Join the Texas Children in Nature network at the annual Summit and Champions Luncheon. The Summit will bring together leaders from the conservation, education, health, faith and built-environments to share best practices and new innovations that will inspire others to take action.
Texas Children in Nature (TCiN) is a program of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. TCiN supports the network of over 500 partner organizations who are dedicated to creating equitble access to nature for children and families. Research shows that children who learn and play in nature are healthier, happier and smarter. Join us this year at the Summit and find out why Texas continues to lead the children in nature movement to connect over 3 million children with nature each year.
Location: Holiday Inn Corpus Christi Downtown Marina, 707 North Shoreline Boulevard, Corpus Christi, TX 78401 Register for this event by clicking on the Ticket button below. Once you are registered you can manage your schedule and networking events.
Registration includes: Access to all sessions, breakfast on Dec. 6 & 7 and access to the Champions Luncheon.
Collaboration can lead to great outcomes, especially when it involves community, nature, outdoor education, and health. In 2016, Westcave Outdoor Discovery Center and Travis Audubon partnered to activate Travis Audubon's 10-acre nature sanctuary in East Austin, a historically underserved part of the city. Their idea focused on providing nature experiences to the predominantly Hispanic and African-American communities that surround the Blair Woods Nature Preserve. The two organizations submitted their plan to the Call for Ideas program at the Center for Place-Based Initiatives (CPBI), an organization at the Dell Medical School that works to find local solutions to local problems. The Call for Ideas program focuses on community-sourced ways to improve health. The program’s review team, composed of community members, and faculty and staff at the University of Texas at Austin, UT’s Dell Medical School, and UT School of Public Health, selected the Blair Woods revitalization plan for project development. CPBI, Travis Audubon, and Westcave worked to activate the space in several ways. CPBI and Travis Audubon developed relationships with community members and organizations. They held Family Nature Days to introduce the community to the sanctuary and educate them about Texas wildlife and ecology. They used a built environment assessment and led walking focus groups to make decisions about revitalizing the space for community use. Westcave engaged nearby elementary schools and adapted afterschool and summer camp programming for the students at the nature preserve. This session will tell the story of building community, working to activate a green space in an urban area, partnering with nearby schools, and what each partner gained from the collaboration.
