At this monthly meeting HLBWS members and guests are being treated to a “two-fer”! That is, two invited speakers will deliver presentations. Part 1 features Dr. Marvin Bloomquist, who will talk about “Flower Photography for Fun and Education.” He will share techniques and strategies for taking good photos of plants, just in time for the beginning of the spring wildflower season in central Texas! Bloomquist will share a series of photographs that showcase Texas plants and wildflowers, with the majority having been taken at his ranch near Kingsland.

Part 2, “iNaturalist Basics: An Introduction,” will be led by Sheryl Smith-Rodgers. She will demonstrate how to document observations of species in the natural environment using iNaturalist. This tool is available both online and as a downloadable application for mobile devices. iNaturalist helps to answer the age-old question of “What is that wildflower?” in real time. Observations that meet specific criteria are flagged as “research quality” and contribute to databases that may be used in research projects all over the world.