Upcoming Events

Check here for The Nature Conservancy's Oklahoma Chapter Events

Saturday, February 18th or 25th, 2012
10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Docent Reorientation

I hope everyone had a wonderful, relaxing holiday. We had a phenomenal 2011 at the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve Visitor's center. I personally want to thank everyone for their time in 2011. I am looking forward to this year and hope you are too.

It is time to think about the 2012 season at the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve. We have scheduled Docent Reorientation for two dates this year to accommodate as many schedules as possible. Please mark either February 18th at 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. or February 25th at 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. I urge everyone to attend one of these sessions. It is our time to exchange experiences, ideas, talk about any changes, check and/or update your roster information and to sign a Liability Release Form.

I Look forward to seeing each of you this year.

Anita Springer

Sunday, February 19th at 2 p.m. in Tulsa
10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Thursday, March 1st at 7 p.m. in Bartlesville
10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

New Docent Recruiting

Barbara Bates has scheduled new docent recruiting in Tulsa at the Hardesty Library, Sunday, February 19th at 2 p.m. Bartlesville recruiting has been scheduled for March 1st in the meeting room A (upstairs) in the Bartlesville Public Library at 7 p.m. Please feel free to drop in at either of these events. Each of us has something to contribute to the recruiting effort.

Anita Springer

Past Events

If you have photos or descriptions of past docent events that could be posted on this page, send them to the webmaster on the contacts page.

Saturday, October 29th, 2011 - 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Buck Ranch Fence Pulling Work Day

Fall Color on the Buck Ranch Road
by G Pierson

Four hardworking docents met at the Buck Ranch Road to remove some very old barbed wire fence. A new fence will be build this winter by TGP staff. We removed about a half mile of fence that had grown into trees, through brush and had been patched for years. It was hard work, but the day was beautiful, the fall color much better than we expected and a good time was had by all. We stopped by the site of the old ranch house and barn, which were burned and buried by TGP staff. It was hard to tell that anything was ever there!

Saturday, October 15th, 2011
10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Docent Recognition Luncheon

Tallgrass Docent Luncheon
by Dwight Thomas

The Docent Recognition Luncheon was held October 15th. About twenty five docents attended. The day was beautiful, the lunch delicious and a good time was had by all!

Saturday, September 24, 2011
10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Early Fall Roadside Cleanup

Early Fall Roadside Cleanup
By Dennis Bires, Docent Work Day Coordinator

Tallgrass Docents who felt cooped up indoors by this summer's weather can stretch their legs on Saturday, September 24, and beautify the Preserve at the same time. Help us clear roadside litter so autumn visitors can focus on natural phenomena.

Meet at the Visitors Center at 10:00 a.m. for equipment and directions. Bring a lunch for the noon break on the bunkhouse porch. Work will wrap up around 3:00.

Saturday, May 14th, 2011
10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Docent Road Crew, Cookout, and Hike

Docent Workday Hike

Our final Tallgrass Docent work day of the spring will once again combine work with good company and adventure. On Saturday, May 14, come for any or all of the following activities, and bring a friend who loves the outdoors.

10:00 a.m. till noon: Roadside cleanup. Litter is relatively light after our March work day, so this cleanup can be done for the most part behind the wheel rather than on foot.

12:00 Noon: Cowboy fare grilled outside the Foreman's House with all the fixins. Everything will be provided -- just come hungry.

1:30 p.m.: Tallgrass Hike. This year's hike will take us over oilfield tracks and through waving spring grasses to the highest elevation on the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve. The views are long, so binoculars will be welcome.

As Docents, we all advance the conservation of this vast, stunning landscape. Here is a chance to experience that landscape on the ground and in the breeze.

Dennis Bires, Docent Work Day Coordinator

Saturday, April 30th, 2011
10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Docents Return to Florence Jones Homestead

On Saturday, April 30, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., interested docents will return to the Florence Jones homestead, also known as the Buck Ranch, near the southern boundary of the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve, for another work day. Last spring a large crew of volunteers rounded up debris around the house and barn, and began removing fences. This year docents will attack the remaining ranch fencing.

What to bring: lunch, water, sunscreen, work gloves, tough work clothes and footwear, and any tools that might be useful, like pliers, wire cutters, T-post puller, etc.

Veterans of last year's project will be amazed at the job Preserve staff have done to return the old homestead site to a state of nature. They will be challenged even to find the precise location of the old ranch house, barn, chicken coops, and railroad boxcar that stood there only months ago.

During the lunch break, the volunteer crew will take a stroll to the nearby John Joseph Mathews cabin, where the Osage historian, novelist, and Tribal Council member wrote his endearing memoir, Talking To the Moon, among other works.

There are two options for meeting at the Preserve on April 30: assemble at the Visitors Center at 10:00 a.m. to caravan to the work site, or meet at 10:15 a.m. at the gate on the west side of the road from Pawhuska just a couple of hundred feet south of the cattle guard at the south entance to the Preserve.

Dennis Bires, Docent Work Day Coordinator

Saturday, March 12, 2011
9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

New Docent Training

The 2011 training session for new docents will be held at the Tallgrass Prairie Research Center. Contact Anita Springer at 918 214 6672 for more information.

Saturday, March 5, 2011
10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Docent Road Crew

Cleaning up the Preserve
by G Pierson

Help keep the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve beautiful by helping remove roadside trash on Saturday, March 5. Meet at the Visitors Center at 10:00 a.m. to receive equipment and assignments. Bring a lunch for the noon break on the Bunkhouse porch. The work day will wrap up at 3:00. A great way to enjoy the prairie while contributing to others' enjoyment.

Saturday, February 26, 2011
10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Docent Reorientation

I hope everyone is looking forward to the 2011 season at the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve. We begin with Docent Reorientation on February 26, 2011 at the Research Station from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. As usual, bring a lunch. Bob Hamilton will bring us up to date on the happenings in 2010 and what the future holds

Thursday, February 24, 2011
7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

New Docent Recruiting - Bartlesville

New Docent Recruiting will take place in Bartlesville on Thursday, February 24, 2011 at the Bartlesville Public Library in Room B from 7-8 p.m. I want to invite all of the docents in the area to stop by and support Betty Turner in this effort

Sunday, February 20, 2011
2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

New Docent Recruiting

New Docent Recruiting in Tulsa, OK will take place on Sunday, February 20, 2011 at the Hardesty Library (93rd & Memorial) from 2-4 p.m. All Tulsa area docents are invited to stop by and support Barbara Bates.