The March Native Plant Project meeting will be held on March 26 at 7:30 p.m. It will be held at the Valley Nature Center in Weslaco. The guest speaker will be Camille Rich. She is the owner and steward of a small piece of endangered Tamaulipan thorn scrub located in the South Texas Sand Sheet in Northwestern Hidalgo County.

One of her passions includes documenting the species that visit a watering hole that she installed in 2008 for the sole purpose of supporting the wildlife on her property. The data she collects from this water feature supports and guides her decisions regarding ranch management practices that include the protection of threatened and endangered native plants and other wildlife.

Rich is a retired public educator with 30 years of experience. She completed the Texas Master Naturalist training in 2013. Her passion for the enjoyment and preservation of wildlife is a driving force in her daily life.

During her presentation, she will share a South Texas Sand Sheet update of the past year including the solar eclipse, the Perseid meteor shower, the heat and drought of last summer, National Moth Week 2023, and the gorgeous wildflowers that currently dot the red sandy soils and roadsides of Northwestern Hidalgo and Eastern Starr Counties. As a bonus, she will share information about her recent exploration into the scale insect, Cochineal, and the red dye that it produces. She will be showing her favorite hand dyed product of handmade wildflower seed paper which she made with the help of Cat Traylor, her South Texas Sand Sheet Sister and friend.

The Valley Nature Center is located at 301 South Border Street in Weslaco, behind Gibson Park. There is no charge to attend.

For more about the Native Plant Project, visit www.nativeplantproject.org or visit on Facebook.