Archive for the 'Education' Category

Women Getting Wild In Rockport

Friday, March 2nd, 2012


This is Passport to Texas

Game Warden Brandi Reeder developed the Women in the Wild Workshop, an annual event where a diverse group of women gather to learn the wild arts.

15—A lot of professional women; we’ve had some homemakers who’ve come out. It’s just really a diverse group. I think my oldest participant was 70. My youngest was 21, which is the start age to actually participate in this. It’s all sorts of ladies that are interested in the outdoors, so it’s been great.

The workshop, scheduled April 13-15 in Rockport, connects attendees with experts in shooting, fishing, boating, Dutch oven cooking, and more.

15—This is just the beginning. And then, all across the state, we have our Texas Outdoor Women Network clubs (T.O.W.N.). And so it’s a springboard for them to start out at this event, and then to continue through their local T.O.W.N. chapters—to continue their knowledge. And most of these ladies teach those skills to their families as well.

The cost is $125 for the weekend; early registration ends March 5, at which time the cost goes up to $150.

18—This is a day camp situation, so they’ll be responsible for their own lodging. We’ll have an opportunity to check in on Friday. Then on Saturday the event begins at Fort Bay Hunting Club. They get to pick four courses that they want to participate in over the course of the weekend. And then we accommodate that on a first come first serve basis.

Find more information on the event’s Facebook Page.

The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program supports our series.

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

Women Gone Wild

Thursday, March 1st, 2012


This is Passport to Texas

Game Warden Brandi Reeder lives and works in the Rockport area. In addition to protecting our state’s natural resources…for the past three years she’s helped area women hone their outdoor skills.

20—A lot of the ladies felt comfortable enough to come up to me and ask for instruction on outdoor skills; the felt unable to learn from their husbands. I knew that I couldn’t do the one-on-one consistently. So, I came up with an event to offer them a wide range of opportunities to try all sorts of different things in one location.

The event is the Women in the Wild Workshop; this year scheduled April 13-15 in Rockport. Women who attend the workshop learn skills such as shooting, angling, boating, archery, game processing, and more.

11—This is a safe environment to do so. We’re not expecting mastery of anything. We’re just looking for them to feel comfortable enough to try something and determine whether or not they want to pursue it in the future.

Experts teach the women throughout the weekend, and past participants have offered praise for the event.

08—By the time the event’s done, they’ve always expressed appreciation for the confidence that they have developed in this event and the willingness to go forward and learn more.

Cost for the weekend Women in the Wild workshop is $125 before March 5, and $150, afterwards. Registration closes March 31. Additional details about the Women in the Wild Workshop tomorrow.

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

Hypothermia Treatment

Friday, January 20th, 2012


This is Passport to Texas

When the wind sweeps across the wide open plains this winter, back country enthusiasts will feel it. Cold temperatures and strong winds increase the risk of hypothermia, a potentially serious condition where the body’s core temperature drops below normal. Should that happen, you need to act fast.

Dorian Drigalla (Dre-gal-a) is an assistant professor of emergency medicine at Scott and White Memorial Hospital.

51—The first thing to try to do is to get the patient to the warmest possible environment, whether that be getting them out of the wind or out of the water [if they have fallen in].

So the first two things to be concerned about on a hike or in the wilderness are basically to remove everything possible wet, get the patient dry and try and get them into a warmer environment. Even if that just means out of the wind behind shelter even of a hillside.

Then you want to try additional measures, whether that’s using insulating materials like a sleeping bag or dry clothing to warm the patient and also ingestion of warm liquids can help.

If the person is cold and they’re already in water, the water between them and their clothing is actually insulating. The heat is conducted out of the body and into the water but it’s maintained between them and their clothing. And it’s only if those clothes can come off and all the water can be removed that that’s actually helpful.

That’s our show…we receive support from the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program.

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

Hypothermia

Thursday, January 19th, 2012


This is Passport to Texas

When you’re hunting, fishing, or camping in January, remember: even though we’re in Texas, temperatures can drop well below freezing. Cold temperatures and strong winds increase the risk of hypothermia.

Dorian Drigalla (Dre-gal-a) is an assistant professor of Emergency Medicine at Scott and White Memorial Hospital.

09—Hypothermia is a condition where the body’s temperature drops below normal and certain physiologic changes happen the body because of that.

There are three stages of hypothermia that determine the severity.

41—Stage one, or mild hypothermia, is when the body’s temperature drops from what is considered normal down between 1 and 3 degrees below that.

Stage two – becomes a little bit more obvious in that the person starts to realize they are more than just cold and while they are still conscious, they do realize that they are shivering more, the shivering becomes more noticeable and the rest of the body’s movements are less coordinated. It’s at this point that the body starts to appear more pale.

Stage three is when the body temperature drops below ninety degrees. At this point, the body’s reflexes start to fail, the shivering intended in the prior two stages to help warm the body starts to fail. Concentration, speaking and thinking become more difficult.

Severe hypothermia can lead to organ failure and death.

Back country treatment of hypothermia tomorrow

That’s our show…with support from the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program.

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

Prescription Fire

Monday, October 10th, 2011

This is Passport to Texas

Given the devastation produced by wildfires this year, it may be difficult to grasp the vital role fire plays in land management. Nature’s been using it for eons with great success.

David Riskind, director of natural resources for state parks, says there’s a difference between a fire burning out of control, and the prescription burns biologists recommend to landowners.

Controlled burning is a term that people use that you start at part A, and you burn until you get to part B. Professional land managers use the term prescribed fire because you have specific objectives, you have specific outcomes, you burn under very specific conditions. And so a prescription is a planning document… you lay everything out ahead of time and you then implement it with very specific objectives in mind.

Riskind says the objectives set forth in prescribed burns vary from property to property.

There can be a whole series of objectives. From very simple things like fuel load reduction. You can have specific habitat objectives…to change the vegetation structure and composition to support waterfowl, or to support antelope, or lesser prairie chickens…or Houston toads for that matter.

Houston toad habitat took a big hit from wildfires last month. Learn more on tomorrow’s show.

The Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program supports our series and works to increase fishing, hunting, shooting and boating opportunities in Texas.

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