The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, Texas A&M Department of Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management and Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute will host an inaugural “parking lot field day” on Oct. 14 at the Cabela’s in Fort Worth.
The free field day will be from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. and take place both indoors and outside of the store located at 12901 Cabela Drive. The event will feature hands-on activities and demonstrations related to natural resources management and will provide participants with a chance to meet AgriLife Extension specialists.
A solar eclipse viewing will also take place at noon with the first 500 participants receiving free solar viewing glasses. Food trucks will also be available during the event.
Field day purpose
Chase Brooke, AgriLife Extension small acreage management and wildlife management program specialist, Stephenville, said the main goal of the event is to help increase the awareness of AgriLife Extension programs in a more urban setting and develop partnerships with local businesses.
“We wanted to look at how we can reach an audience in a different way and also reach those who have never heard about what AgriLife Extension does,” Brooke said. “We want to open their eyes to AgriLife Extension, connect them to what we offer and help them meet their natural resource management needs.”
The hands-on demonstrations are a great way to engage the public in learning more about the programs, Brooke added.
“We want to go beyond PowerPoint presentations and let them see in a fun and engaging way how these activities are done,” he said.
Demonstration session topics and speakers
Some of the demonstrations will include:
- Feral hog trapping, Jay Long, project coordinator, Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute, Bryan-College Station.
- Herbicide spray demonstration – Morgan Treadwell, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension range specialist and associate professor in the Department of Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management, San Angelo.
- Solar eclipse viewing – Brooke and Liz Tidwell, AgriLife Extension small acreage landowner program specialist, Uvalde.
- Wildlife property tax valuation – Jim Cathey, Ph.D., associate director, Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute, Bryan-College Station and Roel Lopez, Ph.D., department head, Department of Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management and director of the Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute, Bryan-College Station.
- Texas big game identification and management – Jacob Dykes, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension wildlife specialist and assistant professor in the Department of Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management, Corpus Christi.
For more information, contact Brooke at chase.brooke@ag.tamu.edu.
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