Passport to Texas

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This is Passport to Texas

Kids–and even grownups–are spending lots of time in front of screens connected to the internet.

06-Children today are spending on average seven to eleven hours per day indoors with media.

Telling people to go outside and leave the devices at home doesn’t fly.

09-Oh, my gosh. You’re exactly right. We used to tell people all he time: unplug, unplug, unplug. We just can’t say that anymore. We are plugged in and it’s here to stay, And that’s fine.

Jennifer Bristol, with Texas Children and Nature program, which curates the Nature Rocks Texas website, says if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.

08-There are so many wonderful apps and devices out there now. So there’s all kinds of technology that really can help kids now explore and be outside.

The Nature Rocks Texas website got a makeover and debuts this month.

27-We really wanted to give it a fresh look and really focus on our core concepts, which are: play, explore, and connect. So, we want families where they can find places where they can play in the outdoors and find all those nature based activities that so many of our partners offer. Everything from star parties, to
nature hikes, to group campouts. You name it. There are just all kinds of fun, nature based activities that are happening all the time throughout the state.

A Nature Rocks Texas mobile app is coming in spring.

That’s our show for today– Funding provided in part by Ram Trucks. Guts. Glory. Ram.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I-‘m Cecilia Nasti.

Nature Rocks Texas

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In 2009, the Texas Children and Nature program developed a website called Nature Rocks Texas.

10-It’s kind of a one-stop-shopping for families to find all of the nature centers, the zoos, the parks and green spaces that are near them, where they can take their families to get outdoors.

Jennifer Bristol coordinates the Texas Children and Nature program. Parents can use to site to find nearby scheduled nature-based activities for the family to
enjoy, or to the perfect spot to get outdoors and play.

21-Sometimes people think nature is a faraway place; it’s something that have you have to kind of really plan to go do, and spend a whole afternoon driving somewhere to have these larger experiences. We want people to know that nature is in their community. It’s nearby them. It’s in their neighborhood. It’s around the corner. And you don’t have to go far to find it.

Jennifer says before you think Nature Rocks Texas only focuses on Texas state parks and events organized by Texas parks and Wildlife–think again.

10-We also have our city parks, county parks, national parks, national wildlife refuges, nature centers. You name it; if there’s a nature component to it, it is listed on there.

Jennifer Bristol returns next time to tell us how technology isn’t the enemy to the outdoors as once believed.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

Wildlife Trail Maps

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Texas is a big place with lots to do and to see for the wildlife lover; knowing where to start can be a little overwhelming. No worries. Texas Parks and Wildlife has a solution.

04-We have nine distinct maps; each covers a region of Texas.

They are the Great Texas Wildlife Trails Maps, and encompass more than 960 sites statewide. Liz Tomberlin works in nature tourism at Parks and Wildlife.

20-And [the maps] cover everything from migratory bird watching spots–to burrowing owls–to the prairie chicken leks in the panhandle plains. The monarch migration–we’ve had some great spots to see monarchs. All the way through to bat-watching, and all sorts of other mammals and birds and amphibians that you can see throughout Texas.

The agency updated the Heart of Texas West and East maps recently to ensure users have access to the most current information–information that goes beyond
where to find native critters.

17-Our maps include information for general tourists. There’s information for convention bureaus and visitors’ centers on there; each of our sites includes GPS coordinates; driving directions from major highways; a short description of the site and what you can expect to see there, and a phone number so you can contact someone.

Find more information about The Great Wildlife Trails Maps, including free, interactive versions of the maps on the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

Children excited about what they see in nature.

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Nature tourism, which for most of us includes wildlife viewing, gives the Texas economy a nice little bump.

13-Right now, we have 4.4 million people who participate in wildlife watching. And that translates to about 13.8 billion dollars going towards the Texas Economy.

Liz Tomberlin works in nature tourism at Texas Parks and Wildlife.

08- [Nature tourism] is a non-consumptive form of exploring the great outdoors. You are not really taking anything; you are participating in it, which is great.

The Texas outdoors is a big place; there’s a lot to do and to see and that can be overwhelming for some, keeping them close to home. What if there was a simple
and familiar item–or nine of them–available to everyone that could help guide users to outdoor discovery. Think that might help make the great Texas outdoors more manageable? There’s a way to find out.

17-We have nine different maps for great Texas Wildlife trails covering all of Texas, in different regions. And they allow people to find sites that have been vetted by Texas Parks and Wildlife that will help them view wildlife within Texas, and get a great experience of the Texas outdoors.

Liz Tomberlin returns with details about the maps tomorrow. Meanwhile, find interactive versions of the maps on the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

Unwrap the Wild, image courtesy www.mattskoog.com

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This is Passport to Texas

Nature is a gift we give ourselves the moment we step outside. Share the beauty and Unwrap the Wild; give the gift of the Texas outdoors to others w/a state park pass.

12-This is the second year that we’ve launched Unwrap the Wild. And it’s an opportunity to give back to Texas by supporting your state parks, and to provide friends, family, loved ones–or yourself–with an annual parks pass.

Anne (Annie) Brown is executive director with the Texas Parks and Wildlife foundation, the official non-profit partner of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. During Unwrap the Wild a park pass only costs sixty-five dollars.

12-Which is five dollars off what they usually cost. In addition, they can be purchased online and mailed directly here from our offices in Dallas to individuals for a holiday gift.

Ninety state parks–many within a 90 minute drive or less for most of us–provide pass holders outdoor adventures that are close, convenient, and available a
full 365 days.

13-We launch our Unwrap the Wild on November third, and it will run through December 19th, to make sure that we can get all the park passes to homes before the holiday is here.

Pass holders have a year from the day they redeem their certificate to use their State Parks Pass for waived entry fees for themselves and all the guests in their vehicle. Find details at tpwf.org.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.