Texan by Nature

🍂Fall is perfect for getting lost in nature AND in a good book! Check out these recs from the TxN Team for your #TBRList.   🛶The Tecate Journals: Seventy Days on the Rio Grande by Keith Bowden - A 1260-mile paddle trip is a great way to get a crash course on all things Texan. Read about Keith’s journey from El Paso to Boca Chica and all the things he learned along the way. 🌲The Nature Fix by Florence Williams - #dyk the smell of pine trees can boost your immune system and birdsongs have a natural calming effect on your brains? Explore how powerful Nature is as a healer for our mental, physical, and emotional health. 🌾Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Kimmerer - Nature heals and teaches! Check out the “Best Essay Collection of the Decade” and learn how pecan trees share their lessons about strength, family, and survival. 🏕️Our Great Big Backyard by Jenna Bush Hager and Laura Bush - Playing in our National Parks is the best way to level up! Buckle in for a road trip with a gamer who’s trading bots for bison on her tour of America’s Best Idea. Tell us your favorite nature reads below!

#repost from our #CommunityContributor Marcus Connolly💙 *** In the Davis Mountains of West Texas there’s a special magic that comes alive when the sun dips low. Skyline Drive — one of Texas’ hidden gems! 🌄 This scenic route winds through a rugged mountain landscape with sweeping views of the Chihuahuan Desert and offers a unique glimpse into the geology, flora, and fauna of the region. Perfect for sunset, sunrise, and stargazing! Generations of footsteps—Texans finding their way beneath these wide-open skies—have passed here. And should you find your way here too, Texan by Nature 2018 #ConservationWrangler McDonald Observatory is ready to help you experience the wonder.

👻It's showtime, Texas!🪄 Meet Texas' strange and unusual species that the Ghost with the Most would dig! 🪲Beetlejuice - Vibrant and impossible to ignore, the Green June Beetle flaunts its metallic exoskeleton and impressive size. Adults are drawn to decaying or ripe fruit while larvae can be lawn pests feeding roots. 🕷️Lydia Deetz - Like Lydia, the Texas Brown Recluse's life is a dark room. This elusive spider, with its poisonous bite, hides in shadowy corners using specialized vision to navigate. Its six eyes, arranged in three pairs, enable it to detect movement in the shadows, much like Lydia’s camera captures subtle details (GHOSTS) of her complex world. 🐍Otho - The venomous Copperhead snake reflects Otho’s dramatic style and flair for design. As Otho would scoff at the lack of "organic flowthrough", Copperheads thrive in environments rich with natural materials. Their heat-sensing pits allow them to detect prey in the dark, mirroring Otho's intuitive nature. 🌱Delia Deetz - The Sundew "must express itself." This carnivorous plant uses its sticky, tentacle-like leaves to lure and trap insects with sweet nectar and adhesive compounds, much like Delia’s sculptures. The Sundew’s striking predatory design is nature's work of art. Say it 3 times in the comments - which one(s) have you spotted in the wild?

Have you heard of The Lady of White Rock Lake?👻   Dating back to 1943, a beautiful ghost woman has been seen hitchhiking near the Dallas lake according to local legend.    Some say she appears wet and disheveled, asking for a ride. When drivers approach the destination, she VANISHES from the car making White Rock one of the scariest lakes in Texas!😳   A not-so-scary water story: Since we started #TxWAC (Texas Water Action Collaborative) we’ve activated over $4.7 million dollars in funding for conservation projects that benefit water quality, volume, and resilience in Texas.    Happy #WaterWednesday Halloween Edition 🎃

Check out these 20 beautiful things to protect about Texas🌱 How are businesses in our state engaging in conservation?🤔 Congratulations to the 2024 Texan by Nature 20 – the top 20 businesses committed to conservation in Texas leading the way with data-backed examples. Acme Brick CEMEX USA Cirrus Logic Citi City of San Antonio Office of Sustainability Darling Ingredients Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) Farmer Brothers General Motors H-E-B HOLT CAT IBM Marathon Petroleum Corporation Mary Kay Global NADBank OVERLAND Partners Texas Health Resources WM WSP Xcel Energy Learn more about them here: https://lnkd.in/guJXzDwn #TxN20 #TexasConservation #Sustainability #ESG

👻It was a dark and stormy night and then poof! All the ticks in the world disappeared…. Sounds like a dream right? But, what actually would happen if ticks went missing from our ecosystem? 😧Opossums would be hungry. They eat up to 5000 ticks a summer. Hungry opossums won’t reproduce. 😧Less opossums would make the great horned owls and hawks hungry. Hungry raptors won’t reproduce. 😧Less raptors means MORE mice. 😱More mice mean more pests in our parks, putting pressure on food sources for other herbivores, in our homes (EEP!), and in farms, contaminating our food supply (Double EEP!) 👻The extinction of the smallest species can have a MAJOR impact on the ecosystem. But don’t let this scary conservation story spook you! Check out some of our #ConservationPartners who are saving species big and small in the Lone State State: Defenders of Wildlife Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute Fossil Rim Wildlife Center East Foundation

Finally, a Gen Z trend to glow up your life😉 It turns out that #DND is trending! The #DND trend consists of turning on the *Do Not Disturb* setting on your phone for 24 hours. Studies have shown that notifications from phones actually release cortisol ― our bodies’ stress hormone ― and leave our brains on “high alert.” In true Texan fashion– we recommend going outdoors to where there is no cell signal🚫📱 🌳Nature’s fractals (patterns found in tree branches & clouds) can reduce stress up to 60%! 🦋Learning about local wildlife makes your surroundings feel alive, sparking mindfulness and curiosity. 🐌Birdwatching sharpens attention; gardening lowers blood pressure, connecting you to nature and giving a sense of accomplishment. 🌱Nature IS the ultimate GLOW UP! Tell us where you’re based in Texas and we’ll point you to local outdoor spaces!👇

Say HOWDY to the top 20 companies committed to conservation, the 2024 Texan by Nature 20 #TxN20 The Texan by Nature 20 recognizes the best and most innovative work in conservation coming from businesses based and operating in Texas. For the TxN 20, Texan by Nature honors companies across 12 industries whose ingenuity cultivates impactful programs and forges new paths in conservation. Months of rigorous research, scoring, and selection for this data-backed recognition would not be possible without the support of our proud sponsors. Jetco Delivery donated a portion of each load delivered monthly to catalyze the #TxN20 and inspire businesses to join us on the road to a sustainable future. The #TxN 20 is also supported by HOLT CAT and Marathon Petroleum. Learn more and read the full press release here: https://lnkd.in/gzdMjC9t Congratulations! Acme Brick Company Cemex Cirrus Logic Citi City of San Antonio Darling Ingredients Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) Farmer Brothers General Motors H-E-B HOLT CAT IBM Marathon Petroleum Mary Kay Global NADBank OVERLAND Partners Texas Health Resources WM WSP in the U.S. Xcel Energy

THE ROOM IS BUZZING with busy networking between business and conservation at the TxN #ConservationSummit 🐝🤝 What new partnerships are being formed to shape the future of conservation in Texas and the world? YOU CAN JOIN THE BUZZ VIRTUALLY RIGHT NOW‼️ Watch Cultivating Stewards here: https://lnkd.in/gt-n4hJs

What is Texan by Nature’s vision for the future?🤔 Our vision is for every business, EVERY Texan to participate in conservation, and for Texas to be the model of collaborative conservation for the world🌎 Whether you’re joining us in person or tuning in to the livestream– YOU are helping us create THIS new path forward. 🌱Our livestream begins at 10:00 AM There is still time to join us virtually! Click here for your front-row seat to the Summit -> https://lnkd.in/gxWrDvxx