By Brigid Berger, Texas Master Naturalist, Mid-Coast Chapter & SABP Mid-Coast Sea Turtle Rescue
Coordinator
According to Texan by Nature (TxN), the organization “exists to advance conservation that is beneficial to people, prosperity, and natural resources. TxN brings conservation and business together, acting as an accelerator for conservation groups and a strategic partner for business. Texan by Nature’s Conservation Wrangler program accelerates the very best Texan-led conservation projects in the state. Each year, Texan by Nature selects up to six projects and provides a project leader who provides 18 months of tailored support in the form of program management, strategic planning, marketing messaging, metrics capture and analysis, professional content production, and partnership development.”

San Antonio Bay Partnership (SABP) was selected as a 2024 Conservation Wrangler and has been receiving guidance through remote workshops and one-on-one mentoring. To boost SABPs public reach, TxN highlights SABP’s mission and projects on their website and through a professional produced video featuring SABP board members and volunteers. https://TexanbyNature.org/Projects/San-Antonio-Bay
Partnership

Additionally, this past October, SABP representatives attended the TxN Conservation Summit at the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas along with 900 other organization leaders from across the state. The summit is a unique gathering that brings together conservation and business leaders for impact-focused dialogue and networking. The SABP video was featured during the ‘Generating Change’ segment of the summit, and SABP chair Allan Berger elaborated on the impacts SABP has made in Mid-Coast bays and estuaries. These changes include mobilization of volunteers (affectionally dubbed Bay R.A.T.s) to Remove Abandoned (crab) Traps, Remove Awful Trash, and Rescue Awesome Turtles. His was the only presentation of the summit that was interrupted with audience applause in reaction to SABPs effort to recover__ over 400 cold stunned sea turtles.

San Antonio Bay Partnership’s projects will continue to protect, restore and enhance the natural resources throughout the Port O’Connor and Seadrift area. The next volunteer driven event will be the Abandoned Crab Trap Removal program February 21 – March 2, 2025 with the main event and volunteer appreciation party held on Saturday, February 22. Look for the call for volunteers in January. Help support SABP efforts by becoming a member https://SABayPartnership.org/support-us.

Allan Berger speaking at Texan by Nature

I’m writing to you from Antigua, Guatemala where I, with the help of a local orphanage, am working on a new art piece. It is a 10 by 20 foot stainless steel frame with about 20,000 florescent plexiglass pieces in the background, and on it is a relief of the Quetzal bird, the national bird of Guatemala. When finished, it will be auctioned off to benefit the orphanage in the town of San Miguel Duenas, near Antigua.

What a surprise when I spotted a fellow I know from Port O’Connor – Teddy Hawes! We met up for coffee and Teddy told me about his love for Guatemala. With the help of some Port O’Connor friends, he is helping a local institution, Hermano Padro. One of his projects is to promote Guatemalan Coffee for the benefit of Hermano Pedro.

This coffee is for sale in his Port O’Connor store, POC Hardware & Supply. One should try it and have a chat with Teddy when you can.

Dieter Erhard
Art Center Seadrift

Teddy Hawes

The POC Community Garden is also very lucky to have such generous support from Jason’s Irrigation Service from Cuero. Jason Gaskamp’s donation of time and effort for Phase 2 waterspouts for our eight new beds will make tending the new beds much more manageable with easy water access.

The Port O’Connor Community Garden Club hosted a community gathering on November 22 at the garden. The morning event highlighted Melstan Feed in Port Lavaca. Attendees enjoyed delicious pastries before the event and afterwards a raffle was held for many generously donated door prizes from Stanley Dierlam and his vendors John Salem with BWI, and Adam Stovall from Fertilome / HIYield.

While some early attendees strolled through the garden soaking in the pleasant fall weather, others signed up for membership and everyone submitted tickets for the raffle door prizes. Officers were introduced and an engaging Question & Answer session was soon held. An amazing and informative session by this well-rounded, very experienced gardening panel focused on both the technical and practical aspects of gardening. A wide range of topics related to successful plant growth and pest management was related to participants at this educational meeting.

Overall, the panel provided a wealth of knowledge based on years of experience on various gardening techniques and resources to community gardeners. Both sustainable practices (organic growth) and the use of modern gardening techniques (chemical products when necessary) were offered as solutions. Stanley Dierlam, John Salem and Adam Stovall clearly aimed to provide both foundational knowledge and actionable insights, making it beneficial for gardeners at various levels of experience. By focusing on a mix of traditional practices and modern techniques, a comprehensive toolkit for successful gardening was offered to attendees, which made for an excellent educational meeting.

L to R: Stanley Dierlam, John Salem and Adam Stovall

Meeting Shade

What a great Thanksgiving celebration! Not only did the Chapel celebrate with passing out Thanksgiving Food Baskets to needy families, but we also received special donations from several groups! The POC School did an amazing job of providing over 1,800 units of food, the Service Club brought multiplies of donations, the Bunco ladies contributed with a special gift, the First Baptist Youth and 4-H Club worked together to bring in many pounds of groceries! I am sure I missed some of the items that were provided but special thanks to all who participated. The Community Thanksgiving Service held this year at the Catholic Church was a great success and a special offering was received. Funds keep coming in, so next month I will attempt to provide an accurate accounting. Twenty-eight families received baskets and again we say a special thanks to Dick’s Food Store in Seadrift for their assistance in obtaining the food!

We distributed the Christmas Baskets on December 17 to needy families who have been identified through friends, neighbors, and family members. Our unique efforts truly make a difference in families’ lives. There will be extra in the Christmas Baskets because we understand the need will be greater with the holiday school schedule.

The Dedication of the Cross was the result of ten (10) years of effort and obedience! We were honored to have over 75 people attend this special event. We appreciate the effort of the many who assisted this Cross project. Please read the article about the Cross which is the story as well as I can remember it. This effort cost many people of this community a great deal of time and money and we are humbled and appreciative! POC Cross stands as a beacon of hope for all who are on land or at sea!

Christmas activities are many and varied. For the first time, we had a Live Nativity at the Cross on Friday on December 13 and December 20. It featured not only the Nativity Scene but also a fire in the pit with hot dogs and S’mores ready for all to enjoy.

On December 15 we celebrated Christmas Sunday. The morning events spotlighted the birth of the King of Kings. The evening was our annual Chapel Christmas Party. We had our traditional food, white elephant exchange, and of course, the “dirty Santa” will show up! It was a time of great fun, food, and fellowship.

We will not have any activities on Christmas Day at the Chapel because we want all our families to celebrate with family activities! Get together, play games, eat great food, and exchange love! It’s Jesus’ Birthday, so it will be great if you have a cake for the Lord and even gifts!

We are planning a New Year’s Eve gathering at the Chapel at 6:00 p.m., with a time of reflection, praise, and fellowship! Everyone is invited to set a couple of hours aside to celebrate the coming New Year!

Fisherman’s Chapel is an interdenominational congregation whose goal is to exalt God’s Special Gift, a Baby, Who came to earth for one reason – to pay the redemptive expense for our redemption! One will always find a warm welcome at the Chapel, whether it is at our Sunday Bible Class at 10:00 a.m., the Morning Service at 11:00 a.m., or the Sunday Evening Service at 6:00 p.m.. We also meet each Wednesday for a time of fellowship and a special Word from Scripture. All are urged to attend and to “Come, Help Us Grow!”