What’s Up? Video: Brown discusses Monarch March and other nature center events this month

Grace Hallowell:

What’s up College Station? I’m Grace Hallowell, and today, I’m joined with Laurie Brown, from our Gary Halter Nature Center. Hi Laurie.

Laurie Brown:

Hi.

Grace Hallowell:

I am so excited you’re here. It’s always a fun time. There’s always something fun happening at the Nature Center, and we are headed into our spring season. It’s a busy time.

Laurie Brown:

Oh my gosh. Yes, it is a busy time, and we are packed full of March events for y’all coming up. So the first one I want to talk about, is our Seniors Night Out Program, and we’re for the first time ever, going to be having it at the Gary Halter Nature Center.

Grace Hallowell:

Oh, fun.

Laurie Brown:

So this will be super fun. The theme is The Butterfly Ball.

Grace Hallowell:

Perfect.

Laurie Brown:

So we’re encouraging anyone, age 55 and up, and if you’re on the cusp of that, you are absolutely welcome too, and dress up and have fun on March 17th, from 6-9 p.m. It’ll be the first ever dance at the Gary Halter Nature Center, and it’ll be all outdoors, which will be beautiful, and bright, ready for dressing in green for St. Patty’s Day.

Grace Hallowell:

Yeah, and it’s a fun change of scenery if you’ve gone to some of our other senior’s night outs. First one outside, so definitely come. The theme is the Butterfly Ball, so what sort of attire does that entail?

Laurie Brown:

It can be anything, from wearing wings, or wearing shirts with flowers on them, or it’s going to be kind of a fun and funky event.

Grace Hallowell:

Yeah.

Laurie Brown:

We’ll have a mix of 1960s music, and then also some fun Renaissance festival type, outdoor music, so it’s going to have something for everybody.

Grace Hallowell:

Perfect. Yes. And then we also have, sticking with our March butterfly theme, the Monarch March coming up.

Laurie Brown:

Yes. So, Monarch March, is our monarch butterfly, and pollinator festival, that we have at Lick Creek Park, slash Gary Halter Nature Center. So, in the beautiful gardens outside, it’s going to be on March 25th, from 10 a.m.- 1p.m. However, one of the starring pieces of this event, is going to be a native plant sale hosted by the Post Oak chapter of our Native Plant Society, so if anyone is ready to get into gardening, this is a great event. It’s family friendly, we’re going to have games, we’re going to have activities, and education booths for the whole family, and then also that plant sale, which is awesome.

Grace Hallowell:

Yes.

Laurie Brown:

So come in, and load up, and get your free seeds, and start your monarch gardens today.

Grace Hallowell:

Talk a little bit about why the monarch is so important for our area, or why we have a responsibility to the monarch, being where we are.

Laurie Brown:

We do. Texas, is one of the places that’s on the monarch’s flyway pathway, and we see the monarch twice a year, so we’ll see them march to probably early April. They will be making their way here from Mexico, they breed, lay eggs, and they will pass on, and that generation will be the next generation that moves forward up to the next set of the United States.

Grace Hallowell:

Perfect.

Laurie Brown:

It’s important for us to plant those pollinator gardens because we’ll see them again in the fall. So that way station area, probably around late August through probably as late as early November, we’ll have that migration here in the City of College Station.

We are looking at that right now, that migration is a phenomena that’s being considered for endangerment status, which makes it really important for everyone to do all they can. What’s the saying? Doing a lot imperfectly, is better than doing nothing, perfectly.

Grace Hallowell:

Right.

Laurie Brown:

So, everybody give it your best shot, come plant your flowers, come learn about it from the experts at Monarch March.  For example, they can tell you our native plants, which grow great here, and plants that support not only butterfly conservation, but also birds and all of our other migrating animals, like bats too.

Grace Hallowell:

Yes. So very, very important cool stuff. We have Lick Creek Park In The Dark, coming up. I know, everybody’s looking forward to that one.

Laurie Brown:

Oh yes. Our family friendly camping event. We’re doing it twice this spring, so we have one that’s March 31, and one that’s April 15. So both are going to be magical nights out, where we have night hikes, the fire department coming out to help make s’mores, and a hotdog roast. It’s a fun activity where everyone can kind of choose their own adventure. We have a slate of activities during that day, or during that evening, that people can pick what they want to see, what they want to do, and have quiet times with their family, in a safe, fun campsite area.

Grace Hallowell:

Yeah. I know, camping, is an opportunity that, sometimes, not everybody gets to do, so this is a great opportunity, if you don’t want to go out into necessarily the thick real wilderness, just right, kind of close to your backyard, close to home.

Laurie Brown:

Yep. Close to home, in your 523-acre nature preserve.

Grace Hallowell:

Yes.

Laurie Brown:

Which is really awesome, and it’s super accessible. I think the cost is $8 per person, so it is probably one of the lowest cost camping events in the States.

Grace Hallowell:

Yes, and it is overnight, just to be clear.

Laurie Brown:

It is. It is overnight, but if your family is not able, or they’re like, “Man, we can’t do this all night,” then you’re welcome to go at any time.  You’re not held hostage.

Grace Hallowell:

Right. Well, where can people find out more about the Nature Center, about these events? Where can they go to find more information?

Laurie Brown:

They can go to our website, which is cstx.gov/lickcreek, or if they want to look up Lick Creek, Lick Creek Park, Gary Halter Nature Center, they can find all our fun events coming up. Like, in April, we’ve got amazing stuff coming up as well. We have got a BioBlitz, wildflower walks, and all kinds of great stuff for people to check out, so more things coming.

Grace Hallowell:

Yes. Always something fun happening. Alrighty, Laurie, well, thank you so much for being here today.

Laurie Brown:

Awesome. Thank you. I appreciate it.

Grace Hallowell:

You’re welcome.

And that’s what’s up.

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