SaraFari

March 29, 2025 I would not have guessed that a college honors class would consist of a field trip to canoe with our professor, but I enjoyed every moment this past Saturday. Upon arriving to the canoe launch site, Jenna and I buckled up our life jackets, and traveled upstream on our canoe. Jenna was at the stern of the canoe where her main role was steering. I was at the bow where I strongly paddled to keep us moving. Looking to our left, I saw 2 eyes peered above the water glaring at me. Although we were not expecting to see alligators due to the cloudy weather, I had spotted our first one. At first scared, I reminded myself that these creatures are more afraid of us than we are of them. As we paddled a bit further upstream, Chris pointed out the rustling of the bushes on our right, and he suspected they were pigs. Around 30 seconds later, I spot 2 pigs running in the brush. I vaguely heard them "oink" and then they were back in the saturated brush. At this point in the padd...

 As Jenna and I are driving into the Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge (FWNC&R) headquarters, Dr. Williams flags us down. I immediately thought we were going to get in trouble because we were running a few minutes late. Instead, Dr. Williams exclaims "We're going gator hunting!" I did not know what this would entail until 3 hours later. We hopped in the FWNC&R trucks and headed to a small lake on the property. I should probably describe the purpose of this so called "gator hunting" before I dive into the details, and don't worry---we aren't actually harming the alligators. The process entails humanely capturing an alligator in efforts to tag the creature for population tracking. In addition to the multiple tagging methods, the alligator is weighed and measured in every dimension. If the alligator is already tagged, it is weighed and measured which allows the staff to analyze the alligator's growth from the previous capture. This procedure i...

Boosting the Nature Center’s social media presence is a great way to connect with more people and get them excited about nature. I can't wait to help out the Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge by enhancing their social media presence. One suggestion I have is sharing fun and educational content, like short videos on local wildlife, conservation efforts, or seasonal changes to Instagram Reels, TikTok or Facebook videos. A weekly series like "Wildlife Wednesday" or "Eco-Tips" could keep followers engaged while spreading awareness. Another great strategy is encouraging visitors to share their own photos, videos, and experiences using a hashtag like #ExploreNatureCenter. Maybe even running a photo contest or scavenger hunt to make it more interactive. Live streams and behind-the-scenes content, like Q&A sessions with staff members, virtual nature walks, or a look into wildlife rehabilitation efforts, can also give people a unique, up-close experience. By using ...

 2/27/2025 On today's adventures at the Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge, we were tasked with cutting down as much privet as possible. If you aren't familiar, Chinese privet is one of the most invasive plant species in Texas. On the nature center, Chinese privet are known to be troublesome due to the dense and unappealing thickets formed. It has invaded native wooded areas and crowded out tons of vegetation. Throughout our time, two of my classmates and I systemically worked together to clear as much privet as possible. It was a hot day out there, and I will be bringing even more water next time. I did accidentally sit on a cactus while cutting down privet, but thankfully I was able to get the needle out. I had so much fun getting to talk and work with my classmates. We were able to clear out a pretty decent amount of privet for two hours of work.  Jenna and I working together to remove this area of privet Live footage of me working to saw off a thick branch of privet....

 I really enjoyed using the "Seek" app to look into different species of plants. It is so amazing how much technology has evolved that our phones can interpret live images. Here is a list of 6 plants I observed:     Trachelospermum asiaticum   Ligustrum sinense Ilex vomitoria Tulipa gesneriana Quercus fusiformis Buxus sempervirens