By Brandt Mannchen
What is an outings leader to do? In these days of climate change, with hotter summers, it is not easy to find places to have a bearable outing.
That was the question I was weighing. Then I heard that the Geraldine Watson Rare Native Plant Preserve (Watson Preserve) has the rare Chapman’s Orchid blooming in late July or early August. So, I set my date as August 12th and hoped for the best.
About 14 of us gathered at the Watson Preserve. But first, let’s talk about Geraldine Watson. It is no exaggeration that Gerald Watson, along with a few other people and a lot of support from the public, was responsible for the creation of Big Thicket National Preserve (BTNP).
Geraldine was born in Tyler County and lived in the area, all of her life. When Lance Rosier (Mr. Big Thicket) died, the crucial position of naturalist and botanist lay open until Geraldine filled it. Lance used to take scientists and politicians into the Big Thicket in the 1950’s and kept alive the dream that a portion of this diverse regional forest would be protected one day.
Geraldine filled in after Lance died and pushed people to see the beauty in the Big Thicket, not just with huge Bald Cypress, Southern Magnolia, and American Beech trees, but with smaller and more subtle beauties, the wildflowers she knew and loved when growing up in the Neches Valley.
After the BTNP was created by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Gerald Ford, in her work for the National Park Service, Geraldine saw that those plants she learned about as a child were disappearing as development and pine tree farms expanded throughout “Big Thicket Country”. The “urbanization of East Texas” had begun and Geraldine felt terrible about what was happening. So she did what Geraldine often did. She decided that she would, in her own way, address this overwhelming problem.
As a result, Geraldine began buying lots in Lake Hyatt Estates. These lots had many Big Thicket plants and plant ecosystems present. Her acquisition went on until she had 10 acres. During this time, she searched the area for disappearing plants and when she found them, brought some back to her 10 acres and placed them in the topographic and moisture regimes they could grow in. And they did grow. Geraldine also began, as she had with her property acquisition and plant collection, to slowly build a house with some help from friends and family.
As Geraldine grew older she worried about what would happen to her natural collection of plants and ecosystems when she died. In 2009, Geraldine created a 501(c)(3) organization to save her 10 acres forever. Today a board of directors operates and maintains her legacy and conducts prescribed burns and other management actions to ensure that the plants and ecosystems survive in today’s developed world.
But I digress, we stood at the entrance to the Watson Preserve and felt how the tall Loblolly and Longleaf Pine trees and other vegetation shaded us and kept us cool. I talked about Geraldine and how I had been fortunate to know her. Geraldine died in 2012 and we all were appreciative of her legacy.
Then we were on the trails. We first walked down a slope that went from dry (xeric) to intermediate (mesic) moisture regime. We saw plants change from Loblolly and Longleaf Pines to Southern Magnolia, Red Maple, Red Bay, and finally a seepage bog at the bottom of the slope, between the board walk and Lake Hyatt (hydric).
Almost immediately we saw dozens of Chapman’s Orchids blooming, their light orange color in contrast with the darker green of other plants. But that was not all, pipewort, yellow-eyed grass, St. Andrew’s Cross, Palafoxia, meadow beauty, water primrose, native mallow, blazing star, boneset, red milkweed, the list went on. Tiger Swallowtails floated from bloom to bloom taking in nectar they needed to lay eggs and begin the entire process again.
We stopped at Geraldine’s tiny house and Kathleen, a neighbor and volunteer at the Watson Preserve, unlocked the door and allowed us to visit where she had lived. The view from the top floor on Lake Hyatt, with blooming, white, water lilies, told us all we needed to know about how Geraldine was inspired to paint native plant scenes.
People stopped and took photos of the many blooming wildflowers and the unusual plants like the carnivorous pitcher plant. Although only 10 acres, the trails seemed longer as we wandered across a small spring-fed creek and walked the Longleaf Pine Savannah Wetlands.
After two hours of walking and gawking we decided to call it a day as the heat began to grow. On our way home, I thought about Geraldine and how lucky we were to celebrate her life and her legacy at Watson Preserve.