“We had an organizational meeting and had 12 people show up,” said Nancy Saint, founding member and first president of the chapter. “At the first meeting we had 90 people; so we knew we weren’t the only ones interested in native plants in this area. From then on we grew and now we have 181 members.”
The group meets on the second Monday of each month at the Environmental Institute of Houston on the University of Houston-Clear Lake campus, 2700 Bay Area Blvd., Houston. Meetings can also be accessed via Zoom. Although the group is called a Clear Lake chapter, Saint said members are found Harris, Galveston and Brazoria counties, with participation especially strong in the Bay Area, Pasadena, Pearland and Alvin.Galveston Bay Area Chapter of the Texas Master Naturalists“Many of us volunteer at Armand Bayou Nature Center, too,” Saint said. “There’s a lot of cross traffic there .
The society has two plant sales per year, one in the spring and one in the fall. The most recent one was March 26; the next is scheduled for Oct. 8.At the spring sale, Saint said, “All the plants sold out in the first 45 minutes.”“I always liked gardening,” she said. “My gramma did it and my mom and I did it, too.”But she got interested in native flowers after reading Douglas W. Tallamy’s “Bringing Nature Home.
“It was really an eye-opener on native plants and how valuable they are, because the pollinators have survived with the native plants for forever,” Saint said. “We’ve imported plants and they don’t have that native history. Native plants are much more beneficial for the pollinators.”Tallamy also has an idea that would greatly help the pollinators.,” Saint said. “It would be larger than Yosemite National Park.