The Milam County Nature Festival was a great success. Thank you El Camino Real Master Naturalists and Little River Basin Master Gardeners for creating a fun and educational nature experience.  Stay tuned in here for news of next year's event.

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Festival News

Friday, June 11, 2010

Water Conservation
Keynote speaker, Andrew Sansom, Executive Director of the River System Institute, will speak about Water Conservation.  Andrew has written a comprehensive guide to water in Texas, including natural and cultural history, geography and public policy.

Sounds of the Night
For Friday night, Lee Ann Linam and Marsha May will present "Sounds of the Night".  Lee Ann and Marsha are both employees of Texas Parks and Wildlife.  Children should love the "Sounds of the Night" program.  Friday night closes with an outdoor nature movie. 

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Saturday, June 12, 2010

 Wildflowers - Legends and Lore         

Flo Oxley, Director of Education and Conservation at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center will speak on Wildflowers - Legends and Lore.  She will also be conducting a children's activity.

Native Prairie
Barron Rector, PhD, Associate Professor at Texas A&M University, will lead discussions in the Native Prairie Exhibit where he will speak on grasses.  He is co-author of Brush and Weeds of Texas Rangelands.

Building Wildscapes at Home
Mark Klym, co-author of beautifully photographed Humming Birds of Texas, will discuss the components of wildscapes and how to build one at home.  Mark is an employee of Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

Yard Art and Handmade Places
Jill Nokes, landscape designer and author of Yard Art and Handmade Places; will make a presentation on her book.  Jill is an authority on native plants and ecological restoration and traveled across the state of Texas to seek out residents who had transformed their yards and gardens into oases of art and exuberant personal expression.  The stories are told in their own words, about why they created these handmade places and what their yard art has come to mean to them and to their communities." She will also have her books available for purchase.

Nature Photography Contest  
 

Contest Rules and Entry information can be found at: http://txmn.org/elcamino/

Categories for photographs include:

• Plants
• Wildlife
• Landscapes / Scenery
• People in Nature 
• Oddities in Nature

   

• Texas Bluebird Society
  The Texas Bluebird Society will be on hand to demonstrate how to build and maintain a bluebird trail on your property.

El Camino Real de Los Tejas National Heritage Trail
Jeff Williams of Sam Houston State University will present "El Camino Real de los Tejas National Heritage Trail.

Children's Educational Activities

• Learning parts of a flower
• Making bug suckers
• Decorating a tree with bird feeders
• Archaeological Dig
• Exploring with Spider Joe
• Raptor Demonstration
• Live Reptiles
• Make your own plaster Animal tracks

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Nature at its Best!