Capital Area Master Naturalists

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Capital Area Master Naturalists

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Volunteer service organization focused on natural resource conservation and education in Austin!

We're a 501(c)3 chapter of the Texas Master Naturalist program with the mission: "To develop a corps of well-informed volunteers to provide education, outreach, and service dedicated to the beneficial management of natural resources and natural areas within their communities."

10/18/2026

🦋 FLIGHT OF THE POLLINATORS EVENT TOMORROW! 🌸

We're kicking off the city-wide Roots & Wings celebration with our Flight of the Pollinators event tomorrow at the Austin Nature & Science Center from 10:00 - 2:00. Enjoy fun, free, interactive activities all about our pollinator friends and the plants and habitats they support and need.
* Make a mask and wear it in our Pollinator Parade! (costumes welcome!
* Taste different honey varieties
* Learn about monarch tagging with the Texas Master Capital Area Master Naturalists
* Test your pollinators knowledge for prizes
* Learn about bats and echolocation
* Participate in tree scavenger hunt, nature games, and crafts
* Take home saplings, seeds, and other pollinator-supporting giveaways (while supplies last)
AND SO MUCH MORE!
Free and fun for all ages!

10/16/2026

Digging into our past, Fall Initial Training - Field Session 3, & Geology, success!

🪨👀 On Saturday, trainees met at the Gault School of Archaeological Research for a day full of discovery! These Field Sessions complement lectures trainees recently attended on the subjects.

🧭 The day started with a tour of the site led by GSAR Board member Mike McBride. We learned about the of the property and what the archeological findings can tell us about some of the early peoples who lived in what we now call Texas!

🪨🌳 Next up, a walk and talk with Nico Hauwert! Nico talked about , and the reality of locating caves on by the visible trash poking out of the openings - then the process of cleaning and restoring. He discussed dye-tracing studies that showed how quickly water reaches Barton Springs. And, he shared data demonstrating trees are not all water hogs, that stream flows can increase when forests return.

🏹 And finally, trainees gave their best “shots” at using a prehistoric weapon - the . Some…more successful than others!

If this sounds like a fun way to spend a day - consider joining CAMN, or another local Texas Master Naturalist chapter - you can learn more on our website: camn.org.  📆 CAMN applications for Spring 2027 classes are live on our website through October 31st.  📣 Until then ANYONE CAN JOIN US at our monthly meetings, volunteer events, and field trips - sign up for our mailing list and check out our calendar to learn more! 🔗 Links in bio, or at camn.org

📸🙏🏼: Danny M, Midge K., & Cheryl T.

10/14/2026

Join us later this month
October 28th | 6:30-8:00 PM
held virtually and recorded
“Dark Skies” with Amy Jackson

We welcome everyone to join us! Chapter Business at 6:30pm, talk begins at 7pm. Come hear from Amy about the in Texas, why dark skies are important, and how we can all contribute to keeping the skies dark!

🔗 Learn more and link to join in our bio, and on our website at camn.org. And as always, all CAMN Chapter Meetings are free and open to the public.

Our presenter, Amy Jackson, is the Night Sky Program Director for the Travis County Parks Foundation where she shares her love of the through education and night sky preservation in Travis County Parks. She is also the founder and director of Starry Sky Austin where she has taught observational astronomy for many organizations. Amy holds a BS in Physics from the University of Houston, an MS in Teaching from Rice U., and an MS in Geography from TSU where she researched sky brightness trends in Texas.  Amy has worked with Dark Sky Texas, the Hill Country Alliance, and helped Milton Reimers Ranch Park, Shield Ranch, and the City of Liberty Hill become designated Dark Sky Places. She is also the author of two children’s books written to inspire young stargazers.

🔗 Learn more and link to join in our bio, and on our website at camn.org

📸: David Cook

10/09/2026

Fall Initial Training - Field Session 2 - success!

🌱🌳 Recently, trainees met at the beautiful Vireo Preserve, part of the Balcones Canyonlands Preserve system, to practice their skills and learn about projects happening right in the heart of Austin! These Field Sessions complement lectures trainees recently attended on the subjects.

🌳 Ecological Restoration The class explored the various areas of the 214 acre preserve, learning about restoration efforts from preserve manager Jim O’Donnell, Environmental Scientist, City of Austin.
🧭 The property is part of a 33,000 acre system, set aside in 1996 to never be developed. City staff and volunteers are working to restore the property it in order to rebuild habitat for the many endangered and threatened species it aims to protect, and to increase overall biodiversity.

⛏️ Trainees learned about and swales, erosion control techniques including zuni bowls and brush berms, rainwater collection, and the nursery area where volunteers collect seed and grow out local native species for planting throughout the property.

🌱 Botany Following their talk on plant and identifying local native plants…trainees, guided by several local experts, try their hand at using dichotomous keys to identify various on the preserve.  🔎 Also, they ventured on scavenger hunts to find members of various plant families, looking for the key characteristics learned about in class. A great morning indeed!

If this sounds like a fun way to spend a day - consider joining CAMN, or another local Texas Master Naturalist chapter - you can learn more on our website: camn.org.  📆 CAMN applications for Spring 2027 classes are live on our website through October 31st.  📣 Until then ANYONE CAN JOIN US at our monthly meetings, volunteer events, and field trips - sign up for our mailing list and check out our calendar to learn more! 🔗 Links in bio, or at camn.org

📸: CAMN

10/05/2026

🌧️ RAIN, , so much beautiful rain. It is always exciting when we get a deep watering from the sky. And even more exciting when volunteers get to watch their handiwork in action - real time! Swipe through the photos to check out several Zuni bowl projects including the most recent IN ACTION at JJ&T!!

📍What is JJ&T?
JJ&T is a 1700 acre tract - part of the Austin Water Balcones Canyonlands Preserve system. Due to previous land use such as clearing and grazing pressure, much of the property is degraded and the soils fragile - to help mitigate this, volunteers help to build various control devices using stones, brush, and soil across the property. One of those devices is a bowl.

❓What is a Zuni bowl?
A Zuni bowl is a technique involving rocks, water, biology, and time as a way of dealing with a small headcut. Zuni bowls are a way to stabilize actively eroding headcuts by dissipating the energy of falling water…the structure converts the single cascade into a series of smaller step falls. Zuni Bowls also serve to maintain soil moisture, encouraging the establishment of protective vegetation.
🪨 Original concept developed by Bill Zeedyk and the people of Zuni Pueblo.

💪 Want to get involved in work like this - join workdays on Wildlands BCP properties; currently held Sundays, Tuesdays, and Fridays from 10am - 12pm.

🔗 Register HERE for future workdays and guided hikes on all Wildlands properties: https://www.signupgenius.com/org/AWWildlands #/

📸: CAMN
📝: Zuni bowl info adapted from Milkwood.net

09/24/2026

📣 It’s that time again! CAMN Spring 2027 Applications are coming SOON!
🗓️ Available October 1-31st, 2026

Ever thought about joining the Texas Master Naturalists? Your chance to apply for the CAMN Spring IN-PERSON is here! Scroll through the photos to see how much we have together!

🔗October 1-31st, CAMN Spring In-Person 2026 Training Class applications are be available on our website, link in bio. This training will take place January - May 2027. https://camn.org/applicants-hub/

If you like having fun with fellow nature lovers, AND learning about and exploring the resources around you, AND want to volunteer in the to educate and excite others as well as those resources - consider joining one of your local chapters!

Follow this link to see the tentative CAMN training schedule, and certification requirements. Then, apply to join us HERE: https://camn.org/applicants-hub/

The primary goal of the Master Naturalist program is to develop a corps of knowledgeable volunteers to increase the public’s awareness, understanding, and appreciation of our natural resources. Our members participate in stewardship and preservation of our natural resources and educate the public to encourage their participation as well. Classroom and field training will be provided to new CAMN members-in-training by local experts who cover a wide selection of topics in Central Texas ecology and natural history.

📸 credit: CAMN & Members of past Training Classes!

09/18/2026

Fall 2026 Initial Training - Field Session 1 - success!

🔎 Trainees met at the Austin Water, Center for Environmental Research - Hornsby Bend for a walk through Texas’s Natural (and unnatural) with Kevin Anderson and a lesson on with Clark Hancock.

📖 As this is the hybrid class session, trainees have already enjoyed in-depth lectures on these topics via Zoom. The Field Sessions are a way for trainees to meet in person, explore various properties in Travis County, and gain some field experience related to the topics.
 🦆 The day started with Dr. Kevin Anderson, the coordinator of the Austin Water CER since 2000, leading trainees on a walk along the ponds and through a forested area of Hornsby Bend describing the current uses of the property along with the history, ecology, and changes the land has seen over the years.

🌱 Finishing up the morning, the ever engaging Clark Hancock with Nature Interpretation, on the importance of learning and , handing down to the next generations. When sharing, start where the person’s interest might be, connect what you re talking about to what they know. Don’t rush, be more contemplative. And as always, “go out with a sense of JOY, INQUIRY, and SERVICE.” -CH 
📣 If this sounds like a great way to spend a day, learning from each other, challenging and growing together, and getting to do fun stuff - consider joining CAMN, or another local Texas Master Naturalist chapter - you can learn more on our website: camn.org or at the link in our bio.
📆 Applications for our fully in-person Spring 2027 session will be available Oct 1-31, 2026.

📸: CAMN, Danny M. & Lindsay R. 💚

09/17/2026

💚 Join us THIS Saturday
September 19th | 8:30-11:30AM
in-person only at Shield Ranch
“Interpreting Bird Language” with Lee Burton
 ☀️ The morning will start with a “Bird Sit” outside on the beautiful Shield Ranch property, followed by an indoor talk and light potluck snacks!

🔗‼️ Full details, required liability waiver, and directions at the link in our bio!

🦅 Join us for the morning to learn what is, why it’s so important, and how you can use it every time you step outside to know what not only birds, but other are up to even if you never see them. You’ll discover what to pay attention to related to bird behavior, how to that information, and how to do a bird sit in your own yard or local greenway. You’ll leave with the skills to know when there’s a disturbance on the landscape, whether that be a nearby hawk, other ground predators like canines and felines, or even an approaching human.

🎙️Our presenter, Lee Burton, is a Master Naturalist and Bird Language Leaders educator who studied under Jon Young, author of What the Robin Knows. He teaches bird language and wildlife tracks and sign to both graduate and undergraduate students at the U of Florida and Texas A&M. Through NaturalistStudies.com, he offers courses in these subjects along with wilderness survival, foraging and other naturalist skills to conservation professionals, and the general public.

🔗‼️ Full details, required liability waiver, and directions at the link in our bio!

09/14/2026

👀🎉⏰ TONIGHT!
Special Presentation on GALLS
Monday, September 14th | 6:30-8 PM

🌳🦟 “Oak Gall Wasps in Austin”
Presented by: Adam Kranz
Virtual ONLY, held on Zoom and recorded

🔗 link to join in bio and on our website at https://camn.org/camn-members-hub/monthly-meetings/

❓Have you ever noticed odd roundish things on or plants and wondered what they were? They can be many colors, textures, and sizes. Sometimes they look like fruit, flower buds, insect eggs, or other mysterious things - but more than likely, they are GALLS! But, what are , who made them, why are they there? Join us to find out.

🌳🦟 CAMN is very excited to welcome back Adam Kranz, for a special presentation on GALLS. His talk will be an introduction to the life cycle, ecology, and biology of oak (Cynipini). He will give us an overview of some interesting open questions concerning these in Austin, and an invitation and instruction on how to contribute to ongoing efforts to resolve them. So join us Monday, online, and be sure to have all your GALL questions ready while we have Adam to answer them!
This talk is free and open to the public!

🎙️ Adam Kranz is an independent ecologist focused on gall inducing organisms in North America. He co-founded Gallformers.org as a community resource to help naturalists identify gall observations and to collect information on undescribed galls. His primary focus is on adding literature and information to the Gallformers database. You can find him on iNaturalist .

📸: CAMN

08/30/2026

‼️🗓️ Save the date for TWO exciting talks coming in September!!

Monday, September 14th | 6:30-8PM
virtual only on Zoom, will be recorded
“GALLS” with Adam Kranz
🔗 link in bio to join!

Have you ever noticed odd roundish things on or plants and wondered what they were? They can be many colors, textures, and sizes. Sometimes they look like fruit, flower buds, eggs, or other mysterious things - but more than likely, they are GALLS!

🌳🦟 What is a you ask? We have answers for you! CAMN is VERY EXCITED to welcome back Adam Kranz, co-founder of Gallformers.org, on 9/14 for a special talk about GALLS!
_____________

Saturday, September 19th | 8:30-11:30AM
in-person only at Shield Ranch
“Bird Language” with Lee Burton

Join us for our in-person September Chapter Meeting at the Campsite at Shield Ranch.
 ☀️ The morning will start with a “Bird Sit” outside on the beautiful Shield Ranch property, followed by an indoor talk and potluck lunch!
Lee will explain “the science and art of language. Discover how to tune into nature by learning to recognize complex behaviors, listen in on conversations between species, and deepen your awareness of the living world around you.”  📸: CAMN, Sheila E., Bird talk info Save Texas Streams

Address

P. O. Box 303323
Austin, TX
78703

Website

http://camn.org/

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