Migration Stewardship: Beyond Borders tagging butterflies. Photographer: Refuge Staff October 2007.

Coastal Bend Environmental Science: Learning on the Edge Teacher Workshop. Teachers looking at fish we caught in the seine and plankton net. Photographer: Refuge Staff. October 2007

Students learning birding basics and how to use binoculars. Photographer: Refuge Staff, October 2007

Migration Stewardship: Beyond Borders. Look I got something....a monarch. Photographer: Refuge Staff, October 2007.

Teacher workshop at Aransas. Teachers learn to seine. Photographer: Refuge Staff, October 2007.

Aransas National Wildlife Refuge Complex Visitor Services had a busy October

October 4, 2007 Aransas partnered with Coastal Bends Bays and Estuaries Program to offer a teacher workship entitled Coastal Bend Environmental Science: Learning on the Edge. This is the second year the Refuge has been a part of this outreach program that connects students to nature by training the teachers with easy to use hands-on outdoor learning modules.

National Wildlife Refuge Week

National Wildlife Refuge Week was celebrated on October 13 with a morning Rachel Carson Reflections of  Nature Guided Walk. Followed by morning and afternoon Interpretive Van Tours. Volunteers station at the 6 story Observation Tower point out an array of wading birds, hogs, javelina, and hoped to spot an early arriving whooping crane. Visitors enjoyed the panoramic vista of San Antonio Bay and the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. Just after lunch the Aransas Lecture Series geared up with a program entitled "Alligator, Dinosaurian Denizen of Refuge Wetlands.

Aransas National Wildlife Refuge Endangered Species at Rockport-Fulton Elementary Refuge Days

Refuge Staff presented "Endangered Species" to the Rockport-Fulton Elementary 5th graders in Rockport, Texas on October 15, 2007.  The objective of this visit was to educate students in wildlife conservation and natural resource protection. Students were introduced to snakes, turtles, frogs, lizards,  toads, and several stuffed mammals and birds that are found on the Refuge.  This visit was conducted to get the students excited about the upcoming poster contest entitled "Endangered Species" sponsored by the Refuge each year.  Students were able touch live frogs, snakes, a red-eared slider turtle, animal skins and stuff specimens.  Many of the students were surprised to find the snakes were not slimy. The animals were carried around the room to allow a close up view. Students excitedly touched the animals and asked questions. Five 40 minute hands-on environmental education presentations for groups of 45 to 55 students were conducted.  At the end of the day, 260 fifth graders and 32 teachers knew a little more about wildlife conservation and many of them experienced touching a turtle, snake, frog, or toad for the first time.  Staff, volunteers, teachers, and students enjoyed the day. Pollinator posters were given to all the teachers. This was the fifth year for the event.

Aransas and Region III offer Food, Land and People Teacher Workshop at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge Complex

Aransas National Wildlife Refuge Complex partnered with Region III Education Service Center out of Victoria, tx to offer the first Food, Land, and People Teacher Workshop at the Aransas Refuge on October 23, 2007. Food, Land & People (FLP), established in 1988, is based in Chandler, Arizona. Food, Land & People is a nonprofit organization committed to helping people of all ages better understand the interrelationships among agriculture, the environment, and people of the world. Food, Land & People's science- and social sciences-based curriculum, Resources for Learning, currently serves Pre-K to 12th grade students throughout the United States. The curriculum consists of 55 hands-on lessons, developed and tested by more than a thousand educators. The subjects range from environmental science and stewardship ("Don't Use It All Up!") to human populations and land use issues ("What Will the Land Support?") U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is a National Partner for the Project. Aransas also offers other teacher workshops including Project Wild, Project Aquatic, Project Learning Tree, and Flying Wild.

Migration Stewardship: Beyond Borders

Migration Stewardship: Beyond Borders was designed by Education and Biological staff of the Refuge as a two part educational outreach program for students in the tri-county area.  The event was designed to educate students about animal migration and the purpose of adaptations. The goal of The Migration Event is to teach about the National Wildlife Refuge System's mission as it relates to the endangered whooping cranes and other migratory wildlife, while using the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge and community sites as outdoor classrooms to enhance environmental education opportunities. This is the second year for the event.

Phase I of the program was hosted on October 26, 2007 and by the Fennessey Ranch in Bayside, TX.  Refuge staff presented programs on birding identification, monarch butterfly biology/tagging, insect collecting, and migration for 356 students and 39 teachers. Many partners presented environmental education sessions to ensure the day was a success. The programs and activities met several Texas state public school educational objectives. In celebration of International Migratory Bird Day, Phase II of the 2007 Migration Stewardship: Beyond Borders will be held the first week in May.  

Partners for the event were Friends of Aransas and Matagorda Island, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Ecological Services Corpus Christi, Fennessey Ranch, Texas State Aquarium Corpus Christi, Corpus, Texas A&M University in Corpus Christi, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, University of Houston, Coastal Bend Photo Contest and Texas Master Naturalists. Many volunteers helped to ensure the day was a huge success.