The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s Coastal Fisheries Division marked the 20th anniversary of its Groundwater to the Gulf program this year, bringing 30 educators from Austin to the Texas coast for a hands-on institute on water science.
According to a June 26 TPWD news release, the program, known as G2G, is a free three-to-four-day field-trip-based science institute for K-12 science teachers and other informal educators. The curriculum centers on how water connects across the landscape as it flows down the Colorado River and into the Gulf. First held in 2006, the institute grew out of a recognized need in the Austin area for a water-focused workshop, the agency said.
During a typical institute, educators learn to measure water quality, determine flow rate and identify coastal habitats, while taking part in activities on groundwater recharge, aquatic food webs, fish and plant adaptations, seagrass identification and a guided cave tour at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. To mark the anniversary, this year’s participants spent a day studying freshwater systems in Austin before traveling to Palacios to explore the coast firsthand.
“We were so excited to be able to offer the opportunity to visit the Gulf during this year’s Groundwater to the Gulf,” said Holly Grand, G2G program coordinator for TPWD’s Coastal Fisheries Division, in the release. “Getting hands-on experience generally helps to create connections and increases understanding of the material presented.”
On the coast, educators participated in instruction at the Palacios Marine Agricultural Research Center and Matagorda Bay Nature Park and joined a trip aboard the research vessel Archimedes with the Texas Floating Classroom. Participants receive continuing education credits and later use the activities in their own classrooms.
Meredith Harris, an engineering teacher at Stiles Middle School in Leander, said following the river to Matagorda Bay underscored the watershed’s interconnectedness. “It really drove home how interconnected the entire watershed system is, and how upstream activities can so dramatically affect other ecosystems, all the way into the ocean,” she said in the release.
TPWD said partner organizations include the Colorado River Alliance, Lower Colorado River Alliance, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, St. Edward’s University and the City of Austin’s Watershed Protection Department and Wildland Conservation program.