5 WINTER TEXAN TIMES www.wintertexantimes.com DECEMBER 15, 2021 A Christmas Celebration Join us for an evening of music that will make your holidays festive and bright! Join us on Friday, 12/17 @ 7:30pm • McAllen Performing Arts Center • www.McAllenWindEnsemble.org To Purchase Tickets, SCAN ME McAllen Wind E N S E M B L E Deadline approaching The opportunity to learn about the amazing habitat of the Rio Grande Valley and how to help preserve it comes along once a year. December 17 is the deadline to apply for the January 2022 training. The South Texas Border Chapter of the Texas Master Naturalist invites residents over the age of 18 and Winter Texans in Hidalgo, Starr and Cameron County to join this unique educational volunteer program to become a certified Texas Master Naturlist. Texas Master Naturalist is sponsored by Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, Texas Sea Grant Program and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Students attend weekly virtual classes each Tuesday from 6 to 9 p.m. beginning January 4 through March 22. Attendees will need internet access, a computer, iPad or Android pad. Using a smartphone is not recommended. In addition, field trips are a required element of training that will provide unique access and learning opportunities. Field trips will be held in person following current county and departmental public health guidelines. Classes are taught by local university professors and other field experts, including those from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; and U.S. Department of Agriculture. There are hundreds of local opportunities available to volunteers from helping develop public native pollinator gardens, training as docents and nature guides at local wildlife preserves, to undertaking citizen science projects, and joining programs about bird migration and bird counts to studying shore birds, the Gulf and beach inhabitants and trends. With social distancing, trainees will be able to join volunteer teams with other chapter members and work among local partners in activities at federal, state, and local wildlife parks, coastal naturalist programs, cities, schools, and other public entities. The chapter has monthly guest speakers the third Monday of each month at 6:30 p.m. Meetings are currently virtual but are still free and open to the public. Follow the chapter’s Facebook page at https://www. facebook.com/stbctmn to be notified when our meetings are broadcast live. The cost to attend the certification program is $150 and includes textbook, fees, t-shirt, name tag, and one-year membership. Full scholarships are available. Requests for scholarships are also due by December 17. To apply for the certification class, follow the instruction sheet on the New Class webpage at https://www. stbctmn.org/the-next-class. To request a scholarship application, or if you have other questions, please contact the new class director, Anne Mayville, at nurse_anne@msn.com. Check out the chapter website at https://www.stbctmn.org/. Photo courtesy of South Texas Border Chapter Texas Master Naturalist Facebook. 2019 trainees at the National Butterfly Center.
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