Category: Upcoming Events

Next Sunday, Sept. 10, we will gather at the Briarwood Nature Preserve, 216 Caroline Dormon Rd., Saline, LA, for our 3rd Quarter Members Meeting. Kick off time is 2:30 p.m. and we plan to wrap up by 4:30 p.m.

Preserve curator Bayli Quick will be our tour guide. We will be walking outside, so please dress accordingly. Right now, the temperature is predicted to peak at 99 degrees that day, with scattered showers developing in the afternoon. Please bring plenty of water!

Briarwood is the former home of Caroline Dormon, a pioneer naturalist and conservationist extraordinaire whose legacy includes helping to establish the Kisatchie National Forest, as well as books, articles, art, and hundreds of students well-taught.

Remember that Louisiana Master Naturalists Association gives an award to an outstanding Louisiana Naturalist in her name at our annual statewide meeting called Rendezvous. Remember also that we are next year’s Rendezvous host chapter, and that will be on our meeting agenda!

Briarwood is about an hour and 20 minutes southwest of Monroe, so carpooling would be a great idea. And bring a friend. Our quarterly meetings are a great opportunity to introduce us and the fun we have to new folks.

How many species of living thing exists on planet earth? The fact is, we don’t know. Scientists estimate 1 trillion, with only a fraction of them known to humankind. But what we do know is that extinction, in truth a natural phenomenon, is today happening at an unnatural accelerated rate. And we’re pretty much the cause.

Rescuring Biodiversity: The Protection and Restoration of a North Louisiana Ecosystem tells the story of one man’s efforts to make a difference in the conservation of biodiversity. Come hear Johnny Armstrong talk about his work this coming Sunday, Aug. 13, at 2 p.m. at the Union Parish Library, 202 W. Jackson St., Farmerville.

Armstrong, a pathologist by trade, set out to learn everything he could about restoration ecology in order to put it to work protecting and restoring his family property, Wafer Creek Ranch, near Ruston, LA.

In this part of the state, the shortleaf pin-oak-hickory woodland once dominated the landscape. Today, Wafer Creek Ranch is protected by The Nature Conservancy and recognized as the best existing example of this type of plant community. But that doesn’t mean Armstrong is finished!

Come hear about this ongoing saga and be inspired by Johnny Armstrong’s passion for conservation: Sunday, Aug. 13, 2pm, Union Parish Library, Farmerville.

BTW, I’m bringing my copy of the book to get it signed!

Photo at the top of the column: Shortleaf Pine (Pinus echinata)

Calling all members and friends: Join us tomorrow (Saturday, 3/11) at St. Thomas’ Episcopal on the Bayou for our First Quarter meeting and to work on our project there at the church. We begin at 1:30 p.m. in the pavilion next to the church.

As guest speaker, Bette Kauffman will describe the scope of the project we began last year of adding educational natural history signage to the walking path and will lay out a plan for completion. The part of the project we will do tomorrow is to inventory and map the trees. This data will be used on the signage and be the basis of our decisions about how many trees to label, which ones and where.

LMN-NE will be joined in the day’s work by several members of the church and some students from Canterbury@ULM, the campus group that meets at St. Thomas’ and previously contributed by planting native plants along the walking path. Canterbuy@ULM received a “Care of Creation” grant from the Episcopal Diocese of over $6000 to pay for the signage.

Canterbury@ULM is also providing pizza and beverages to be shared while LMN-NE has its Second Quarter meeting after the work is finished.

The weather tomorrow is supposed to be beautiful, and the site is certainly beautiful. Please come, bring a friend who might be interested in LMN-NE, and join in the adventure of figuring out how to inventory trees on a two-city-lot natural area! St. Thomas’ is at 3706 Bon Aire Dr.

But of course, in keeping with who we are, some of our partying will be educational and natural history oriented.

We meet at 1:30 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 11, at Heartwood Natural Area near Rocky Branch, La. We will begin our festivities with a guided walkabout of this upland hardwood forest conserved by Kelby and Amy Ouchley. If you need directions to this location, please contact me at bjkauffman@gmail.com.

Hot dogs and all the fixings, including chili, will be provided but you might have to roast your own around an open fire. These will be followed by s’mores! If you would like to bring a side dish or holiday goodies, please do.

If you would like to participate in our gift swap, bring a $15-$20 item, wrapped or bagged. Those who participate will draw a number and pick a gift. I can’t promise but bartering might ensue after the initial distribution!

And please do RSVP. Again, you can email me at bjkauffman@gmail.com. We need a headcount to buy hot dogs, buns, etc.

We will also squeeze in a business meeting. I’ll try to keep it short, but we do need to elect officers, introduce some new members, and take care of a few things in order to get 2023 off to a good start.

BTW, you are not required to be a member to attend this event. If you are interested in what we do, come find out!