Welcome to Rio Bravo Nature Center

8th Annual Eco Camp
2008

Shelby Park
Absolutely Essential for Youth Education

August 4th through the 8th saw the Eighth Annual Ecology Adventure Camp at the Rio Bravo Nature Center Foundation, Inc. Nineteen youths from age 7 through 13 participated in the week-long introduction to nature and wildlife in this region of the Tamaulipan Biosphere.

Temperatures of 104 degrees did not slow these intrepid enthusiasts, rather the heat became an opportunity to talk about habitat and adaptations that plants and animals must make to survive and thrive in extremes of climate and weather.

The importance of the Rio Grande was emphasized as the lifeline for humans as well as animals. Youths spent three of the five camp days on the Rio Grande, first exploring the shores in Shelby Park, examining the composition of the cliffs and the birds, plants, and other animals living on its banks.

Thursday found the groups in six canoes and four kayaks actually paddling down the river for three miles with a mid-point stop to examine macro-invertebrate life below the water and the fish in the river. The group also found plenty of time to wade and enjoy the shallows at the south tip of a large island. These studies of water scorpions, hellgrammites, water pennies, etc., and native fish species were conducted by Phyllis and Randy Laurence, science educators in the public school system, who are committed to outdoor science education and volunteer their time unstintingly each year to the youth in our community.

Participants also got to examine the local cousin to the piranha that resides here in a small and innocuous form. They learned that the many successful water insects located for study indicated that the Rio Grande in our region is in excellent health.

Able paddlers in the form of Keith and Lety Ayres, who have volunteered their time and effort for the last four years, and other parents, rounded out the adult supervisors for the happy day campers.

Canoes and kayaks exited the river at the boat ramp in Shelby Park, yet another essential function that this valuable park serves for the people in the region. There are no other public access points to the river within fifty-six miles.

On the other two days of camp, field trips took the group to Seminole Canyon State Park and San Felipe Springs in Del Rio (for another swim) to examine the Chihuahua Desert biosphere and ancient man's adaptations to desert living. On Friday the group explored Kickapoo Caverns in the Hill Country biosphere. Observing ancient underwater volcanoes and limestone cave formation first-hand.

Finale for the camp was a quick tour of the museum at Fort Clark and a plunge into the cooling waters of Las Moras Springs in Brackettville.

It was fair to say that a good time was had by all. Participants experienced many "firsts": learning to read trail sign in the form of footprints: raccoon, snake, centipede tracks were all found. Many of the children learned to paddle a canoe. For some this was their first time to hold a minnow or swim in a creek or experience the total darkness of a cave.

Some youths reported that these experiences had been the most fun they had ever had in their entire lives (all seven years of it!) While others rated their days on a scale of one to ten and decided that their adventures had been about a 200.

Carol Cullar, director of the camp, said, "It is absolutely essential that we preserve our access to this little bit of the natural world. Our future success and prosperity here in Eagle Pass is dependent on those who have a love and appreciation for the Rio Grande and what it means as a life source for all of us. The Rio Grande is our greatest natural resource in this region. As we grow into a larger city it is essential that the young people who step forward to take this community into the future have a fundamental understanding of our environment and the priceless, irreplaceable nature of the river."