Arkansas Master Naturalists

 

Please call ahead when adverse weather is predicted to confirm the event is still happening and/ or to find out the revised date/ time of the event.

 

Stay Safe!

 

     WCRC is a Non-profit Organization that strives to protect, conserve and restore natural resources by utilizing the watershed approach, environmental outreach and providing planning.

Please RSVP by clicking the following link: https://forms.gle/9VAeEUmo6X8pHy388

 

Kelley Beth Paul
Watershed Outreach Coordinator
Watershed Conservation Resource Center
380 W. Rock St.
Fayetteville, AR 72701
www.watershedconservation.org

 

 

 

Request for thistle seeds to be planted at Logan Springs Preserve. The seeds needed are Cirsium discolor or C. altissimum and need to be from close to this region if at all possible.

Label seed packets with source information (where and when collected/purchased, by who, and scientific name) and mail to:

Shawn Hunter
300 S. Collins Ave.
Gentry, AR 72734

Support for thistles:
1. A recent study from Pennsylvania regarding the newly listed as endangered Regal fritillary reports the need for 150 native thistles per acre as necessary for that species survival.

2. We know that the Diana fritillary prefers Cirsium discolor and C. Carolinium as primary adult nectars, although C. Carolinium is not considered as being indigenous to Benton County.

3. The Xerces Society strongly supports the need for planting and rescuing native thistles in order to save pollinators.
Native thistles are a largely misunderstood and wrongly maligned group of wildflowers. Many species of bees, butterflies and other wildlife rely heavily on native thistle flowers. For example, monarch butterflies visit native thistle flowers more than any other wildflowers in some regions during their migration back to Mexico. Despite the significance of native thistles to our ecosystems, these plants are often targeted for eradication along with the more widely recognized invasive thistles. Many native thistles are now threatened with some species at risk of extinction.

References:

https://www.pa.gov/content/dam/copapwp-pagov/en/dmva/documents/dmvaoffices/environmental-resources/documents/regal-butterfly/2022%20regal%20fritillary%20butterfly%20fact%20sheet.pdf

https://xerces.org/publications/guidelines/native-thistles-conservation-practitioners-guide?_gl=1*zbjqid*_gcl_au*Nzc2ODM0OTMwLjE3NTQ4NDM5MDM.*_ga*MTk4OTg1ODgzMS4xNzU0ODQzOTAz*_ga_4H43V6TS1Y*czE3NjExNjE0MTkkbzYkZzEkdDE3NjExNjI5MjYkajMwJGwwJGgxMDYyMjUwMTk4

Conservation Status and Genetic Variation of the Diana Fritillary, William H. Baltosser, Ph.D. – 10 April 2008

 

Master Naturalist JB Portillo and Charity Shares Everything You Need to Know to Get Started with Native Plants on The Garden Show.

 

We had a great time sitting in with Bella Vista Community TV to talk all about native plants on their latest episode of The Garden Show with host JB Portillo.
Charity mentions the classic native plants to start growing like Purple Coneflower and Black-Eyed Susan— and then she dives a little deeper into the different varieties of Mountain Mint, Bee Balm, and more!

If you're just starting with native plants or want to expand your knowledge a little bit more, this is a great one to listen to and start planning for 2026.


https://aquwdydab.cc.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001IssM1qQyRwU8zVenwqE2mkInZUDmF7BAO_L3_DLsZAmCALPCShZX_6WoEalAgup0vKT-b4PlUc0GxdUyMVljPbkY825vpJOQs9Il6VnkQOspRqIPc_Ec6WtXkRk8ILHXpTX0QOkFhPlw0OR5lx4yTPmJZ0X8oYOIUABu-rhUxqlDb8FZ1hQiBZom-z1ox5-c&c=ZytMc521nOkmo149zk-RJgnK3nOBq9ZiWyoZTQ9LLwB1HAyg2Fjy4A==&ch=woiy1uMFe9-NBsbjzxCP2rDDcLzlx5jRLGDVzfbm-cXGC9kLrynYMw==

 

March’s NWAMN Chapter meeting will include the annual Awards ceremony. Milestone Certifications and Accumulative Hours pins are only presented at the March Chapter Meeting.

 

If you are unable to attend, please reach out to a project leader, a chapter board member, or another chapter member to see if they will be in attendance to pickup your pins/ awards.

Additional Awards include: Rookie of the Year, Project of the Year, Master Naturalist of the year, and Presidential Awards.

Off the Shelf – a weekly notice from the Awe in Arkansas with Children’s Literature project.

1. Provide books as gifts!
2. Use for programs!
3. Share with nature gift shops!

Bat Citizens: Defending the Ninjas of the Night by Rob Laidlaw

Age Range: 7 to adult

 

Amazing book describing bat habits, habitats and biology. Spotlights feature children involved in projects to save the bats.

 

 

 

NWAMN is participating in the Leopold event at ONSC on March 8th, and there's more info at the link provided. If you could get the event on the calendar, that would be great. Once we've shaped up exactly how NWAMN is participating, either Care or Miranda will provide something for a future Weekly Update.

Mark Your Calendars for March 3, 7 and 8 for Arkansas Reads Leopold. This summer, AAS received a grant from the Aldo Leopold Foundation to host a community reading event. I contacted the Arkansas Master Naturalists, Audubon Delta, Ozark Society, Sierra Club, Central Arkansas Library System, Ozark Natural Science Center, the Audubon Society of Central Arkansas and a few others about partnering with us for events in central and northwest Arkansas. Everyone has come together, and on March 3, CALS will show Green Fire, a documentary about Aldo Leopold's life and work. The following weekend, seven community reading events will be offered in Fayetteville, Conway, and the Little Rock area. See https://arbirds.org/AASPage.aspx?pg=16 for more details. We hope you'll join us!

Mark Your Calendars for April 25-26, for our spring convention in Fort Smith! Look for the Call to Meeting around the end of February.

Mark Your Calendars for May 9, which will be the dates of the BirdAR Birdathon! The Birdathon is back! Many thanks to Ragan Sutterfield, the planner-in-chief! He and a planning team are working on a terrific statewide event. Sponsors include Audubon Delta, AAS, ASCA and NWAAS at this point. BirdAR will be in conjunction with the Global Big Day. Both teams and individuals can participate. Registrations will be through Eventbrite with an option for t-shirts. The cost will be nominal to participate. We want this to be a community building activity! During the week following the Big Day there will be a zoom meeting where the winners will be announced. Watch for the details on our website.

 

To help inform a larger audience of NWA Master Naturalists, please add the NWA Events email address to communications sent to project/ committee members.  That way the NWA Communications Committee can accurately post activities happening in our area to the NWAMN's Events Calendar and to the NWAMN Weekly Update.  The cutoff for submissions is end of day Tuesday for Friday membership delivery, assumes no revisions are required. 

nwamnevents@gmail.com