The Inquisitive Naturalist

Adult Lecture Series
1st Wednesday of every month
7:00 - 8:30 p.m. FREE

Photo courtesy of Cletus Lee

Wednesday, September 1st

Local Spiders

with Cletus Lee

Exotic wildlife is as close as your own backyard or a cozy place like Russ Pitman Park. The focus this month is on spiders that you might expect to find in here or in your own backyard. Come learn about spiders and see photos of a few that you might have missed on your last walk through the park. If the weather and the spiders are cooperative, the speaker will lead a walk to take a peek at some of our nighttime spider residents after the talk - so bring your flashlight just in case!

Cletus Lee is a native of Virginia and received a BS in Geology from Virginia Tech. After an interesting career in the oil and gas industry, followed by another in information sciences, he retired in 2008. He is now pursuing nature photography, cycling, and other long time hobbies. He is an amateur arachnologist and resides in Bellaire just a few blocks from the Nature Discovery Center.

October 6th
Texas Prairies: An Historical Perspective
with Dennis Jones

Would you like to know what this area was like long before Europeans stepped foot here? Dennis Jones, from Brazos Bend State Park, will unweave the ecological history of Bellaire and the surrounding area with a look at prairies (or grasslands) and how they have changed and disappeared over the past several generations.

Dennis Jones has worked for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department for 25 years; the majority at Brazos Bend State Park. His current title is Resource Management Specialist. He is the former Assistant Superintendant, retired and rehired. Now he gets to do the things he joined TPWD to do and it has very little to do with bean counting!

November 3rd
Terrestrial Mollusks of the Houston Area
with Max Anton

Who's that leaving slime trails in your back yard? Join Max Anton as he acquaints us with the snails and slugs of the Houston area. This is an excellent chance to get educated about a group of animals often overlooked and not well known, terrestrial gastropods.

Max Anton is a Houston native who spends the majority of his time exploring the outdoors or engrossed in his artwork. He has studied land snails for three years, an avocation that began while volunteering at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. Max is currently completing his freshman year at Houston Baptist University, where he is studying philosophy and classic literature. Check out Max's website: www.molluskman.com