Talks & Walks Calendar

Never See North Texas Nature the Same Way Again

Rockwall Butterfly Brigade
https://www.facebook.com/RockwallButterflyBrigade/

April 7 Tues – 6:30 pm

private residence location, inquire for address

Author and naturalist Amy Martin nearly died four years ago from a severely broken neck. She learned to walk again by hiking natural trails. Those hikes are an integral part of Wild DFW: Explore the Amazing Nature Around Dallas-Fort Worth. Hear her inspiring story woven with rhapsodic passages from the book.

Learn how a little knowledge about natural history and ecology can transform your perception of North Texas nature. Astounding color photos bring alive peak experiences from the 25 featured hiking adventures through hardwood bottomland forests and Eastern Cross Timbers, soaring limestone escarpments, lush wetlands, and rare remnants of Blackland and Fort Worth Prairies.

Wild DFW is Martin’s way of facilitating others to find the healing power of nature and the natural wonder she felt as a child. Get to know a diverse community of volunteers working for nature.

Photo of Sunset Cove at Ray Roberts Lake State Park by Denise Thompson.

Native Plants and Prairies Day 2026

Saturday, May 2, 2026
10:00 am to 3:00 pm

Bath House Cultural Center at White Rock Lake
521 East Lawther Drive, Dallas, TX

Walks and talks about the Blackland Prairie and its wildlife, plus lots of booths and native plant sales. Kids activities.

Come visit my Wild DFW table on the back porch! Buy a book to be signed or bring one you’ve already bought. Ask questions about anything in the book.

Also available: How to Treat the Poison Ivy and Poison Oak Rash, Prevent Exposure and Eradicate the Plant. 

Get info on:
<> Ned Fritz Legacy

<> Friends of Piedmont Ridge

<> Friends of the Forest: Dallas

<> Greenbelt Guild (Eastwood)

<> Ned & Genie Fritz Texas Buckeye Trail Restoration

Herd Here: Enjoy classical music in nature, plus flowers and the Moon with Amy

May 3 Sunday at 11 am to noon

Trinity River Audubon Center
6500 S Great Trinity Forest Way, Dallas, TX 75217

Tickets: TBA, but probably https://bit.ly/herdheremay3

Herd Here https://herdhere.org/ creates intimate events that celebrate chamber music and literature in a natural setting. Each performance weaves live musical works with the spoken word into a rich, layered experience of sound and story.

“At Herd Here, we believe that great art is meant to be shared — not from a distant stage, but in spaces where we can gather close, listen deeply, and experience it together.”

On the musical menu:

• “Clarinet Quintet” by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor
• “Fall, Glow, Dissolve” by Sophia Jani for string quartet

Amy’s 10-minute talk:

How is the Full Moon like a flower? Except sex and fertility — flowers have cornered that market. Celebrate the lunar-floral confluence with a short talk by writer Amy Martin on the Full Moon of May, often called the Flower Moon, which is also the Buddhist holy day of Vesak. Both are about blossoming and the magic of being open to the invitation. Far from delicate beauty, the evolution of flowers eons ago utterly transformed life on Earth. Learn how to be the blossoming with this talk.

Amy Martin, author of Wild DFW: Explore the Amazing Nature Around Dallas-Fort Worth (Wild-DFW.com), volunteers extensively to support nature. Because she lives in a shady forest, she seeks out flowers on her hikes. Except ragwood flowers; she has no love of those. 

Ned Fritz: From Bachman Greenbelt to Texas Wilderness

May 12 Tuesday – 6:30 to 7:45 pm

Bachman Lake Dallas Public Library
9480 Webb Chapel Rd, Dallas, TX 75220

Hosted by @Friends of Bachman Lake
https://www.friendsofbachmanlake.org/

Ned Fritz, Texas’s greatest environmentalist, found his first inspiration off Bachman Creek, which bisected his property on Cochran Chapel Rd. A legend in Texas nature preservation — he prevented the Trinity from being turned into a barge canal, helped save the Big Thicket, established Texas wilderness areas, and much more — when he got wind of city plans to channelize the creek, this he would not abide. He formed a group, Save Open Space, to rally the neighborhood and nature lovers across the city. In the process, he introduced the concept of greenbelts to the city. Learn about the man who loved Texas, but no place more so than Bachman Creek, on whose banks he lived with his family for over five decades.

A journalist and writer for over 40 years Amy Martin is the author of Wild DFW: Explore the Amazing Nature Around Dallas-Fort Worth (Wild-DFW.com) on Timber Press. She is senior features writer for Green Source Texas (GreenSourceTexas.org). A current project is Ned Fritz Legacy (NedFritz.com) a biographical website of Ned Fritz Texas’ most famous environmentalist. Find her writings at Moonlady.com.

Barnes & Noble Prosper grand opening with special guests Clay Thurmond (shown) and others from Clear Creek Natural Heritage Center

May 20 Wednesday at noon to 1 pm

Barnes & Noble Prosper store grand opening
1191 Gates Parkway Ste #300 – The Gates of Prosper
NW Corner of US 360 and TX 289 (Preston Rd)
(469) 218-5105 – @bnprospertx
https://stores.barnesandnoble.com/store/3503

Come hang out at Barnes & Noble Prosper’s cool intimate space in this new store on its first day of opening. I’ll read passages from the book and share neat facts from the book’s field guide. We’ll discuss great places in DFW for spring wildflowers. Purchase a Wild DFW and get it signed.

Special guests from Clear Creek Natural Heritage Center https://www.cityofdenton.com/222/Clear-Creek/, just a couple miles from the store, will speak on their nature preserve.

Never See North Texas Nature the Same Way Again

Monday June 22 at 3 to 4:15 pm
free

CC Young: Senior Living
The Point building — take left after park with the pagoda
4849 W Lawther Dr #100, Dallas, TX 75214

I nearly died four years ago from a severely broken neck. The operation to save me took away 25% of my balance. Ilearned to walk again by hiking natural trails. Those hikes are an integral part of Wild DFW: Explore the Amazing Nature Around Dallas-Fort Worth.

Hear the inspiring story woven with rhapsodic passages from the book. Learn how a little knowledge about natural history and ecology can transform your perception of North Texas nature.

Astounding color photos bring alive peak experiences from the 25 featured hiking adventures through hardwood bottomland forests and Eastern Cross Timbers, soaring limestone escarpments, lush wetlands, and rare remnants of Blackland and Fort Worth Prairies.

Wild DFW is my way of facilitating others to find the healing power of nature and the natural wonder she felt as a child. Get to know a diverse community of volunteers working for nature.

A journalist and writer for over 40 years, Amy Martin is the author of Wild DFW: Explore the Amazing Nature Around Dallas-Fort Worth (Wild-DFW.com) on Timber Press, as well as Itchy Business: How to Treat the Poison Ivy and Poison Oak Rash, Prevent Exposure and Eradicate the Plant (Itchy.biz). She is senior features writer for Green Source Texas (GreenSourceTexas.org). A current project is Ned Fritz Legacy (NedFritz.com), a biographical website of Ned Fritz, Texas’ most famous environmentalist. Find her writings at Moonlady.com.

Photo of sunrise at Big Spring in the Great Trinity forest by Karin Saucedo.

Wild DFW at Community Nature Expo
Saturday, July 18th, from 11 am to 2 pm

J Erik Jonnson downtown Dallas Public Library – 5tth floor
1515 Young St. Dallas, TX 75201
free parking underneath – access off of Wood

Community Nature Expo welcomes families with kids and other folks. Come see nature exhibitors and activities tucked away everywhere, even on the balcony. I’ll be there with a photo display and copies of Wild DFW: Explore the Amazing Nature Around Dallas-Fort Worth: https://Wild-DFW.com
.
Presenters from prior years include: Trinity River Audubon Center, Blackland Prairie Raptor Center, Dallas Paleontological Society, Dallas Park and Recreation Department, Dallas Zoo, City of Dallas Environmental Education Initiative, For the Love of the Lake, North Texas Master Naturalists, Perot Museum, Cedar Hill State Park – Texas Parks and Wildlife, Perot Museum, Dallas Zoo,

13 Things You Need to Know About the Poison Oak and Ivy Rash

Sept 24 Thur – 11:30 am to 1 pm

Myers Park & Event Center 
7117 Co Rd 166, McKinney, TX 75071

In this subversively funny talk, Amy Martin, author of Itchy Business: How to Treat the Poison Ivy and Poison Oak Rash, Prevent Exposure and Eradicate the Plant, shares her deep knowledge of poison oak and ivy gleaned from 12 years working in wildlife habitat management. Facts such as that soap is terrible for removing urushiol from the skin and the poison oak and ivy barrier creams that actually work.

You’ll learn how humans are the only animal allergic to poison oak and ivy, and why your immunity to poison oak and ivy can change at any time. Understand that the rash is an allergy to be managed, not a poison to be extracted, and how you respond to its allergen depends on a number of factors. Discover the herbs that are far better treating the rash than jewelweed and effective topical minerals like Milk of Magnesia. Afterwards, share your story of rash woe. It’s an entertaining talk that will leave you itching for more.