Environmental

The annual monarch butterfly migration from Mexico to the northern U.S. and Canada has begun, with sightings already reported in Texas. Luckily for fans of the beautiful orange and black pollinators, Richardson is in the pathway. The City has been a Mayor’s Monarch Pledge city since 2015 (a program of the National Wildlife Federation) and has established dedicated butterfly gardens in four parks—Berkner, Prairie Creek, Durham and Yale—and includes plants that attract and feed butterflies in park and landscape projects wherever feasible.  

The North Texas Municipal Water District (NTMWD), Richardson’s water supplier, will conduct its annual chlorine maintenance on its water transmission system and member cities’ distribution systems March 2-30.

The 29th annual Great Backyard Bird Count, organized by the National Audubon Society, Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Birds Canada, takes place today (Friday, Feb. 13) through Monday, Feb. 16. Participants are asked to count all birds they see or hear in their backyard or anywhere they’d like for as little as 15 minutes (or as long as they wish) on one or more days of the event and report their sightings online at www.birdcount.org.

Dr. Kevin Dillard, certified arborist and Director of Landscape Management at Southern Methodist University, teaches you how to have a beautiful landscape in the shade, including how to analyze your site and choose the best plants for different types of light conditions, such as flowering plants, ground covers and grass. Sponsored by the City of Richardson.

If you’re a participant in Richardson’s recycling program, you may have wondered, “If steel and aluminum cans are acceptable, does that include aerosol cans?” The answer is no, aerosol cans are not acceptable material for Richardson’s curbside recycling program, because of fire danger they create if the can is full or partially full—a danger to staff as well as trucks and equipment.  

The Dallas County Master Gardener Association (DCMGA), part of Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, states in its latest Garden Tasks list that oak trees need to be pruned before Feb. 15 to minimize the chance of oak wilt infestation. If you must prune them after Feb. 15 and before June 30, always “paint” the cut end with tree wound paint, being very careful not to paint over the collar of the cut.    

The North Central Texas Council of Government’s Air North Texas division reminds the public to love our air and our environment while we show love for each other as we plan for Valentine’s Day celebrations/gifts—Air North Texas’ Clean Air Corner blog offers several ways to do this.

When landscapes start to thaw out after the recent winter weather, plants may look dead or severely battered from all the sleet and snow. Texas gardening expert and author Neil Sperry advises on his website to not “rush to judgment” and that in many cases, you won’t know the extent of winter freeze injury until plants try to leaf out in the spring. Even if leaves are browned, “don’t assume immediately that the plant will not produce new leaves from the old stem tissues.”