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November 8, 2017 by admin

Making a Difference at Lake O’the Pines

The wind was high and the temperature was dropping, but it didn’t stop a group of determined East Texans from gathering at the Brushy Creek area of Lake O’the Pines to celebrate National Make a Difference Day. Staff members of the US Army Corps of Engineers, Collin’s Academy, Cypress Basin Chapter of Texas Master Naturalists, and Jefferson High School students from the Horticulture Class partnered in a day of native seed planting on a four acre plot prepared by the Corps staff. The seeds included over 40 plant species that will bloom throughout the growing season beginning in spring. The blooms will serve as a food source for pollinators and other wildlife species, plus make for an attractive area for visitors to the lake to view.

Make A Difference Day was started in 1992 by USA today, as a way to encourage individuals and organizations to help improve their community. It is the largest day of community service in the U.S.

Jonathan Bush, Civil Engineering Technician for the Corps, who prepared the land, said that “the Corp partnership with Collins Academy is a really good thing. We enjoy being involved with volunteer programs, especially those that involve young people, many of whom haven’t had the opportunity to work in the forest and learn about the importance of forestry management and how to improve habitat for wildlife and pollinators.”

Ricky Maxey, who is a Natural Resource Specialist for the Corps said, “the area will help provide a food source for butterflies and bees, whose numbers have dwindled. If we can do anything to help pollinators, we have truly made a difference. This is the first time the Corps has participated in Make a Difference Day, but it will not be the last. We are planning to run water to the area, and install signage. Resident volunteers for the lake along with Corps Staff will be caretakers of the area.”

Ryne Sikes, Agriculture instructor at Jefferson High School brought 13 members of the Horticulture Class to cast about fifty pounds of native seeds, along with seed balls made by the Jefferson Primary and Queen City Middle School students. The Horticulture students, no strangers to working on community service projects with Sikes, were excited to be helping cast the seeds, and all agreed that they would return to see the area when the seeds sprout. Dee Hill, a junior, was complimentary of all the people involved, especially the Corps members. Comparing the plot they were working on, with the overgrown fields beside them, he said, “They really did a lot of work, and I want to thank them for all they did to prepare the plot for us to work on. He said he would be bringing his family to Brushy Creek Campground to see the flowers when they bloom. C.J. Woods, a sophomore said “that he and his class members appreciate Mr. Sikes. Because of his dedication, and the help of Collins Academy, our community looks better, and instead of being strangers, we are more like a family. We are giving back to our planet through natural resources. We are helping the bees, butterflies and our environment and we are making a difference”.

Gary Endsley, Director of Collins Academy said there would be an-other work day in February to cast more seeds and invited anyone interested in participating to contact him by phone at (903) 665-2900 or by e-mail at info@collinsacademy.com.

Filed Under: CNHA, news, port jefferson nature center

October 3, 2017 by admin

Giving Back

   Phyllis Wilson, a member of the Texas Master Naturalist of Cypress Basin made the drive from her home in Longview to help rehabilitate the pollinator garden at the Jefferson Primary School. While Diane Mabus and Kay Lowery, both Master Gardeners, made the drive from Linden, garden gloves and clippers in hand. All determined to help make a difference in the overgrown butterfly garden at the Jefferson Primary School campus.
Ms. Wilson stated, “This is a wonderful mentoring opportunity between the high school and primary school students, Collins Academy staff and volunteers. For a small town like Jefferson, to have an organization like Collins Academy, the project organizer, is wonderful. We don’t have anything like this in Longview”. She said, “I am here for the kids, a sentiment echoed by all the participants. “I want to see them get interested and excited about the outdoors. Having the students involved in this project will give them a sense of ownership and something to admire, that they played a part in, she concluded.”
And, the students were involved. Members of the Jefferson High School Horticulture Class, guided by Agriculture Instructor Ryne Sikes went to work at the school, pulling weeds, digging and pruning the overgrown garden. But it didn’t stop there. The students, as they do throughout the school year, had grown and tended the plants that would be planted after the prep work was completed. The plants, fresh from the high school greenhouse included, verbena, mealy blue sage and milkweed, all certain to attract butterflies, honeybees and hummingbirds to the area.
Fifty Primary students, filed out in orderly lines anxious to see the progress being made on their garden. The High School students serving as mentors, placed plants in tiny hands and helped them dig holes for the plants.

(L-R) ) Yannira Gonzalez, Cody Woods Jr., Amy Williams, Cullen Mosley, Garrett Huntington, Ryan Sikes Instructor, Madilyn Singleton, Allison Rogers, Salard Sajel.

Mr. Sikes, a DeKalb native new to Jefferson, was delighted with the
participation by his students. He said, “It is great to see the older students teaming up guiding the young ones. Of the project, Sikes said, I want to inspire the kids and teach them life skills. Something they can use and be proud of as they get older. We couldn’t do this sort of thing without the help of Collins Academy, they are always willing to step in, be it providing seeds, soil or supplies. We really appreciate them.” Sikes said he plans to bring his horticulture students back to the primary school to help maintain the pollinator garden throughout the school year. In addition, his class will help primary students make seed balls for dispersal at Brushy Creek at Lake O’the Pines as part of a habitat remediation project with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. In this way, the younger children can participate with the high school students in a larger, remote project.

C.J. Woods, a 10th grader at Jefferson High School, who is considering becoming a veterinarian, said, “I love to garden, I’ve done it since I was a kid. It teaches life skills and responsibility. It is great being here with the kids today to help reclaim the pollinator garden for them.”
Madilyn Singleton, also a 10th grader said she loves the Horticulture Class. “It is a great experience for us to be able to go to other locations and help them with their gardens.” While Yannira Gonzales, said, “This project is pretty cool, coming out to help the kids is great”. Of the Horticulture Class, “we are like family, we have each other’s backs, and we enjoy helping with community projects, she said.”

Expect to see Jefferson ISD students and Mr. Sikes working with Tony and Marsha Jones on the pocket park across from the Jefferson Post Office and at Port Jefferson History & Nature Center with Collins Academy staff in the near future.

Filed Under: CNHA, news, port jefferson nature center

September 11, 2017 by admin

An Endangered Rose Mallow By Any Other Name, Will It Be Protected?

An essential challenge facing Conservation Biology today is the accurate identification of species that need protection. One example is the Neches River Rose Mallow (Hibiscus dasycalyx), found only in Texas, and listed by NatureServe Conservation Status as globally critically imperiled (G1). This means there are fewer than 3,000 individual plants known to exist in the wild.

Hibiscus dasycalyx

This imperiled plant is a focus of ongoing conservation efforts at Collins Academy, where our work has helped to raise seedlings of this plant, which have been used by local schools and public parks and private landowners for conservation efforts. Collins Academy also maintains several Neches River Rose Mallow in the gardens at the Port Jefferson History and Nature Center.

One problem with species identification in plants is the potential for hybridization and crossbreeding. Hibiscus. dasycalyx co-ocurs with two other closely related plants in the same genera (H. moscheutos and H. laevis, known as congenerics). There are less than 10 naturally occurring populations of Hibiscus dasycalyx in the entire world. The geographically widespread and non-threatened congenerics H. moscheutos and H. laevis have overlapping ranges with H. dasycalyx, and sometimes even co-occur within locations.

Hibiscus laevis

How to tell these three species apart? It is not always possible with the naked eye, but some morphological characteristics stand out: H. moscheutos has large, heart-shaped leaves that are grayish-green above and hairy-white below; H. laevis and H. dasycalyx both have hairless and pointed leaves, making it difficult to tell them apart from each other with morphology alone. 

Morphological variants in the field, as well as experimental crossings in the lab, suggest that these three species are capable of interbreeding with one another, but the extent of admixture, which occurs when two or more previously isolated populations begin interbreeding and results in the introduction of new genetic lineages into a population, is not currently known. 

Hibiscus moscheutos

Previous studies by Joshua Banta, Ph.D. at the University of Texas at Tyler used genetic sequences and phylogenetic analyses to help resolve the taxonomic status of this federally threatened east Texas endemic wildflower. Genetic analysis was conducted on the gene for granule-bound starch synthase (GBSSI or waxy gene), which exists in a single copy in nearly all plants. The GBSSI gene is a low-copy nuclear gene used for phylogenetic analyse of plants because highly repetitive genes such as those commonly used are limited in number.

Dr. Banta showed that H. dasycalyx individuals share genetic similarities with one another, but there were misidentified specimens and advanced-generation hybrids (admixture) that were also identified in the dataset. Removing these, the sequence divergence between H. laevis and H. dasycalyx increased but remained low and the relationships between these species in the phylogenetic analysis remain poorly resolved. Based on this information, Dr. Banta hypothesized that H. dasycalyx may be a subspecies of H. laevis rather than a separate species. More genetic analyses based on additional genes will be necessary to confirm this result. This study highlights the need to understand species based on modern scientific methods, combined with traditional morphological observations.

Come visit Collins Academy and take a tour of the gardens at the Port Jefferson History and Nature Center to see the rare Neches River Mallow (Hibiscus dasycalyx) up close and in bloom.

Filed Under: CNHA, news, port jefferson nature center

March 11, 2013 by admin

Preservation Texas Names Union Missionary Baptist Church in Jefferson to Annual List of Texas’ Most Endangered Historic Places

PreservationTexas-logo

For more information contact:
Krista Schreiner Gebbia, 512-472-0102 (O)/703-254-3474 (cell)
Krista@preservationtexas.org
Shirley Wills, 210-822-2378 (O)/210-365-4488 (cell)
Shirley.Wills@att.net
Photos and individual news releases on all sites are available at
www.preservationtexas.org; and
www.facebook.com/PreservationTexas
Local spokesperson: Pency Floyd, 713-501-3021,
boniebonie@aol.com

Sites in Bandera, Carson, Guadalupe, Hays, Kaufman, Marion, Nueces, San Augustine and Travis Counties Named to 2012 List

AUSTIN, TEXAS…The Union Missionary Baptist Church in Jefferson is one of nine sites that Preservation Texas, Inc. has named to its ninth annual list of Texas’ Most Endangered Historic Places.

“Preservation Texas hopes this listing will bring statewide attention to the efforts of Kaufman County and other local communities struggling to find a way to preserve the tangible reminders of their African-American heritage,” said Jim Ray, president of Preservation Texas, Inc., a statewide partner of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Preservation Texas officials announced the selection on the steps of the Texas State Capitol on March 22.

“The 2012 list highlights historic places that were once commonly found around Texas and that have almost disappeared,” said Ray. “By calling attention to theses sites now, we want to encourage action while there’s still time.”

Ray also noted that Union Missionary Baptist Church, and several other sites on the 2012 list, reflect increased awareness of the importance of historic preservation in small communities. “Passion and determination in these communities are strong, but suburban expansion, coupled with lack of resources and professional guidance present serious challenges,” he said. The Union Missionary Baptist Church sits at 520 Houston Street in historic Jefferson, the location of a church since 1842. The first structure was erected on the site in 1847 and the formal congregation of the Union Missionary Baptist Church was established in 1868. The Houston Street property was subject to violence and turmoil as part of the local backlash from the reconstruction policies and socio-economic upheaval at the close of the American Civil War.

The church was the epicenter of black religious and political activities in Marion County during the Reconstruction. Its story chronicles the deep and often violent racial divide in East Texas after the
Civil War.

The construction of the current church building was not undertaken until 1883 when one of Jefferson’s prominent citizens stepped forward to assist the congregation. The building features a main sanctuary with a bell tower with a few smaller meeting rooms behind it. Separate from the building is an outdoor sunken brick baptismal. The 1883 church building continues to serve as a symbol of the Marion County African-American community identity.

Over the years, the church building has fallen into disrepair as the congregation dwindled. A nonprofit organization consisting of congregation and community members has been hard at
work, holding community meetings and fundraisers, and developing a roadmap for the restoration of the property. The building has been stabilized but much more needs to be accomplished in
order to extend the building’s life and restore the landmark to tell its powerful story.

Sites receiving the Texas’ Most Endangered Historic Places designation receive one-on-one consultation in such areas as technical assistance to identify preservation needs and set priorities, fund raising expertise, and assistance in fostering partnerships and building community support.

The complete 2012 list of Texas’ Most Endangered Historic Places includes:

Kaufman County Poor Farm
Texas Highway 34 and FM 1388, Kaufman, Kaufman County
Lewis Railroad Hotel
500 W. Columbia Street, San Augustine, San Augustine County
Magnolia Hotel
203 S. Crockett Street, Seguin, Guadalupe County
Moveable Jail Cell
San Marcos Academy, 2801 Ranch Road 12, San Marcos, Hays County (temporary location)
Panhandle Inn
301 Main Street, Panhandle, Carson County
William Pfluger House
1512 Pflugerville Parkway, Pflugerville, Travis County
Ritz Theatre
715 North Chaparral Street, Corpus Christi, Nueces County
Spettel Riverside House
215 Spettel Road, Lakehills, Bandera County
Union Missionary Baptist Church
520 Houston Street, Jefferson, Marion County

Preservation Texas, Inc. is a statewide nonprofit organization that advocates for preserving the historic resources in Texas. Preservation Texas named its first list of endangered historic sites in 2004. For several sites, inclusion on the list of Texas’ Most Endangered Historic Places has resulted in energized conservation efforts, commitments for restoration, and additional funding. Among the sites that have recently benefited are Heritage Plaza, part of the City of Fort Worth’s 112-acre Heritage Park, and built as a project of the Fort Worth Bicentennial Committee (2009 list), and the Austin Woman’s Club, designed by San Antonio architect Alfred Giles (1853-1920) in 1874 with a history of strong ties to Austin’s political and cultural growth (2010 list).

Preservation Texas’ Most Endangered Historic Places program is funded by generous grants from the Burdine Johnson Foundation, Texas Historical Commission, and the Partners in the Field Challenge grant from the National Trust for Historic Preservation and our sponsors. For more information on Texas’ Most Endangered Historic Places, visit our Web site at www.preservationtexas.org, or phone Preservation Texas, Inc. at 512-472-0102.

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Filed Under: CNHA, UMBC

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