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CAMN MONTHLY NEWSLETTER
February, 2026 | | | | PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
February started with a shiver but is warming up fast. It’s good weather to get things done and CAMN has plenty going on.
| | | A team of folks got the Pinnacle hothouse torn down. There is still more to do so be looking for messages announcing work days out there.
Shaye Hopson will lead a group of CAMN members participating in the 2nd Annual Conservation Celebration at the Museum of Discovery on Feb. 21st. The Conservation Celebration aims to promote conservation and sustainability and to help inspire young citizen scientists.
There will be Trail Team meeting on Feb. 21st from 10:00 to 12:00 at the Burns Park Shelby Smith Pavilion. CAMN maintains over 45 miles of trail in central Arkansas and the Trail Team frankly need more helping hands. Please consider volunteering for Trail Team.
We hope (weather permitting) to have some controlled burns at Burns Park in February. Please keep an eye out for emails or announcements.
We have a new batch of Habitat Advisors training and getting ready for their first yard visits with AR Wild Spaces. The training for this job is extensive and we want to thank the Advisors in training for their commitment.
Early next month CAMN will participate in a number of events celebrating the writing of Aldo Leopold. March 3rd there will be a showing of Green Fire at the Ron Robinson Center. There are a number of events March 7 & 8th. You can find a listing of events at https://arbirds.org/AASPage.aspx?pg=16.
Enjoy the cool weather while it lasts.
Frank Olinde |
CAMN General Meeting
Thursday, February 19, 2026
John Pennington, Water Quality Educator for the UA System Division of Agriculture, will be presenting.
Location: Witt Stephens Jr. Central Arkansas Nature Center
602 President Clinton Ave.
Little Rock, AR 72201
Time: 6:00 PM until 8:00 PM
Pizza at 6:00. $1.00/slice
Program 6:30--7:30. Counts as 2 hrs CE in person. Zoom available 1 hr CE.
| AMN Annual Meeting This Tuesday
Join us for the Arkansas Master Naturalist all-chapter meeting. We will get a year in review, review the 2026 budget, select board officers, hear chapter reports, and more! Tuesday, February 17, 6:30 PM
PLEASE ATTEND THIS ZOOM MEETING. We require a quorum to elect officers and conduct official business.
| CAMN Projects Still Needing Team Leads
The following projects still need CAMN leads.
- Keep Arkansas / Little Rock Beautiful Commission litter pickups
- PMSP Public Education Programs
- PMSP Fishing Derby
- PMSP Summer Day Camps
If you are interested, please contact Kerry Evans or Frank Olinde.
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Arkansas Reads Leopold
By Lynn Foster
Get ready for a celebration of Aldo Leopold and nature during the first week in March! These events are made possible by a grant from the Aldo Leopold Foundation.
CALS will start off the week. Tuesday, March 3 -- 7:00 PM Showing of Green Fire, Central Arkansas Library System Ron Robinson Theater, 100 River Market Avenue, Little Rock. This first full-length biographical documentary of Aldo Leopold's life and work also emphasizes the importance of the land ethic for our own time. Leopold first began to formulate his land ethic after he killed a female wolf in the Apache National Forest in 1909. He wrote of this experience and more in his essay "Thinking Like a Mountain." The documentary explores how his philosophy has inspired current conservation work across the United States.
On Saturday, there will be three events in central Arkansas. Saturday, March 7 -- 8 AM to 10 AM--Birding Field Trip; 10 AM to Noon--Community Reading; Noon to 1 PM--Nature Walks, Little Rock Audubon Center, 4500 Springer Blvd, Little Rock. Audubon Delta, the Arkansas Audubon Society, Central Arkansas Master Naturalists, Audubon Society of Central Arkansas, Sierra Club, and Wild Birds Unlimited are cosponsoring this event, featuring members of the Central Arkansas community reading excerpts from Aldo Leopold's A Sand County Almanac and other nature-inspired works by authors such as Robin Wall Kimmerer. A guided birding trip will also be offered before the reading, and nature walks will follow it. Bring binoculars if you have them. If not, the Center has pairs that can be used;. There will be children's activities.
Saturday, March 7 -- Noon to 2 PM, Maumelle Library, 10 Lake Pointe Dr, Maumelle. See the CALS website for details.
Saturday, March 7 -- 10 AM - 1 PM Community Reading and Nature Journaling, Laman Library, 2801 Orange St, North Little Rock. The Laman Library and Paper Hearts are coming together for a community reading of nature writings and a nature journal craft! Please sign up on Facebook!
Sunday, March 8 -- 10:00 AM - 1 PM A Sand County Almanac and 75 Years of UUCLR, Unitarian Universalist Church of Little Rock, 1818 Reservoir Rd, Little Rock. As a core value, Unitarian Universalists honor the interdependent web of all existence and acknowledge our place in it. On Sunday, March 8th, we will affirm and reflect on this value through Aldo Leopold's writings.The Forum, at 10:00, will feature the Ozark Society Pulaski Chapter, whose principal purpose is the preservation of wild and scenic rivers, wilderness, and unique natural areas. Their goals of conservation, education, and recreation align closely with the UU value of Interdependence. The Sunday service at 11:00 will include readings and reflections on Aldo Leopold's A Sand County Almanac, led by the Reverend Paul Beedle and others from the UUCLR community. The Second Sunday Share the Plate collection will be for the benefit of the Ozark Society Youth Grand Program. Weather permitting, we will explore the church grounds, including the Memorial Woodland.
Sunday, March 8 -- 10 AM to Noon--Birding Field Trip; Noon to 2 PM--Community Reading; 2 PM to 3 PM--Nature Walks, Little Rock Audubon Center, 4500 Springer Blvd, Little Rock. Audubon Delta, the Arkansas Audubon Society, Central Arkansas Master Naturalists, Audubon Society of Central Arkansas, Sierra Club, and Wild Birds Unlimited are cosponsoring this event, featuring members of the Central Arkansas community reading excerpts from Aldo Leopold's A Sand County Almanac and other nature-inspired works by authors such as Robin Wall Kimmerer. Ari Remmel will guide a birding trip before the reading, and nature walks will follow it. Bring binoculars if you have them. If not, the Center has pairs that can be used. There will be children's activities.
Free copies of A Sand County Almanac will be available at all weekend events.
Come to hear fellow master naturalists read! Reading at the Little Rock Audubon events will be Diane Brownlee, Corbin Cannon, Anne Holcomb, Jodi Morris, Ann Bowick Owens, Cherrie-Lee Phillips, Ari Remmel, John Sommer, Cadence Ventress, and Beth White. CAMN volunteers at these events are Kathy Boone, Lynn Christie, Paul Gosnell, Anne Holcomb, Sandy Moore, Jodi Morris, Cherrie-Lee Phillips, Carol Trana, and Nancy Wyatt. You can sign up on Facebook for the Audubon Center events. We hope to see all of CAMNation there!
|  | CAMN Greenhouse Damaged during Winter Storm
By Anne Holcomb
Winter storm Fern did a number on the CAMN greenhouse back in January by collapsing the entire structure. On Tuesday, February 10, eleven CAMNers under the supervision of Bill Toland met at 9:00 a.m. to begin the dismantling process, sorting reusuable parts from pieces that were now destined for the trash pile. Thanks to power drills and screwdrivers, metal-cutting saws, hammers, knives, prybars, and a good bit of elbow grease, two hours later the group had made considerable headway. Thanks to Bill Toland, Paul Gosnell, Bill Williams, Frank Meeks, Reed Green, Cindy Hancock, Frank Olinde, Ron Rowland, Mark Matteson, David Holcomb, Anne Holcomb. |  | | Frank dismantling door frame |  | David Holcomb- parts is parts | | |
 | | Ron and Cindy trying to free up a pipe |  | Bill Toland and Mark Matteson wrestling with lumber | | |
 | | Reed, Ron, Bill & Bill |  | Pictured from left to right: Paul, Cindy, Bill T., Reed, David, Ron, Frank O., Bill W., Frank M. (Not pictured: Mark Matteson & Ann Holcomb) | | |
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