Audubon Texas Educates Next Generation of Coastal Stewards

Students Become Citizen Scientists in Watersheds, Wetlands, and Waterbirds Program

Audubon Texas’ Watersheds, Wetlands, and Waterbirds Program is connecting 150 students in Santa Rosa ISD, grades 3 to 12 to the hands-on conservation efforts for birds and bird habitats of the Texas Gulf Coast. Through the Coastal Conservation Program, Audubon Education Centers and Audubon TERN Citizen Science program, Audubon Texas is introducing young Texans to the rich natural history of the Lone Star State. These students will participate in a two-part program learning about local watersheds, wetland habitats, and waterbirds that depend on the water, wetlands, and nesting islands within the Laguna Madre connecting to the Gulf of Mexico.

Part one of the program, “Sinks to Seas,” was presented March 7th-9th, 2016 in the classroom by a Mitchell Lake Audubon Center educator. Students will discover how water travels from the sink they use every day, down a watershed, into wetlands, and to the coast. Along with habitat formation and conservation, students learn about essential indicator bird species that tell us the health of these habitats and ecosystems. “Sinks to Seas” is presented in a fun, informative manner, and is aligned with the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS).

The second part of the program includes an offsite field experience scheduled April 5th- 6th 2016 at Adolph Thomae Jr. County Park in Rio Hondo, Tx. The Texas Estuarine Research Network (TERN) coordinator, first presented students with an in-class training video. Students learn to identify local species of colonial waterbirds that use foraging ground habitat, how to conduct TERN surveys, and follow scientific survey and data collection protocols. The students travel to a local wetland to observe local waterbirds first-hand and put their new knowledge to use conducting TERN surveys on land. The field trip component is created to reinforce the entire learning experience and connect them to their local watershed and ecosystem.

If you would like more information about the TERN program for youth and adult education, please contact Kari Howard at [email protected].

Audubon Texas is the state’s leading voice for the conservation and protection of natural resources for birds. Integrating science, conservation, policy and education, Audubon’s mission is to conserve and restore natural ecosystems, focusing on birds, other wildlife, and their habitats for the benefit of humanity and the earth’s biological diversity. Visit tx.audubon.org.