Welcome to Rio Bravo Nature Center



		COOP Grant Nature Center completes final COOP trip

	Mentoring Outdoor Education group explored the limestone mesas of the South Llano River in the Texas Hill Country.

Park Ranger Wayne Hayley presented an excellent campfire talk on prescribed burns and range management in the park the first evening in camp. The gang encountered their first example of such on their 'Signs of Life' hike the next morning.

The Rio Bravo Nature Center Foundation completed its third major trip to various ecologic regions of Texas. These trips were in fulfillment of a Community Outdoor Outreach Program grant from Texas Parks & Wildlife Department and was designed to encourage careers in outdoor studies by Hispanic females. The group camped at South Llano River State Park, just west of Junction from Wednesday till Saturday, March 12th through the 15th in primitive campsites scattered through the ash juniper above the protected nesting grounds of wild turkey. Morning wakeup calls were loud and early as the turkeys began calling to one another about 6:30 each morning and could not be ignored. Their persistent gobbling was followed soon after by countless cardinals and determined doves all intent on starting the day early. Youths participating in the intensive learning programs were Norma Felan, Chris Oueste, Jackie Ayers, Buddy Ayers, Amanda Garcia, Eddy Garza, Nikki Garza, Carol Banks, Diamond Espinoza, Daniela Reyes, and Taylor McBeath. The youths ranged in age from ten to eighteen. Sponsors for the group were Randy Laurence, staff biologist for the Nature Center, Phyllis Laurence, Sonia Garza, Daniela Reyes, and Carol Cullar, Nature Center director.

The youths' activities consisted of applied scientific field methods, incorporation of technology into outdoor education, macro-invertebrate analysis of the South Llano River, hand/eye coordination exercises called "Blind Contours," nature hike activities to search for "Signs of Life" in which animals had altered their habitat and left evidence of their passage over the land, several journaling exercises that stressed the essential nature of documentation and observation, swimming, canoe lessons and races, and camp cooking techniques. This trip and program of outdoor studies ends a year-long investigation into various types of Texas eco-systems. Mrs. Cullar said: "We were extremely fortunate in all our days out camping to have excellent weather-- except for the last 20 minutes in camp when we were attempting to load the three vehicles and trailer in a moderately hard spring rain. We got the sleeping bags under the tarp in the back of the truck pretty fast and got the kid's luggage covered as well with only moderate dampening, but we had to load ourselves into the vehicles as wet as drowned rats! Fortunately, the kids just added this to their list of adventures. The Nature Center wishes to thank all of the individuals who gave up a portion of their Spring Break to serve as sponsors for this trip. By almost unanimous vote, the participants deemed the ten-mile canoe trip down the South Llano to be the highlight of their entire excursion. But there were a few who considered the marshmallow roast on the final evening around the campfire to be the most memorable event of the trip. Would this have had something to do with the Boy Scout troop from Midland that was invited to join their festivities?