during an eclipse? How will the eclipse affect these solar-powered processes? Participants use the GLOBE Observer mobile app to take observations and contribute to an open access database used by scientists and students to study the effects of eclipses on the atmosphere. GLOBE Observer citizen science is part of the NASA Earth Science Education Collaborative SciAct award to engage learners of all ages in NASA Earth science experiences.   

Eclipse Soundscapes (ES) Project: The ES Project is focused on the following science question: How does life on Earth, specifically wildlife, respond to solar eclipses? Participants will document changes in animal behavior and sounds during the eclipse. There are multiple ways to participate and earn certificates: learn about eclipses, observe during an eclipse, collect audio data during eclipse week, and analyze collected data after eclipses. Visit https://eclipsesoundscapes.org to learn more. The Eclipse Soundscapes Project is a NASA Science Activation Project (Award #80NSSC21M0008). 

About our presenters:

Dorian Janney
Adnet Systems/NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Dorian has a passion for sharing the wonders of NASA’s science and exploration with others across all ages! For over three decades, she taught public school in both special and general education settings across all grade levels. She was an Einstein Fellow Finalist and achieved National Board Certification in Science Education, served on numerous education working groups, and wrote science curriculum for the Montgomery County Public Schools. She serves as NASA’s “Global Precipitation Measurement” (GPM) mission’s Education and Outreach Coordinator, and develops resources to help share the science, technology, and real-world applications of GPM with others. She is a Mentor GLOBE trainer, a member of the GLOBE Education Working Group, and supports the GLOBE field campaigns. Her most recent project is leading an effort to engage Lifelong Learners with The GLOBE Campaign’s Citizen Science efforts. Dorian is currently leading the Texas Master Naturalists’ “Eclipse Educators” virtual volunteer program.

Kristen Weaver 

Science Systems and Applications, Inc./NASA Goddard Space Flight Center 

is the Deputy Coordinator for GLOBE Observer, the app of the Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Program. The goal of the app is to extend the reach of the long-standing citizen science and science education program to non-school-based audiences. She was also previously an Outreach Specialist for the Global Precipitation Measurement Mission. Prior to her work with NASA (as a contractor with Science Systems and Applications, Inc. based out of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.), Kristen taught middle school science for eight years in Montgomery County Public Schools (Maryland) and Denver Public Schools (Colorado), with a primary focus in Earth Science. She holds an M.A. in Education and a B.S. in Computer Science and Psychology, both from the University of Denver.

Dr. Henry “Trae” Winter III

Co-Founder & Chief Scientist at ARISA Lab, LLC

Trae is a solar astrophysicist who has worked on eight NASA missions observing the Sun. His primary research focus was understanding how energy is released in the Sun’s atmosphere, the corona, and in other stars. Trae spearheaded many efforts to engage the public in scientific discovery, including work with the Montana Space Grant Consortium, the Salish-Kootenai Flathead Lake Reservation, and the Boston Lyrical Opera.

To highlight the spectacular images being produced by the Solar Dynamics Observatory, Trae designed a series of video wall exhibits for the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, North Carolina State University’s Hunt Library, the Harvard Art Museums’ Lightbox Gallery, and the Museum of Boulder. However, Trae quickly realized many people had no access to the exhibits he was helping create, people who are blind and have low vision (BLV).

To make science accessible to everyone, Trae began Eclipse Soundscapes to build a mobile application that would engage all users with the 2017 Total Solar Eclipse. Consultants, who were themselves blind, were included at every stage of the application’s design process. The application used images, spoken word descriptions, sound, and touch to make eclipse features accessible and engaging to everyone as they were occurring.

Based on the success of the Eclipse Soundscapes Project model, Trae and MaryKay Severino co-founded the ARISA Lab which could quickly assemble highly trained and diverse teams to invent the new technologies and techniques necessary to make scientific exploration effective, accessible, and engaging for everyone.

Links and Resources from July’s TMNTuesdays event:

  • 2023 Annual Meeting – https://txmn.tamu.edu/2023-annual-meeting/
  • Eclipse Poster – https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/resources/2943/2023-annular-solar-eclipse-poster/
  • Eclipse Glasses Information – https://www.nasa.gov/feature/what-to-do-with-your-solar-eclipse-glasses
  • Eclipse Guide – https://www.starnetlibraries.org/2020/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/SEAL-booklet-web-2.pdf
  • Virtual Textbook StoryMap – https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/0b1573a5290f43b7b43bb44c7a9baf85
  • GLOBE Eclipse Tool – https://observer.globe.gov/do-globe-observer/eclipse
  • GLOBE Eclipse Toolkit – https://observer.globe.gov/toolkit/eclipse-toolkit
  • AudioMoths Information – https://www.openacousticdevices.info/
  • Resources available for accessing, citing, and using GLOBE data (e.g.,, APIs, etc) – https://observer.globe.gov/get-data

Survey of engagement plans for the 2023 and 2024 Eclipse – https://oregonstate.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6LlwfHofLz3eQ7A

July-11th-TX-MN-Webinar_JanneyDownload
July-11th-TX-MN-Webinar_Janney POWERPOINTDownload
ES-TX-Master-Naturalists-TMN-Info-PresentationDownload

June 2023

Due to the size of the PPT, it was split into three documents:

PBG-MN-Webinar-June-2023_small_Part1Download
PBG-MN-Webinar-June-2023_small_Part2Download
PBG-MN-Webinar-June-2023_small_Part3Download

May 2023

Roving-Interpretation-PlanDownload
Roving-Interpretation-KitDownload
Outreach-Tabling-KitDownload

Title: Roving Interpretation: Making Casual Connections that Matter

Most interpretive opportunities are casual contacts with people on the trails or hot spots in the wild.  We’ll talk about some tools, tips, and tricks to make help make those contacts meaningful.  We’ll also talk briefly about how you can help Texas State Parks celebrate 100 years!

April 2023

Conservation of Insects!

The presentation will cover what people can do to help promote the conservation of insects and other arthropods, within their own backyard.

Attracting-Pollinators-2023-TMNT-PresentationDownload
ENTO-092-Beneficials-and-Pests-in-the-gardenDownload
ENTO-093-Creating-a-pollinator-gardenDownload
ipm-basics-for-landscapingDownload

March 2023

Texas Waters: Become an ambassador of our waterways!

The Texas Waters program informs and educates Texans about the most precious natural resource Texas possesses, its water. Many challenges face our state concerning water, particularly in our aquatic habitats, the water for wildlife. Texas Parks and Wildlife values the natural and cultural resources of Texas, and we want there to always be drinkable, swimmable, and fishable waters in our great State.

The Texas Waters Specialist program develops a corps of well-informed volunteer specialists who provide education, outreach, and service dedicated to the beneficial management of aquatic resources and aquatic habitats within their communities for the state of Texas. In this session, learn what the Texas Waters Specialist program entails, how to become certified, and see the growth and successes of your fellow Texas Master Naturalist.

Texas Waters Links:

https://tpwd.texas.gov/education/

http://www.texasthestateofwater.org/

https://www.facebook.com/ConservationEducationTPWD/

TMNTuesdays-March-Presentation-2023Download

February 2023

Curious to learn more about the inspiration to this year’s 25th Anniversary Annual Certification Pin? Then this month’s TMNTuesday is for you!

From the coast to the desert, we will take a look at the 11 ecoregions of Texas and their associated plant communities and abiotic characteristics. Additionally, we will explore the Ecological Mapping Systems (EMS) of Texas which have allowed TPWD to map even more refined habitat types within the ecoregions.

ChatDownload
Links-from-Wendy-Anderson-in-the-ChatDownload

January 2023

State of the Program

Happy New Year! Join us on January 10th at 12pm CST for our annual program update as we look ahead to our 25th year.

TMNTuesdays-January-2023-Presentation.pptxDownload

2022 #TMNTuesdays

Scroll through the 2022 #TMNTuesdays hosted by the TMN State Office and recorded for your enjoyment!

2022 #TMNTuesday Calendar Part One
January 2022 February 2022 March 2022 April 2022 May 2022 June 2022
2022 #TMNTuesdays Calendar Part Two
July 2022 August 2022 September 2022 October 2022 November 2022 December 2022

2021 #TMNTuesdays

Our first year of #TMNTuesdays webinars was a huge success! Click on a month below to see the past webinar.

2021 #TMNTuesday Calendar
January 2021 February 2021 March 2021 April 2021 May 2021 June 2021 July 2021 August 2021 September 2021 October 2021 November 2021 December 2021

Visit our 2021 Be The Change mini-series as part of our webinar events!

Frequently Asked Questions

As a Master Naturalist, can I count attending a #TMNTuesday as Advanced Training (AT) hours?

Yes! Attending a #TMNTuesday or the subseries “Be the Change” webinars as a live attendee or watching it recorded post-event can count for AT Hours under AT: TMN Tuesday in VMS. Please work with your local chapter’s VMS Admin to log these hours.

What time will these #TMNTuesday events be held?

#TMNTuesdays will be held each month in 2023 on the Second Tuesday of each month at the noon hour (12PM Central Standard Time) – lasting approximately one hour with some months going an hour and a half.

Will the #TMNTuesday events be recorded?

Yes! These will be recorded each month and shared to this website by the following day of each month.

Do I need to register for the #TMNTuesday each month?

Yes, each month we’ll post a WebEx registration link that will register you to attend that event. After registering, you’ll receive the WebEx event link in your email inbox, along with the required password for that event. Keep in mind that EACH month will have a different registration link & password.

Do I have to be a Texas Master Naturalist member to attend a #TMNTuesday?

No! These are open to the public – all are welcome to attend. Each person will need to register via the WebEx registration link listed for that month.

Are there any resources for how to use or connect to the WebEx Event?

Yes, we have a WebEx 101 Guide with information on what equipment is needed, what steps to take to get connected and a test website to log into a test WebEx meeting to check your connections – WebEx 101 Guide

How long after I watch a #TMNTuesday video can I log my AT hours?

In order to stay within the 45-Day rule for logging AT hours, you will need to log your hours at most 45 days after watching the video. Because you can view the video after the live event, please report the day you view the video, not the original date the video aired.

  • Want to be a Master Naturalist?
  • Contact
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • News

Texas Master Naturalist Program Office

495 Horticulture Drive, 2138 TAMU
College Station, TX 77843
Contact Us

© 2023 Texas A&M University. All rights reserved.

  • Compact with Texans
  • Privacy and Security
  • Accessibility Policy
  • State Link Policy
  • Statewide Search
  • Veterans Benefits
  • Military Families
  • Risk, Fraud & Misconduct Hotline
  • Texas Homeland Security
  • Texas Veterans Portal
  • Equal Opportunity
  • Open Records/Public Information