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Imperfect FunGal

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  • Riparian Plants: The Heroes of Our Urban Landscapes

    Deep dive into Riparian plants and how they help us to control floodwaters and clean up pollution. We’ll look at riparian plant ratings and actual plants found in these zones.

    Erin Stenzel

    August 13, 2025
    riparian
    diy, flood, master naturalist, native-plants, pollution, riparian, water
  • Riparian Reading List

    The riparian area is the area where water and land meet. It is enormously important in order to ensure that water can stay in recharge zones long enough to make it to the aquifers, reduce fast moving waters during flood events, and to ensure a healthy aquatic and land based ecosystem. Unfortunately, even though these…

    Erin Stenzel

    July 7, 2025
    Reading Lists, riparian
    book, list, management, master naturalist, reading, riparian, water, watershed
  • CER Lecture Reading List

    Austin Water Center for Environmental Research or CER promotes this lecture series, led by Dr Kevin M. Anderson. This year the topic is the Geography of Urban Nature. The CER lectures are year long series of lunchtime talks held monthly in several locations in and around Austin – here is a list of the sessions…

    Erin Stenzel

    July 7, 2025
    Reading Lists, riparian, Urban EcoSystems, Water Stewardship
    Austin Water, book, CER, lecture, list, management, master naturalist, reading, riparian, water
  • Fun Owl Facts – Athena

    A quick look at some of the most common questions that I get as a volunteer owl docent at the Ladybird Wildflower Center in Austin Texas. Learn some fun facts to impress your friends and become as wise as Athena!

    Erin Stenzel

    April 11, 2025
    Ornithology, Owls
    Athena, facts, fun, Great Horned Owl, Ladybird, master naturalist, Wildflower
  • Building a Bee Spa

    Did you ever wonder why bees hang around your A/C unit or try to fly into your drink? Bees need water too, and if it’s not available, they will get creative. This project will help you create a bee spa which keeps bees in a desirable location for them and for you!

    Erin Stenzel

    April 10, 2025
    entomology
    bath, bee, bees, craft, diy, drought, entomology, garden, gardening, master naturalist, native-plants, nature, pollinator, pollinators, spa, water
  • Building a Fruiting Chamber for Recycled Mushroom Blocks

    Growing mushrooms from recycled mushroom blocks is a great way help reduce items headed to the landfill, to have fun, and grow food at the same time.

    Erin Stenzel

    April 9, 2025
    mycology
    blocks, crafts, diy, food, fruiting chamber, garden, gardening, master naturalist, mushroom, mushroom blocks, mushrooms, mycology, shotgun, stem
  • Gross, What Is That, Poke It With A Stick?  It’s Deer Vomit.

    If you crossed white slime, with orange slime, some dead insects, and mixed in some bubbles, you would have deer vomit. (Fusicolla merismoides)

    Erin Stenzel

    March 30, 2025
    mycology
    deer vomit, Fusicolla merismoides, hiking, master naturalist, mushroom, mycology, slime, walk
  • Building A BioReactor – It’s As Fun As It Sounds

    Johnson-Su Bioreactors are an interesting alternative to the compost piles that we normally think of where you need to constantly feed and turn in order to ensure success. These are more “hands off”. You set them up and they will consume massive amounts of leaf litter and brown materials with minimal upkeep.

    Erin Stenzel

    March 28, 2025
    land stewardship
    bioreactor, compost, composting, garden, gardening, johnson-su, land stewardship, leaf, litter, master naturalist, mushroom, mushroom-blocks, mycology, recycle, scraps, sustainability
  • Insect EXPO And Painting With Maggots

    I was super lucky this week to get to work at the Insect Expo that was sponsored by The Entomological Society of America. I ended up working the maggot painting booth which helped me learn a lot more about maggots, and painting with kids.

    Erin Stenzel

    March 27, 2025
    entomology
    art, artist, blowfly, crafts, creativity, entomology, maggot, master naturalist, painting, stem
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