Jim is a self-taught student of nature where his interests range from birds to plants to prairies to land preservation. He spends much of his time searching for native plants out-and-about in the DFW Metroplex and beyond. Jim has been a Texas Master Naturalist since 1999 and has completed over 10,000 hours of volunteering. He teached and gives programs and leads trail walks on birds, trees, wildflowers, prairies and land preservation. His current interests include chalk prairies, Hexalectris and Spiranthes orchids and Trout lilies. His reporture is chock full of intersting nature trivia and bad nature jokes. When Jim is asked about his philsophy and interest in the natural world, he quotes Ellen Parr: "The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity."