Tree Folks Urban Forest Steward Program at Hornsby Bend

Yesterday was the first class in a series of 5 all day Saturday classes of the Tree Folks Urban Forest Steward program.  Below is the list of goals for the class:

 After introductions, which were impressive as most of the students are heavily involved in volunteer efforts in their own neighborhoods as well as several Master Gardeners and Master Naturalists, we met the staff  and had an address from Mr. Keith O'Herrin of the City of Austin, PARD forestry department on the state of the urban forest.    The summary was very interesting and shocking at the same time.  Currently there is the development of an Urban Forest Master Plan in the works and after hearing some of the statistics, it's a darn good thing.

To date, Austin owns about 25% of the public space inside the city limits and a recent survey of trees found that we only have 40% of possible spaces planted, as opposed to say Milwaukee which has 98% of its public available tree space filled.   We need an army of tree stewards to set this straight!

What we can call our tree resources to date is 125,000 street trees...those are the trees between the curb and the sidewalk, 175,000 park trees on 4,000 acres and 15,000 acres of undeveloped parkland.

The thing that caught my ear was his idea that street trees should be thought of as utility.  The money saved from trees is amazing...and the next speaker, Ms. Ana Gonzalez (below) also from the forestry department, went into further depth on that issue as she spoke to us about "The Benefit of Trees."

 We all love shade, especially in July but the Environmental, Social, Psychological and Economic value is enormous.  Ms. Gonzalez was a lively and entertaining presenter.

We next heard from Ms. Denise Delaney on right tree, right place...I think most of us were familiar with that but the graph below I found to be a nice tool for testing soil drainage.

After what looked like a fantastic lunch from Central Market, we heard from Mr. Keith Brown of Austin Tree Experts on the "trees of central Texas."  Again, an engaging presentation from a certified Arborist who has some definite opinions about what to and what NOT to plant...I didn't agree with everything he had to say...but mainly because I'm a fan of fruit trees, as he is not.

April Rose, Executive Director of Tree Folks brought in several samples of trees to help the class begin learning about tree identification through keying out the various kinds of leaves, flowers, fruits, seeds and nuts.

The facility at Hornsby Bend is lovely and comfortable and the day was respectfully divided up with lots of opportunity to meet new people (my favorite part) and gather information!

After looking at the various leaf types and patterns, we had a worksheet to fill out while we investigated the trees outside.(there was a drawing component...my second favorite part!)

April Rose, Executive Director of Tree Folks, Austin, Texas

When we could take the heat no more...we went inside to debrief and had a short quiz!  Today on my morning walk, I used the trees along the arroyo as a refresher in keying them out and I wanted to see if the top 5 trees in town were the most abundant here in Crestview...and sure enough...that's what I found!

Live oak, Crapemyrtle, Hackberry, Pecan and Cedar Elm...only not so much of the last one.

It was a fabulous day and I got to spend it with several folks I already knew from various other organizations and from one of my favorite neighbors and friends, Emily Wilson, the Vice President of our neighborhood association.  I think I'm going to try and get Ms. Rose to speak at CAMN!  We all live in this beautiful city, and we all need to consider planting a few trees.  Last year Tree Folks planted 13,000 trees with a staff of 4 and 3,000 volunteers.  They have a variety of programs that you can apply for to get trees for your neighborhood and the application process is easy!  I was able to get 17 trees for my street a few years ago and it's really helped cool the street and allowed neighbors to work together and get to know one another in a responsible, caring way.  

The program that I am most interested in presently is The Urban Orchard Project, which is on hold until 2013, but these are available now:

City Shade

Neighbor Woods

Sapling Days

CommuniTrees

and a variety of educational classes!  Read about them here at treefolks.org

You can also become a member and donate $ to trees if time is short!

There are 4 more classes to the series and I can't wait for the next one!  Thanks for joining me here and...

Happy Gardening!

What's Going on at Hornsby Bend?

Last Saturday morning, my friend Patty, a fellow Master Naturalist and I went out to Hornsby Bend to check things out. It was the official Audubon's Monthly Bird Survey, which is a serious event and we wanted to take it easy, look at the plants, the bugs and all the other critters as well...so we did.

This guy was sunning himself in the middle of the road. I took a million pictures trying to get him with his tongue out but my camera has too much of a delay.

The understory was peppered with sunlight exposing yards of Baby Blue Eyes.

The yellow flower, gorgeous as it is and is blooming all over town on roadsides is "Bastard Cabbage," and I can't find the purple flower in the wildflower guide...anyone know this?

We were marveling at the American Coot not 20 minutes before we found this guy on the side of the road. The feet are beautiful, iridescent green and black with a snakeskin texture.

At one point we were wondering through the wildflowers, some several feet over our heads...like the Queen Anne's Lace, when we disturbed a group of Dragon Flies...this handsome fellow was brave enough to let me hone in on him!

Philadelphia Fleabane

The description in the Wildflowers of Texas guide describes threadlike petals...yea, you could say that.

Sweet Baby Blue Eyes up close.

More of the forest floor and the Baby Blue Eyes.

and still more...it was really magical in a way that my little digital camera just isn't able to capture.

The green house is a settling pond with a carpet of duckweed. The acoustics in this place are eerie, like a scene for a murder. The frogs, spiders, birds and bats love it!

I wonder what traveled this way?

The sweet face of the Day Lilly...a favorite food of my chickens and rabbits.

Wolf Spider on the edge of the pond. It was an easier day than the serious bird count and we got to geek out on the plants and critters and thoroughly enjoyed this perfect Texas Spring! Thanks for coming along!

Happy Birding!

CAMN at Hornsby Bend

It was a blustery day at Hornsby Bend, which isn't supposed to be good birdwatching weather but it was the first time for me, and it seemed fine. It helps that Hornsby Bend is the best place in the country to see birds for a few reasons...one it's the central flyway for bird migration and is on the edge of an ecosystem and two, the poop...which draws insects, which birds love to eat. For those of you not from around Austin, Hornsby Bend is where ALL of the one million gallons of sludge, and yard waste in Austin go to be converted into a product known as "Dillo Dirt" via composting. The facility is huge...there are 3 giant ponds filled with birds, and not just flycatchers...but everything!

Pipevine Swallowtail on Redbud Blossoms

The first birds we learned about are the Purple Martins. There is a colony of 48 houses that need weekly care, which takes about an hour. The Martins are endangered and you can help support the PMCA, Purple Martin Conservation Association by purchasing housing and various items to help care for and attract Martins.
Julia and Andy Balinksy, Capital Area Master Naturalists who care for the birds took the time to explain a little about the nesting requirements, pests and responsibility involved.

The standard gourd shaped colony

There were several Purple Martins flying around. They scavenge flying insects and do not feast primarily on mosquito's, as touted by many manufacturers of the popular houses.

Carol, on the left is our CAMN bird expert from our class, and on the right is our gung-ho birding teacher for the day Kathy McCormick...check out those duds!

We listened to a brief talk on the how to's of birding, and and some general information about flycatchers, vireos and warblers before heading out to pond#2. Kathy pointed out several species and I was amazed at how much fun it was. I had always wondered what the draw could be, and for me it is learning about the character of the birds...this made everything they did come alive!

The Duck Blind.

Look at this crazy construction...the bench is lower than the windows, therefore literally blinding you from the ducks!

The view from inside...the Yucca were blooming and covered with insects!

A Chimney Swift home. In my neighborhood we have a watch at the local elementary school, Brentwood. The Chimney Swifts have been coming for over 50 years and it's a wonderful opportunity to meet your neighbors!

Tiger Swallowtail on Redbud Blossoms

Here's our group heading out for a short hike, the best part of each CAMN class as far as I'm concerned...too much butt to chair puts the mind to sleep.

We were looking for owls and woodpecker holes in this grand, dead, old tree. Not removing dead wood is essential to bird habitats.

A slow spot on the Bend.

Here we saw a Red Shoulder Hawk, some Turkey Vultures and a Great Egret.

The thicket was a weekend volunteer project.

Mustang grape! Yum, I've got some growing in my yard...if it's a rainy year we'll have jam!

This place was spooky! It's one of the holding ponds, and strangely the place doesn't smell.

Duckweed, up close. The smallest blooming plant which remove phosphates, nitrogen and especially ammonia from water. Duckweed is found all over the world off fast moving rivers and can be transplanted by birds going from pond to pond.

What ever ate this salad, didn't chew 30 times. tsk-tsk.

Coyote who dined on bunny.

Coyote that dined on deer. Hungry coyote.

The yucca almost don't look real they are so waxy and perfect!

Northern Shovelers, Green, Blue and Cinnamon Teal and some American Coots.

After our outing we were treated to a few hours of Kevin Anderson talking about Urban Ecology, Sustainability and the history of Hornsby Bend. We also collected tons of information on birding in Texas, compliments of the Travis Audubon Society and walked away thoroughly enthusiastic about learning bird calls and coming back for the annual Christmas Day Bird Count which covers a 10 mile area around the Bend.

Hornsby Bend has won several awards for it's sustainability efforts and we are the only city in America to compost all it's sludge! There are several volunteer opportunities and bird watching events for adults and teens, Austin Youth River Watch is a high school program that's been going on since '92 and the bird survey happens on the second Saturday of each month at 7am, beginners welcome, you'll be paired with an expert. The third Saturday is a Bird Walk, 7:30-11am and is open to the public as well.

If your interested in learning more check out their website http://www.hornsbybend.org/

We only have a few classes of CAMN left, they just keep getting more interesting all the time!