Natural Allies
Hays County Master Naturalist Voices at the Hill Country Alliance
Leadership Summit 2023
Mimi Cavender
(From the Hill Country Alliance Leadership Summit website)
The Hill Country Alliance (HCA) successfully hosted its 11th annual Leadership Summit online and in person on Thursday, September 28th, 2023, at Jester King Brewery in Dripping Springs, Texas. The event theme, From Vision to Action, brought together nearly 280 Hill Country leaders and conservationists eager to learn from each other in a day full of insightful discussions and informative panels. Attendees ranged from high school students to professionals from conservation and development fields as well as in local and state-level government offices.
A large crowd fills the seats in a brightly lit barn at the 2023 Hill Country Leadership Summit to hear key note speaker Ky Harkey.
Access Ky’s talk here: https://youtu.be/lxbOWCUgFAg
Hays County Master Naturalists were there. As attendees, we enjoyed a rich program of speakers and a meal with colleagues new and familiar. We reveled in this region-wide alliance for a common cause.
Three HCMNs were invited presenters, each experienced in their volunteer work of choice and recognized leaders in an expertise critical to the ecological health of the Texas Hill Country: Christine Middleton and Steve Janda as part of the panel on Small Acreage Stewardship; and Soll Sussman with a report from Hays County Friends of the Night Sky.
Chris Middleton and Steve Janda (second and third from left) represented the Hays County Chapter of Texas Master Naturalist™ when reporting the Chapter’s promotion of healthy private land stewardship through a volunteer-based program, Habitat Enhancing Land Management (HELM). Photo: David Baker
From the Hill Country Alliance Leadership Summit agenda:
Stewarding Small Acreage in the Hill Country
As the Hill Country becomes increasingly fragmented, we must consider the role of the small-acreage landowner in stewarding natural resources on which we all depend. Learn more about some of the tools, resources, and programs available to support small-acreage land stewardship during this panel with landowners and partner organizations. Moderator: Dr. Angelica Lopez—Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute. Panelists: Christine Middleton—Hays County Master Naturalist | Jared Schlottman—Texas Wildlife Association | Steve Janda— Hill Country landowner
In an afternoon lightning round, HCMN Soll Sussman with Hays County Friends of the Night Sky reviewed the important work of that organization to promote Central Texans’ use of more efficient, less polluting night lighting. They invite new members to join a large enthusiastic team in various programs for public education on the role of sufficient darkness in the health of all living things. They conduct a robust Lights Out Hays County! campaign during spring and fall peak bird migrations.
Public interest in the night sky has recently spiked in light of (in dark of?) the two spectacular solar eclipses, only months apart, whose paths of annularity/totality pass over the west central Texas Hill Country. Enjoy our good fortune, and remember to use only certified eclipse viewing glasses!
Graphic from Creating a Shared Vision: A Natural Infrastructure Plan for the Hill Country, Presenter and Moderator Rachael Lindsey - Hill Country Conservancy.
