Passport to Texas

This is Passport to Texas

Archery—the original shooting sport—fell out of favor as a component of physical education in public schools some years ago. But, now, thanks to the National Archery in the Schools program, interest in the sport is growing.

The National Archery in the Schools program certifies teachers as instructors. Educators learn the program just as they will teach it to their students.

06—It’s an all day workshop to become a certified instructor. They learn with the same equipment and the same method.

Burnie Kessner is archery coordinator for Texas Parks and Wildlife.

10—We use international style archery. It’s bulls-eye target faces, Olympic size. We use Olympic whistle commands, and they learn the same way worldwide.

Kessner says while certified instructors prepare students for tournaments, the successes a child experiences extend beyond the bulls-eye.

13—So, when a kid is shooting archery, and they’re on the shooting line—they’re all the same. So, it doesn’t matter what kind of home they go home to after the tournament, when they’re at the tournament, they’re the same as everyone else. So, that’s the self-esteem building piece; it’s standardized.

Archery is a sport where anyone of nearly any ability can participate…and we have more about that tomorrow.

That’s our show… our series receives support from the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program…working to increase fishing, hunting, shooting and boating opportunities in Texas…For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

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This is passport to Texas

Fall is the best time to plant trees, woody shrubs and perennials in the landscape. Yet, before you break ground, there are several questions you should have answered:

10—Is it drought tolerant? Is it saline-tolerant? Is it alkaline-tolerant? Does it propagate easily? What’s it beneficial to? Horses, wild game or other types of livestock, is it pollinated by honeybees? Fire-tolerant?

Kathy Boydston is the Coordinator for the Wildlife Habitat Assessment Program at Texas Parks and Wildlife, which is the home of a comprehensive online Texas Plant Information Database.

09—Most of them are natives; some of them are what we call naturalized plants. There is a list of 150 attributes for each plant that is in that database.

Users of the database, found on the Parks and Wildlife website can determine what plants will be the most beneficial to wildlife, which are best for a certain soil and what plants grow better in the heat of the Texas sun…

17—Trying to get people to plant more wildlife-friendly plants, rather than a lot of exotic species. We’re trying to get people to find other alternatives for lets say, grass species in their lawn, or we’re trying to encourage people to xeriscape more, use more native plants that use less water.

To learn more about the Texas Plant Information Database, log on to our website, at passporttotexas.org.

That’s our show for today…with funding provided by Chevrolet…building dependable, reliable trucks for more than 90 years. For Texas Parks and Wildlife, I’m Cecilia Nasti.

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This is Passport to Texas

The Texas Legacy Project, Stories of Courage and Conservation, hits bookstores and online booksellers this month, with a forward by Texas parks and Wildlife Executive Director, Carter Smith.

10—He brings the kind of diversity of experience, the passion, the concern, the care for Texas natural resources that we hope will bring other people in to see the book and try and learn from it.

David Todd is one of the book’s authors and a member of the Conservation History Association of Texas. The book features stories from a cross-section of our state’s most ardent conservationists.

10—We have interviews with a range of people: farmers,. Ranchers, fishermen, biologist, ornithologists, chemists, politicians, river guides, land owners…

The book began as an online archive at Texas legacy.org primarily featuring videos of people who shaped and influenced the protection of Texas natural resources.

20—We have about 60 people included in the book out of the 225 who are actually in the archive. What we’ve tried to do is find people who are maybe representative of a way of life or a kind of concern about the environment and hope that they act as sort of examples of what many, many other people throughout Texas have been working on.

Todd said that he hopes the book and website will inspire future generations of Texans to protect the precious natural resources of our state.

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

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This is Passport to Texas

Even people without a computer know about YouTube, the online video sharing website where you can view videos of practically anything.

03—Our YouTube channel has almost 200 videos on it.

Whitney Bishop is a video and web producer who helps oversee Texas Parks and Wildlife’s social media efforts, including its YouTube channel.

08—We have videos on almost all of our state parks, so it you’re thinking of going to a state park in Texas, it’s a great place to go and check it out and see what the park looks like and what it has to offer.

The parks videos give visitors a sense of being there. And with 200 videos and growing, there’s bound to be something for every outdoor enthusiast.

08—We also have stories about hunting and fishing. We have breaking news stories. Like, we’ve been posting recently stories about the oil spill and what Texas parks and Wildlife is doing about it.

In addition to YouTube, you can keep up with Texas Parks and Wildlife via its Facebook fan page, and Twitter feeds.

13—If you’re on Twitter, then you do these 140 character tweets. And Texas Parks and Wildlife also has some Twitter feeds people can follow. And Twitter is kind of like just late breaking news as it’s happening. So, it’s a good way to keep up with what’s going on right at the moment.

Find links to all Texas Parks and Wildlife social media on the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

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

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This is Passport to Texas

Social networking sites such as Facebook allow people to connect with not only one another, but also with agencies like Texas Parks and Wildlife via fan pages.

09—We have almost 30-thousand Facebook fans; and Facebook is really easy to use. And the neat thing about it is that we’re able to have real conversations with people who are interested in Texas outdoor news.

Whitney Bishop is a video and web producer who helps oversee the agency’s social media efforts. She calls Texas Parks and Wildlife fans engaged and helpful.

16—We’ll post a topic on Facebook, and then people will start talking to each other; it’s like we’re sitting in a big living room together and there’s conversations going back and forth between people. Sometimes they’ll recommend places to go—recently we had a post about good swimming holes in Texas, and a lot of people gave their ideas of great places to go.

A real bonus, says Bishop, is the fans’ ability and willingness to post their images to the site.

14—Our fans have posted almost 2 thousand fan photos. And they’re posting things like wildlife, outdoor scenes from all around Texas. We’ve gotten really neat pictures, like baby bluebirds, and bobcats and owls—you name it. I mean, it’s kind of like the National Geographic of Texas.

Become a fan of Texas Parks and Wildlife when you log on to Facebook.com/texasparksandwildlife. Tomorrow, other ways the agency uses technology to connect with you.

02—Our YouTube channel has almost 200 videos on it.

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

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