Archive for July 9th, 2008

Texas Outdoor Families in State Parks, 2

Wednesday, July 9th, 2008

Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

If your family’s outdoor skills are rusty, you’re in luck. Texas Outdoor Family workshops are as close as a state park. Chris Holmes coordinates this new program.

It’s going to be basic outdoor camping skills. We’ll teach them about using a GPS unit (global positioning system) and exploring the trails. We’ll teach them how to fish. If there’s kayaking available, we’ll teach them how to paddle and kayak. And then the main program in the afternoon will be how to set up a camp properly.

The first workshop is August 4 at Galveston Island SP. Family size is limited to eight, and the cost for the weekend is $55. Leave No Trace developed the program’s camping component.

And so, it’s a national certification, environmentally friendly program. And the families together will have fun, and learn how to pitch a tent, place the tent properly on tent pads, use a stove correctly and cook food. And we’ll teach them how to build a fire.

Holmes says his favorite part of the workshop comes the following morning.

They’ll have an opportunity to have a coffee with a park ranger and learn about having a conservation career. And then they’ll do a service and stewardship program which is something that they can help the state park. It may be removing some invasive vegetation, it may be building bluebird boxes. It may just be simply picking up litter at the state park.

We have details about Texas Outdoor Family Workshops in State Parks at passporttotexas.org.

That our show for today…remember: life’s better outside. For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.