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7/7/2021 3 Comments

Our Origins: Focus Southwest

By Irvin Louque (Former President)

We incorporated in October 2015 and held our first class January-July 2016. I'm happy to talk about it! I first heard of the master naturalist program in 2014 when David Booth (I knew him from the Gulf Coast Bird Club) had visited with Stacy Scarce the then President of the Acadiana Master Naturalists. David was interested in starting a Lake Charles chapter.

Then in 2015, I began working as an environmental educator with the City of Lake Charles, and there was a huge need for informed volunteers to help out with our two nature parks.

Initially the existing volunteer base was spread thinly among area organizations but lacked the time to devote to the cause. I remembered David's interest and ended up visiting with Stacy Scarce myself, met Tommy Hillman at the Acadiana chapters pollinator workshop, and decided to focus on building a master naturalist group in Lake Charles.

After a few months of meetings with the few environmental educators and professionals I knew (and those that they knew) we had formed a board, drafted articles of incorporation, and scheduled our workshops for the spring.

With the support of the Gulf Coast Bird Club and promotions through the city's nature parks we certified our first class in 2016.

Most of our original board members have stuck around and still heavily contribute to our chapter's growth and workshops. I was the charter president, and I could not have helped start the chapter without Robby Maxwell (founding secretary/treasurer and current board member), Tommy Hillman (charter vice president), Theresa Cross (charter and current board member), Lori McGee (charter board member), David Booth (charter and current board member), Chuck Battaglia (charter board member), Brian Sean Early (charter board member).

Pictured above in 2016, the Southwest Louisiana Master Naturalist charter members. SWLMN photo and copyright. Source: https://www.swlamasternaturalists.org

Our region includes Vernon, Beauregard, Allen, Calcasieu, Jefferson Davis and Cameron parishes. Our logo design speaks of our Cajun Prairie habitat!

Our origin and connection to the Acadiana chapter is the origin of our name difference compared to the other chapters in the state — Southwest Louisiana Master Naturalists instead of Louisiana Master Naturalist of Southwest Louisiana. I like to think that Southwest Louisiana's (and maybe even Acadiana's) independent streak goes back to our time as either Cajuns living off the land due to the inaccessibility of the prairies or the settlers who lived in "No Man's Land" between the Calcasieu and Sabine Rivers.

Because of our location and the strengths of our board members, our program has tended to emphasize the Cajun prairie, coastal marshes, birds, herps, freshwater ecology, and citizen science. We've thrown in other topics such as mycology and pollinators whenever we've been able to and have strived to be open to the ideas of our board and members.

Through student discounts and scholarships, we've been able to open the course to college students and recent graduates. One of our founding values is to make sure that everyone feels welcome to attend our workshops and meetings.

One of the things that I'm most proud of is our certified students stepping into leadership roles. In 2021, we have our first group of officers consisting entirely of members who became certified master naturalists through our program: Barbara Morris (president), Lori Marinovich (vice president), Clay Ardoin (treasurer), and Patty Palmer (secretary). I consider that one of several signs of our chapter's sustainability and success. (View Photo Gallery)

Arlene Cain, a member of our first class, was our newsletter editor from August 2016 (our first newsletter) until April 2021. She moved to Indiana after Hurricane Laura, and while we wish her well, we'll miss her.

Several members have been able to work with other agencies in various roles after finishing our course, from the City of Lake Charles to NRCS to the National Parks Service.

Irvin Louque also serves as Whooping Crane Outreach Coordinator-Louisiana for the International Crane Foundation

Plenty to experience

The Creole Nature Trail
Cameron Prairie National Wildlife Refuge
Images From The Pintail Drive on Facebook
Allen Acres Nature Reserve and B&B
Lake Charles Nature Parks on TripAdvisor

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7/6/2021 0 Comments

Our Origins: Focus Northwest

By Hulya Onel, Secretary & Communications Officer for Louisiana Master Naturalists Northwest

Our first graduates, Class of 2015: Standing: Terri Jacobson, Amanda Lewis, Hulya Onel, Eric Vardeman, Thomas Goleman, Larry Raymond. Sitting: George Gehrig, Diane Mastrodomenico, Micha Petty.

Our mission is to assist the general public to a better understanding of our natural world and to promote conservation and preservation of native plant and animal life and habitats within Northwest Louisiana Area.

Our objective is to create a group of volunteers who are acquainted with the educational environmental public programs and annual events offered by the nature parks and the wildlife refuge in Shreveport and Bossier City.

Our Program:

For our purposes, we decided to offer foundational biology subjects in order to equally acquaint members with basic biology / Life Sciences. We also included a workshop about “Interpretation and Volunteering”. In this workshop, a speaker comes from parks / refuges or a different organization such as a Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, Aquarium, Sci-port or Shreveport Green. They give information about their organization, what they do and the type of help they need from their volunteers. This way our members stay in touch with these organizations and take the opportunity to volunteer.

When we finalized our preparations for our first Workshop Program in 2014, we started a “trial -run” of the program with the present Board and committee members. The registration fee was $100 then, now $125 in 2021, and the members need to complete 7 out of 9 courses offered within two years in order to certify. Each workshop is 6 hours long and two of them are mandatory for our purposes: Interpretation and Volunteering and Ecology and Biodiversity. The other courses are Ornithology, Entomology, Herpetology, Wildflowers, Trees and Shrubs, Mammalogy and Aquatic Life. We try to add new courses every year either to the basic program or for Continuing Education, such as Snake Identification, Mycology, Phenology and Geology.

Those who complete the courses take an open book group test. Those who pass the test becomes eligible for certification. The certified members need to fulfill the requirements each year to maintain certified status. Each certified member has to complete a 6-hour course which is different than the ones he/she had taken and also fulfil 20-hours of volunteering in nature-related local events. Our yearly membership due is $25.

Check out Louisiana Master Naturalists Northwest Chapter (lmnnorthwest.org)

A fine White-tailed buck crossing the levee at Red River NWR Headquarters Unit early morning on May 31, 2021. Image and copyright Ronnie Maum.

Our Northwest Chapter coalesced in 2013. The initial core group was composed of Rusty Scarborough, Larry Raymond, Tom Goldman, Mac Hardy, Terri Jacobson, Donna Burney, Amanda Lewis, Hulya Onel and Micha Petty, along with a few more individuals who parted shortly after.

These members formed our Board, then we created our committees and elected officers. As the Board started working on our by-laws, the committees started working on our curriculum, publicity and so on.

After the Board agreed on which workshops to offer initially, we started approaching LSUS in Shreveport, LSUS Ag Center, Walter B. Jacobs Memorial Nature Park, Red River National Wildlife Refuge and local Community Colleges for respective speakers for our workshops.

Our first meeting of 7-24-14 in Baton Rouge with the other Chapters was attended by Bob Thomas from the Greater New Orleans Chapter, Alexandria and Lake Charles Amity Bass, Sariah Javed from LDWF and Rusty Scarborough, Larry Raymond and Donna Burney from Northwest Chapter (Shreveport-Bossier City area). Rusty Scarborough gave the first report for Northwest Chapter.

Subsequent Meetings:
Our Board meets once every odd-numbered month. Currently, we have 9 Board members: Rusty Scarborough -President, Larry Raymond-Treasurer, Hulya Onel Secretary & Communication Officer, Tom Goleman, Terri Jacobson, Sarah Philyaw, T.J. Luoma, Sandra Roerig and Richard Maxwell.

We organize an open house General Membership Meeting twice a year, before we start our new education period and at the graduation. We have an ongoing problem that we have been working on to find solutions: we are having difficulty in keeping our certified members involved in our group, our activities and programs. It seems like after they are certified, the majority of them go on their way. This is a pity because they have much to share with new members.

Our accomplishments:
We consider ourselves very lucky and take pride in having very knowledgeable lecturers who voluntarily invest their valuable time and energy -free of charge.

Our lecturers are professors, teachers, assistants and experts from LSU in Shreveport, from local Community Colleges, naturalists, rangers, and wildlife rehabilitators, all of whom are experts in their fields.

Also, despite the fact that we could not do any activity in 2020 due to Covid-19, we are still standing!

At present, we have 12 newly registered students in the 2021 program.

Although some of our certified members have either moved away, got health issues or passed away, as of March 2021, we have 33 active certified members.

Did You Know?

Forests in the Northwest feed the important Sparta Aquifer, the crucial watershed that provides freshwater to North central Louisiana and the Twin Cities of West Monroe and Monroe.

The Louisiana Exotic Animal Resource Network (LEARN) has a wildlife rescue and rehabilitation center near Shreveport.

Images from Red River NWR Headquarters Unit May 1, 2021, courtesy and copyright Ronnie Maum. Top - Blue Buntings on Red Mulberries, left - Black-bellied Whistling Duck, right - Northern Cardinal hen with nesting materials.

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7/3/2021 1 Comment

Nature Events in the Area (Louisiana plus Texas, Mississippi and more)

The remarkable Polyphemus moth, Antheraea polyphemus (Cramer), is just one of the many fascinating species that can be found at Allen Acres private nature reserve, near Pitkin, Louisiana.

Events list supplied by Dr. Charles Allen, of Allen Acres, C. Paxton, and Gary Salathe, Louisiana Iris Conservation Initiative volunteer and Director. (Dates are potentially subject to change. Places can fill up quickly, so please check with the hosts in advance to make reservations)

Let's Whoop It Up! Fundraiser For Cranes Preview Virtual Auction Items Now, Bidding Begins July 8

Starting July 1, you can preview more than 50 auctions items featured via online auction for the International Crane Foundation's Let’s Whoop It Up! virtual fundraiser July 15 at 7 p.m. Central Time. Make your auction wish list now, so you can begin bidding July 8 at 6 a.m. Central Time, when the auction site goes live.

Let’s Whoop It Up! is a benefit for the International Crane Foundation, celebrating our Co-Founder George Archibald’s 75th birthday. With our spectacular new Cranes of the World exhibits as a backdrop, the event hosts are President and CEO Rich Beilfuss and George.

July 7: Prairie Side Chat, a virtual program led by Larry Weaner, 1 -2.30 pm; Prairie Lost and Found with participants, Charles Allen, Malcolm Vidrine, and Marc Pastorek. You can view the Professional Programs brochure and the Home Gardener, Student, & Educator brochure.

1.    Louisiana iris rescue, Des Allemands     SATURDAY, JULY 10, 2021 AT 8 AM – 12:30 PM
A landowner of a property along Hwy 90 has bush-hogged the ditch/wet area each year during the dry season. Because of this, it has never been sprayed with a herbicide by the state highway department. It is the only stretch of highway not sprayed, so the area had become a mini-wetland bog full of native swamp plants, including the Louisiana iris. He has the property for sale and has stopped maintaining the wet area. He believes it's only a question of time before the state will begin spraying the spot. He has encouraged us to get the irises out and relocated to a safer location.

More details can be found here:   https://fb.me/e/10vUmloe9

2. Louisiana iris rescue, Barataria, La      WEDNESDAY, JULY 14, 2021 AT 8:30 AM– Noon
Cindy Baucum of Barataria, La. has offered us a donation of the I. giganticaerulea species of Louisiana irises growing on property she owns. Over the years her husband, Joe Baucum, now deceased, watched over and protected the irises in a ditch along the parish road that runs through their property. He diligently put out a sign every year asking the parish road crews to not spray the ditch with a herbicide.  One of our volunteers went to the site a couple of weeks ago and reported back that he drove miles down the road without once seeing any irises in the roadside ditches, so this may be the last stand of irises left thanks to Joe's efforts to protect them.  The purpose of this volunteer event is to dig up all of the irises in the ditch on Cindy's property to use in our iris restoration project at the town of Jean Lafitte boardwalk.

More details can be found here:  https://fb.me/e/UOptHYca

3.   Rescued iris planting at our iris holding area   THURSDAY, JULY 15, 2021 AT 8:30 AM – 11:30 AM
The Louisiana Iris Conservation Initiative (LICI) will be holding a volunteer work event to plant rescued Louisiana irises into containers at our ninth ward iris holding area on Thursday, July 15th.
More details can be found here:  https://fb.me/e/TiaVxWeW

4.    Bayou Sauvage refuge iris seed collection   SATURDAY, JULY 17, 2021 AT 8:30 AM CDT – 12 PM CD
The Louisiana Iris Conservation Initiative (LICI) will be hosting a Louisiana iris seed pod collection and opening event at the US Fish & Wildlife Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge. The purpose of this volunteer event is to harvest iris seed pods and remove the seeds. The seeds will be broadcast out at a future date into the muck along the shoreline of the refuge swamp where there is now plenty of sunlight and not many competing plants because of a tallow tree extraction project we have been doing. This is being done to help nature speed up the natural process of expanding the existing irises into these new areas.
More details can be found here:   https://fb.me/e/47l7L1CeX

July 16-18. GSMS SUMMER FORAY, OPELOUSAS, LOUISIANA. Hampton Inn, 1700 Commerce Blvd. Plaza, off IH49 exit 18, Creswell Rd, take east frontage road north adjacent to Walmart. The hotel sits off the road a few 100 yards. A registration form is appended below. Please return to David Lewis by Thursday, July 1. Questions call 409-423-3776.

July 17-25: National Moth Week at Allen Acres. Moth Madness including the Magical Moth Mile and a Bioblitz. Details appended below.

July 25 Certification Project on Snakes by David Hoover of Louisiana Master Naturalists Northeast at Black Bayou Lake National Wildlife Refuge's Environmental Conservation Education Center 17:00- 18:00.

Aug 20-22 Lily/Orchid Days. Begin from Allen Acres. Check website for details to be added soon.

Sat Sept 11: Edible Plant Workshop Allen Acres

Sunday Sept 12: Plant ID workshop Allen Acres

Sept 14-16: Basic Plant ID class Allen Acres

Sept 18: Butterfly Festival, Haynesville

Sept 21-23: Basic Plant ID class Allen Acres

Sat Sept 25: Edible Plant Workshop Allen Acres

Sun Sept 26: Plant ID workshop Allen Acres

Sept 28-30: Graminoid ID Class, Allen Acres

Oct 1-3 Butterfly Blast Allen Acres Details soon

Sat Oct 16: Plant ID workshop Allen Acres

Oct 19-21: Basic Plant ID class Allen Acres

Sat Oct 23: Edible Plant Workshop Allen Acres

Oct 26-28: Basic Plant ID class Allen Acres

Connect with Louisiana Iris Conservation Initiative: https://www.licisaveirises.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/licisaveirises/

Application Form

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Moth Madness Attachment

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YOUR CART

LMNA BLOG

Our Origins: Focus Southwest

Plenty to experience

Our Origins: Focus Northwest

Our Program:

Check out Louisiana Master Naturalists Northwest Chapter (lmnnorthwest.org)

Nature Events in the Area (Louisiana plus Texas, Mississippi and more)

Application Form

Moth Madness Attachment

LMNA News Blog

Archives

Categories

YOUR CART

LMNA BLOG

Our Origins: Focus Southwest

Plenty to experience

Our Origins: Focus Northwest

Our Program:

​Check out Louisiana Master Naturalists Northwest Chapter (lmnnorthwest.org)

Nature Events in the Area (Louisiana plus Texas, Mississippi and more)

Application Form

Moth Madness Attachment

LMNA News Blog

Archives

Categories

Check out Louisiana Master Naturalists Northwest Chapter (lmnnorthwest.org)