Passport to Texas

Sauer Beckmann Living History Farm

Living History: Sauer Beckmann Farm Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

The Sauer-Beckmann Living History Farm in Stonewall offers visitors a glimpse of life at a turn of the [20th] century Texas German farmstead. Virginia Grona is a site interpreter.

Interpretation for us here at the farm is actually living life early nineteen hundreds to about nineteen eighteen.

That includes wearing period clothing, cooking on a wood stove, tending farm animals, and whatever needs doing on the farm…without the convenience of motorized farm equipment, running water or electricity.

We’re doing it all because we want the visitors to see life like it would have been before electricity and running water. So, we literally work it with those limitations.

Women’s work was extremely physical then, says Grona, and, she adds, those gals were tough.

And you had to be. But everybody was. A lot of people say, well, I couldn’t have done it, but I say, you didn’t have a choice. You had better than your mother had, hopefully, but you don’t know what’s coming, so you just live with what you had at the moment.

Although men and women had different farm jobs, when necessary, everyone worked together.

When things have to be done—whether it’s crops brought in or something major going on—everybody had to work together. That’s the only way a family is going to make it—when everybody’s working together.

Many hands make light work in any century.

That’s our show… For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

Hunter Education

Hunter Ed: Proposed Changes on Horizon Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

People of all ages take Hunter Education, but…

09— For the most part it tends to be that middle-aged, young professional who wants to try hunting; they want to eat local – if you will – and know where their food source is coming from.

Robert Ramirez oversees the program. The certification class is mandatory for those born on or after September 2, 1971. Currently it’s two days and ten hours of classroom instruction or home study with a field day. Yet, Ramirez says there’s a proposal to add more options.

07— We’re going to embrace the technology that’s out there. It’s dynamic; it’s no longer a static webpage where you’re just reading text.

The interactive program offers online skills tests – much like online learning technologies found on the internet currently. Opportunities also exist beyond the computer screen.

18— We’re going to offer some follow-up activities: mentored hunts, wildlife 101 type courses utilizing our wildlife staff, inland fisheries locations, state park locations, law enforcement … to have a follow up activity to the basic hunter education course that is optional.

The public can help shape the future of Hunter Education.

15— They’ll have the opportunity for comment on our Hunter Education proposal. And at that point, I encourage them to evaluate the changes, because the commission will rule in August.

There’s more information on the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

That’s our show for today…with funding provided by Chevrolet, supporting outdoor recreation in Texas; because there’s life to be done.

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

Learning Hunter Safety

Hunter Ed: Training Equals Safety in the Field Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Voluntary hunter education started in 1971 to satisfy requirements for Texans hunting in Colorado.

05— And so, that’s really the beginnings in Texas of a formal hunter education course.

Robert Ramirez, who oversees Hunter Education, says by 1987 this training program became mandatory in Texas with the first mandatory certifications occurring in 1988.

09— And at that point, if you had taken it voluntarily, we would recognize that. And, subsequently, our incident accident rate has dropped.

Ramirez says in 1968, Texas recorded 105 hunting accidents with 37 fatalities. Since mandatory hunter education, those numbers have dropped substantially.

20— Today, we’re below three incident accidents per hundred thousand. So, great strides [have been achieved] since it became mandatory. Who has to take it? Well, anyone who was born September 2, 1971 or later is required to have it, you are exempt if you were born before that.

Currently Hunter Ed involves a two day classroom experience, or a home study course. But if approved, online opportunities will expand.

23— We’re going to embrace the technology that’s out there. It’s dynamic; it’s no longer a static webpage – it’s interactive. And then you’re going to have the video aspect with broadband technology what it is right now, you can insert a lot of that dynamic video with professional actors to get the main, basic points of Hunter Ed across to the general public.

Tomorrow: You can determine the future of Hunter Ed.

The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program supports our series funded by your purchase of fishing & hunting equipment and motorboat fuel. For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

Image from www.westtexasweekly.com

Conservation/Environment: Earth Day Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

April 22, 1970 marked the first celebration of Earth Day, the goal of which was to highlight the needs of the planet, and to encourage citizens to care for it.

Let’s celebrate the planet every day by tailoring personal behaviors to benefit Mother Earth.

And what you do at home can have a big impact on the world outside your door. Just one simple act can have a meaningful impact statewide. Let’s consider water.

Instead of leaving the water running while brushing your teeth– wet your brush and then turn off the faucet until it’s time to rise.

By doing this, you could save up to 3 gallons of water a day, or up to 1095 gallons of water a year. That is per person in your household, if everyone joins in.

As water is, and will continue to be, an issue of concern in Texas for years to come, if every citizen of the state carried out this one simple act, we could potentially save more than 28 billion gallons of water a year statewide.

That translates to more than 85-thousand acre feet of water. An acre-foot equals about 326–thousand gallons, which is enough water to meet the water needs of an average suburban family of five for 18 months.

That’s just one simple act. What other simple acts can you perform to celebrate Earth Day all year long?

That’s our show for today… For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti

Chris Oswalt Knows Life’s Better Outside

Health Benefits of the Outdoors Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Did you know we have more than a million acres of parks and outdoor spaces in Texas? The opportunities to get outside abound, as do the health benefits when you get active outdoors.

The general recommendation for physical activity for adults is at least a full 30 minutes a day … and children need a full hour. Benefits of regular activity include: better overall bodily health as well as improved mental health.

Local and state parks offer something from everyone: from hike and bike trails, to swimming, rock climbing, paddling, and geocaching. You can even perform volunteer services repairing trails or leading site tours.

The opportunity for outdoor play is limited only by your imagination!

Being outside means breathing fresh air, and the varying terrain offers challenges to a workout you can’t get from a treadmill at home.

Side stepping puddles, leaping up rocks, and traversing up and down hills exercise your balance and stability in addition to the cardiovascular system.

The outdoor alternative is also more affordable than the gym, as many state parks offer low-cost admission. So go ahead and get out, because life’s better outside.

Find a park or scenic trail near you at texasstateparks.org.

That’s our show… For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.