Prairie Education Boot Camp

LESSONS THAT ANYONE CAN TEACH Jaime Gonzรกlez,

Conservation education Director, KPC

Protected Properties on the Katy Prairie

Jack Rd. North

290

Warren Ranch

Jack Rd. South

JACK ROAD

Katy Prairie

CY

PR

ESS

CREEK

HOUSE & HAHL ROAD

Hebert

Warren Ranch So.

Cypress Creek Preserve

SHARP ROAD

Buller South

PATTISON ROAD

Nelson Farms SHARP ROAD

Mary Manor

MORRISON ROAD

NORTH

FM 2855

FM 362

FM 529

FM 529

KPC Owned

KATY-HOCKLEY ROAD

Buller/Bing

Indiangrass

HEBERT ROAD

Other Protected Lands

SCIENCE

ACQUISITION

EDUCATION

CULTURE SAVE THE PRAIRIE

• • • • • • • • •

Black cowboys on Galveston Island - 1870s

Warren Ranch - 1920s

Pre-Civil War Cattle Trail

Post-Civil War Cattle Trail (Chisholm)

gulf Fritillary

A LIVING LEGACY, BUILT BY STUDENTS

WHO VISITS THIS GARDEN? Birds, butterflies, grasshoppers, and other animals flock to the garden to feed on nectar, pollen, leaves, insects and seeds.

gulf fritillary

The

Monarch butterflies also stop by to refuel while migrating to Mexico each year and to lay eggs on native milkweed plants.

Students rescuing prairie plants for their garden

Students seeding their garden

Bumblebee

delta scarab beetle

African-American cowboys on Galveston - 1870s photo courtesy of Allecya Galloway

This garden was planted in January 2011 to beautify the the campus and provide habitat for native animals. Students seeded the garden with wildflower seeds and installed plants that they rescued from a prairie that was later developed.

pipevine swallowtaill

This is also a historic garden. Most of the Houston area, including Kashmere Gardens, was covered by a grassland called the coastal prairie.

The prairie was ranched by cowboys including many of African-American descent. The garden also is home to milkweed plants which were grown from seeds collected at the San Jacinto Battlegrounds. This is where Texas won her independence!

buckeye butterfly ruby-throated hummingbird

monarch butterfly and caterpillar

photo courtesy of Paul Mirochoa

PROJECT PARTNERS

giant swallowtail

RAMS PRAIRIE-BUTTERFLY GARDEN Download the Project Noah app to your smartphone.

Then join the Prairie Builders mission and upload photos for help with identifying plants and animals.

checkered white butterfly

Bald Eagle

Northern Mole Cricket

Mallard duck

spotted chorus frog

Barn Owl cow

Sandhill crane

coyote

I’m a

The Handbook In 2010 we launched this new online resource for volunteer seed growers.

Videos feature Tom Solomon.

Monarch...

AMAZING MIGRATOR Monarch butterflies are amazing animals. Each year they travel (migrate), over several generations, thousands of miles between their winter home in Mexico and their summer homes in the United States and Canada.

Along the way they stop to feed on the nectar of flowers and lay eggs on milkweed plants.

Their bright orange color warns birds and other predators that they are poisonous!

Photos by Carolyn Fannon

...and I need Prairie Blazing Star!

ABOUT PRAIRIE BLAZING STAR OR LIATRIS Flying takes a lot of energy! Whether you are a monarch, a swallowtail butterfly, a bee, SEEDS or a hummingbird you need flowers that provide high amounts of sugars.

Fortunately blazing stars (also known as Liatris) provide rich nectar which is high in sugar. The beautiful purple flowers make this prairie native easy to spot for prairie insects and make a very enjoyable flower for gardens and as cut flowers.