Join us to hear from Dr. Gary Voelker, Professor and Curator of Birds at the Biodiversity Research and Teaching Collections, Texas A&M University, address the role of a modern ornithology collection in current research and conservation efforts. Ms. Heather Prestridge will speak to the beginnings and current status of Lights Out Texas, a conservation effort to darken skies during bird migration. You’ll also have the rare opportunity to test your bird identification skills utilizing specimens from the collections.

Join Wild Spirit Wild Places and the team at Waterloo Park on the Meredith Heritage Tree Deck. Come early enjoy breakfast bites and brunch cocktails sponsored by Desert Door before heading out on a leisurely guided park tour focused on Texas native plants and how they support our pollinators. We also will be giving away native Texas seeds for your own wild spaces, large or small!

The event is FREE and tours begin at 10 AM.

OUR EXPERT

Adriane Horne is Horticulture Supervisor at Waterloo Greenway. She is responsible for managing and maintaining all the landscaping throughout the park. With experience in many aspects of the landscape industry, from maintenance to nursery management, Adriane has a broad base of knowledge to help bring together the aesthetic and sustainability aspects of Waterloo Greenway.

Join us for an evening of Tuttle Tales devoted to the storytelling and conservation work of Dr. Merlin Tuttle, founder of Merlin Tuttle’s Bat Conservation (MTBC). Merlin’s unique photography and communication first led to global appreciation of bats as safe, invaluable, even cute, and likable. Importantly, he will share how bat pollinators benefit humans, save billions in annual agricultural losses, and protect the health of the ecosystem, wildlife, and especially other pollinators! Merlin’s legendary photos and experience provide invaluable guidance and inspiration that must be preserved and shared for future generations.

Tickets for this event include:

• a fun and interesting seminar presented by a world renowned ecologist and conservationist,

• light snack options,

• one Desert Door cocktail, and

• a native Texas seed give away.

OUR EXPERT

Dr. Merlin Tuttle is a resident of Austin, Texas. He is an internationally recognized leader in research, conservation and photography of bats. His photos and research have been featured in five National Geographic articles, the journal Science, and many other leading publications. He founded and led Bat Conservation International for nearly 30 years, left BCI, then founded Merlin Tuttle’s Bat Conservation (MTBC) in 2014.

Join us for a live discussion with Matthew Shepherd from the Xerces Society about Bee City USA, a nationwide initiative that is uniting communities to take action to help bees and other pollinators. Learn about bees, what Bee City USA does, and how you can make your hometown part of this movement. Come prepared to ask questions—we’ll try to answer them all!

This event is free and online! Link coming soon and will be emailed to registrants.

OUR EXPERT

Matthew Shepherd, Xerces Society for Invertebrate Research, has spent thirty-five years working with people from all walks of life to create better places for wildlife. In the last two decades, he has helped build pollinator conservation from an obscure issue to a topic of dinner-table conversation and wide engagement.

With native plant seeds being a central part supporting ou pollinators, we thought a good old fashioned seed swap might be a good and sustainable way to find new varieties of native plants and trade out your leftover seeds from planting seasons past.

The seed swap is Co-Hosted by Central Texas Seed Savers, this event is free and open to the public. It isn’t necessary for participants to bring seeds in order to take seeds. Leftover seeds will be distributed to local seed libraries.

While on site, be sure to try one of of the Desert Door bartender’s choices, a portion of the proceeds per each cocktail will go to us, Wild Spirit Wild Places!

We are family and pet friendly. The on site food truck, Lo Salvaje, is open 12-6 pm and offers wild fare.

ABOUT CENTRAL TEXAS SEED SAVERS

Mission: Preventing extinction of culturally, ecologically, and culinarily important plants through sharing. Our lives depend on seeds. Each time we lose a plant variety we lose a piece of ourselves. A project of Fruitful Commons, Central Texas Seed Savers is a growing network of people who love seeds. Join us to learn how to preserve seeds that are diverse, locally-adapted, non-GMO, and belong to the public domain. Please visit their website for more information.

Most native Texas bees don't live in colonies like honey bees and don't produce honey, but they are essential to our ecosystem, are incredibly docile, and really fun to watch! Come learn the differences between these native bees and honey bees, why solitary bees are so important, and how to create your own solitary bee habitat!

Tickets for this event include:

• a fun and interesting seminar presented by experienced beekeepers

• light breakfast options,

• a Desert Door brunch cocktail, and

• a native Texas seed give away.

OUR EXPERTS

Tara Chapman is the founder of and Celia Bell is the operations manager of Two Hives Honey. Two Hives Honey has grown to manage more than 300 hives in the Austin area, and offers beekeeping education, a sustainable and socially conscious business vision, and, of course, the best damn honey Texas bees can make.

Conservation is a core value for Wild Spirit Wild Places and our founding entity, Desert Door. Each year we partner to complete a signature conservation project that promotes responsible stewardship in the great state of Texas. This year, we are shining a light on Texas bees and pollinators, which are experiencing a rapid decline in population.

Join us for a special screening of a short documentary film created by Saltbox Films highlighting individuals and organizations across Austin taking remarkable action in conservation and stewardship to support Austin becoming an official Bee City. Be the first to sip Desert Door Conservation Series #3, a floral rendition of our Texas Sotol inspired by the humble bee.

We’re excited to share how you can support native pollinators as we kick off to our first-ever conservation month!