By Melissa Stappen, Houston Audubon Member Soil and sun and water, oh my! How do they all add up to a beautiful, flowering, peaceful space to share? Where do we start? That was the question when Josh and I moved to Fresno, Texas, from the northeastern states. We purchased a wonderful home with a sort […]
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By Sharon Young, Friends of Keegans Bayou Trail As part of the Witness Series event, “Blooming into History: Beautiful, Fierce and Free,” held on April 26, 2025, Houston Audubon staff Jed Aplaca and Carolyn Klein led a walk that helped participants identify wildflowers, grasses, pollinators, and birds along Keegans Bayou Trail in southwest Houston. Among […]
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By Kassandra Robles, Art Teacher, Elsik High School This spring, our students from Alief ISD’s Elsik High School had the incredible opportunity to visit Smith Oaks Bird Sanctuary with Houston Audubon, a first for us, and hopefully the beginning of something that continues to grow. As an art teacher in one of Houston’s most diverse […]
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By Pete Deichmann, Land Conservation Director, Houston Audubon It was April 9, 2020. COVID-19 had swept across the country, forcing federal, state, and local governments to issue quarantine restrictions. Non-essential businesses shuttered their doors, Houston Audubon staff adopted a “work from home” schedule, and for the first spring since the initial High Island acquisition of […]
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Wyatt Egelhoff, Sanctuary Manager and Victoria Parker-Thacker, Seasonal Coastal Avian Technician, Houston Audubon Shortly before the woods fill with migrating songbirds, Houston Audubon staff spring into action, readying the beaches of the Bolivar Peninsula for the arrival of our beach-nesting birds in mid-March. For over a decade, Houston Audubon has monitored and stewarded several key […]
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Marie Olavere grew up in the Philippines and in Houston. She earned her BA in History from the University of Virginia (wahoowa!) and is pursuing an MBA from Rice University. Marie has worked as an AmeriCorps VISTA, Development Associate, Sponsored Programs Associate, and Director of Development for organizations including the Montrose Center, Rice University, Baylor […]
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Victoria Parker Thacker is Houston Audubon’s newest seasonal Coastal Shorebird Technician, focusing on the beach-nesting birds initiative. Victoria is a recent graduate of Sam Houston State University (Go Bearkats!), where she earned a B.S. in Animal Science and a minor in Wildlife Management. She also holds an associate’s degree from Alvin Community College, which helped […]
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By Caroline Nixson, Houston Audubon Volunteer Coordinator At Houston Audubon, our volunteers are the heart of everything we do — from native plant propagation to bird surveys, from sanctuary maintenance to educational outreach. To our Natives Nursery team: thank you for helping us grow — literally and figuratively. With every seed you sow and every […]
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Christine “Chris” Smith is originally from Napa in Northern California. She has a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Wildlife from Humboldt State University. She is fortunate to have lived and worked in some of the most beautiful and diverse places in the US, most notably: northern Michigan, on the Big Island of Hawai’i, and the […]
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Casey Smith is our Community Liaison for the Bolivar Peninsula Nature Trail. Casey has spent the last several years living in Port Bolivar, but the peninsula has held a special place in her heart for her entire life. She lived most of her life in Beaumont but has always been grateful to have the beach […]
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