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