By Richard Schaffhausen
The Brazoria chapter of Texas Master Naturalist held their monthly meeting Wednesday evening, September 13, 2023, at the AgriLife building in Angleton.
John Boettiger, membership chairman, reported that Cindy Goodrum, Sheree Muzny, Kathy Purvis, Pam West, Chris Tobola, and Barb Whaley had recertified in August. Members must have 8 hours of advanced training and 40 volunteer hours to recertify.
Boettiger also reported Amanda Gabehart reached the 4,000-volunteer milestone.
To date this year, members have impacted 4,776 adults and 16,237 youth through outreach programs and educational programs such as the “Birds of Prey” programs presented at area schools, Brazoria County Summer Library Programs, and the Discovery Environmental Education Program for area 4th and 7th graders at Brazoria NWR.
The keynote speaker at the meeting was Chris Tobola, Associate Professor at Brazosport College, whose topic was “Urban Ecology.” Tobola stated that 80% of the United States population lives in cities and suburban environments. She noted that the human population is the keystone species in the urban ecosystem.
Among other things, humans are introducing exotic species that are causing mass faunal extinctions and changing ecosystem stability by altering environmental constraints and biota. Even within the urban areas of Brazoria County, children don’t know where their food comes from except from a grocery store, and most adults and children have no idea what wildlife they share within their environment.
For more information on becoming a Texas Master Naturalist, https://txmn.org/tmncot/. Our next meeting will be 8:30 am October 11 at the Brazosport Planetarium. Visitors are welcome.
