event information
GUEST INFORMATION
REGISTRATION- Check in begins at 3:00 PM on Friday, March 10 in the Conference Center Lobby. Check out is at 1:00 PM on Sunday.
- For questions regarding your event registration, please contact Camp Allen at 936-870-2704 or heatherm@campallen.org.
PACKING NOTES- We will have a few pairs of binoculars and field guides available for you but feel free to bring your own! If you have a journal please bring that as our workshops will certainly give you an opportunity to get outdoors for some nature journaling. Comfortable clothes, walking shoes, and a hat are appropriate for the entire weekend. Consider packing a light jacket for the cool evenings.
- For you photographers out there, please bring your cameras (with instruction manual) and any other equipment you might want to use, including a flash drive.
GENERAL INFORMATION- Hotel rooms are equipped with bed linens, bath towels, and single serving coffee pots. The dining room features a 24-hour beverage station with water, teas, juices, and coffee. Complimentary WiFi is provided for guests with paid upgrade options available.
- The front desk is staffed from 7:30 AM until 11:00 PM daily, and a manager on duty is available during these hours.
- If you have an after-hours emergency, please call 979-209-2125.
- Please note that due to our TABC license, outside alcoholic beverages are not permitted in the Conference Center buildings or common areas.
- If you need additional bath towels or sundries, sports equipment, hairdryer, iron, or board games, you may check them out from the front desk.
- The tennis courts, mountain bike trails, hiking trails, disc golf course, fishing lakes, and park games such as ping pong, cornhole, and horseshoes are available all weekend. Click here to learn more.
- For a list of local attractions and amenities, click here.
digital toolkit
PRESENTERS
JON HUNTER
Jon Hunter uses photography as a means of justifying spending a significant part of every day in attempting to capture the wonder and beauty of birds and other wildlife. He is a successful graduate of several Birds and Blooms programs and earned the Boy Scout’s Bird Watching merit badge sixty-seven years ago. Jon has enjoyed careers in carrier aviation, medical research, and teaching before becoming an aspiring wildlife photographer. He and his wife, Jan, are busy enhancing the habitat for wildlife on their ranch near Bedias, Texas. His photography credits are few, but include serving as president of the Blue Ridge Mountains Photographers Guild, publishing images in a Texas A&M real estate center publication, and being the recipient of a national juried photography award. Jon usually posts images every day on his Facebook page and maintains a collection of his images on his website: www.wingsacrosstexas.com In his spare time, he manufactures environmentally friendly fire starters: Nature’s Spark https://LeapingFoxRanch.etsy.com
SCOTT BUCKEL
Scott Buckel spent his childhood days exploring the “wild” areas near his home in Houston. He began to develop an interest in animal behavior, which led him to study biochemistry in college. He also worked at maintaining fish, growing plants, and collecting marine invertebrates. He spent weekends looking for birds and other wildlife along the coast and piney woods of Texas. Scott also studied photography on his own, driven in part by his continued interest in animal behavior. His skill improved and the positive feedback he received fueled his growing passion for photography. Scot’s interests compelled him to seek travel opportunities which allowed him to observe and film nature. Through reading, workshops, and participation in photography clubs–in addition to a great deal of practice—he learned many ways to enhance his skills. Through the years his photographic interests expanded to include other forms and styles of photography. Film gave way to digital, and the tools available for digital photography allowed him to achieve the exceptional results he had always dreamed of. Now that he shoots exclusively with digital, he finds an amazing variety of creativity and opportunities - with imagination being the only limitation.
MARY ANNE MORRIS
Mary Anne Morris, the Education Director since 2000, has been teaching about birds for over 30 years. She travels with “feathered” teaching ambassadors who are the “spokesbirds” for the avian world during the more than 300 programs she delivers annually. She graduated with honors from Virginia Tech with a degree in Forestry and Wildlife Biology and a minor in Geography. She was a full-time educator and rehabilitator for the world renowned Raptor Trust in New Jersey where she cared for over 3,000 injured and/or orphaned birds each year and taught thousands of school children. During an eight year period in Montana, she taught bird conservation, presented teacher workshops on migratory birds at the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman, and served as summer bird educator at Zoo Montana. She served as President of the Montana Environmental Education Association, and is a member of the North American Association for Environmental Education and the International Association of Avian Trainers and Educators. Mary Anne runs Houston Audubon’s Raptor and Education Center in southeast Houston and became a grandma this spring to a beautiful little girl named Adelina. She is married to Trey Morris with whom she shares a deep love for all things eagle and owl.
TREY MORRIS
Trey Morris works at Houston Audubon's Raptor and Education Center in southeast Houston. He has had a passion for nature all his life. His interest in photography began 35 years ago but became all-consuming upon discovering Bald Eagles living and nesting in Houston. He has spent over 10 years monitoring several nests in Harris County. He has exhibited his photos at several venues and continues to advocate for the protection of nest sites in the region.
http://realeyesphotoart.com/ https://www.facebook.com/realeyesphotoart/
SHELBY FLETCHER
Shelby Fletcher is the Staff Naturalist and Environmental Educator at the Houston Audubon Raptor and Education Center. She graduated from LSU with a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Conservation Biology (Geaux Tigers!). Her passion for wildlife and nature began at a young age in her own backyard, and now she gets to share it with all who are interested! She hopes to pass along this passion for nature to others while helping them understand their true power, connection, and impact they have on the environment around them.”
ELIZABETH WHITE-OLSEN
Elizabeth White-Olsen is the co-founder of GO Native Landscaping, LLC, along with her husband, renowned naturalist Glenn Olsen. Through GO Native’s on-site consultations, custom landscape designs, and classes, she and her husband have supported hundreds of homeowners, business owners, municipal employees and apartment managers to choose sustainable, bird-and-butterfly-friendly landscapes. She has achieved a Native Plant Society of Texas Landscape Certification Levels 1 and 2 and is currently in training to become a Texas Master Naturalist through the Gulf Coast chapter. Elizabeth holds two Master’s of Fine Arts in Writing degrees. She has published articles on habitat restoration for Houston Chronicle and is the author of the poetry collection, Given Words.
GLENN OLSEN
Glen Olsen leads natural history and birding tours with GO Birding Ecotours and teaches bird identification, gardening for birds and butterflies, and nature-related classes through Rice University's Glasscock School of Continuing Studies, Houston Audubon, and the Texas Master Naturalist program. He serves on the Houston Audubon Board and co-founded the Wildscapes Workshop through the Native Plant Society of Texas (NPSOT), where he served as president of both the Houston Chapter and the State NPSOT. He has led field trips and educational programs for Texas Ornithological Society, Houston Audubon, Houston Arboretum, the Native Plant Society of Texas, Rio Grande Birding Festival, Rockport Hummerbird Festival, Galveston FeatherFest, and other groups. He has served as a native plant consultant for over twenty years.
CARL HENRY
One of his fondest childhood memories is the excitement of opening the perfect Christmas gift, a brand-new Kodak Instamatic camera. That excitement was turned into a passion while studying engineering at Rice University, he had the opportunity to take several undergraduate photography classes and study under some inspiring master photographers. This experience ignited a fire that has kept burning throughout his adult life. With the advent of high-quality digital photography this passion has exploded into an obsession. Carl has worked diligently to continually refine his visual skills and technical skills while continuing to pursue the same areas of interest that caught his eye back in my college days: wildlife and landscape. His images have been awarded and published in several local, national and international
contests and publications. He strives to share the nature stories behind each of his photos to help educate viewers about the world around us.
DARRELL VOLLERT
Darrell Vollert’s keen interest in the natural sciences, particularly ornithology, was apparent at an early age. Being one of the Brazos Valley’s premier birding experts, he is happiest in the field. He conducts bird surveys for local landowners, performs breeding bird surveys for the U.S. Geological Society, and participates in multiple Christmas Bird counts throughout the state. Darrell also leads private birding tours in Texas, as well as assisting with the coordination of birding field trips for the Texas Ornithological Society in southeast Texas. His rare bird sightings have been published in the Texas Ornithological Society’s magazine, Texas Birds, and the American Birding Association’s, North American Birds. Adding to his toolbox, Darrell became a licensed bird bander in 2002. A native of Chappell Hill in Washington County, Texas and since 1997, Darrell has documented approximately 300 species of birds in Washington County. Darrrell is an active member of the National Bird Conservancy, Native Plant Society of Texas, and The Nature Conservancy.
JOE SMITH
Joe Smith began his photography career when he was 13 with a Bosley 35mm camera, a Rolleicord twin lens reflex camera and a photo class at Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh. He shoots with his Nikon D500,850 and Z9 (May 2022) and with Nikon lenses ranging from 16mm to 500mm and with teleconverters, macro lenses, extension tubes, tripods, bean bags and ground pods. He is self-taught in nature photography primarily by participating in wildlife photo contests in Texas. He has been a winning photographer in five Coastal Bend Wildlife Photo Contests, 2001-2009. In 2002, he finished in the top 25% of all photographers in the 2002 Valley Land Fund Photo Contest with three prize winning class pictures.
Joe is a member of the Houston Audubon Nature Photographers Association, Houston Photochrome Club, Houston Center for Photography, Houston Inner Loop Photo Club, Houston Photo Study Group and the Photographic Society of America. He judged the annual competition of the Chinese Photographic Society in 2004. Joe has taught introductory photography seminars and classes for seventh and eighth graders at various schools in Houston, TX. He has presented numerous photography programs for Birds and Blooms, Houston Audubon and other organizations in the greater Houston area. He organized photographers to contribute images for Houston Wilderness’ Atlas of Biodiversity. He has had his images published in Houston Wilderness’ Atlas of Biodiversity, Progressive Farmer and Thomson Safari Catalogue, 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2015.
JAMMIE SCHMUNK
Jammie Schmunk is a nature and forest therapy guide with ANFT, a recovery coach with CCAR, and a Wild Woman Project Circle Leader. She also has an Associate's degree in Human Services. Yet most of all, she has a heart for helping to empower people and walking with them on their spiritual journeys. She shares her gift for deep connection at every level and applies intuition, frankness, and desire to connect to one's own unique healing journey. Jammie strives to offer a new practice to help others on their journey towards wholeness and believes in the healing power of deep relationships including connecting with the natural world. As a recovery coach, she asks the tough questions and listens carefully for the answers, guiding the client through clear reflection to identify their intentions for their lives. Recovery exists on a continuum. She helps clients gravitate more consistently toward choices and behaviors that manifest their desired results. In her free time, you can find Jammie creating rituals, following the moon, and enjoying time with friends and family. She enjoys creating things with her hands like pottery and drumming.
