News of the WILD - June 2015

A TPWD newsletter of Conservation Education for educators, interpreters, trainers, and outdoor enthusiasts.

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News of the WILD

Archived editions of this eNewsletter can be found here.

In This Issue: 

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Program Spotlight: Texas Aquatic Science Curriculum Pilot

Squid kid

Texas Parks and Wildlife is proud to announce the Texas Aquatic Science curriculum pilot program.

Rolling out this summer, schools and teachers can participate in this pilot program!  If your school or district is interested, please contact johnnie.smith@tpwd.texas.gov

Participants will enjoy:

  • Teacher Professional Development (1/2 day workshop)
  • Printed Teacher Guide
  • Full access to the online portal
  • Student textbooks

Pilot schools/teachers must meet the following requirements:

  • Participating teachers must attend a Texas Aquatic Science workshop
  • Complete the formative and summative assessment and at least three activities from each chapter
  • Complete evaluation reporting and return to TPWD
  • Attend the Texas Aquatic Science Summit in the summer of 2016

Texas Aquatic Science was developed to help teachers make students aware of the importance of water to life and their part in conserving this valuable resource. The Teacher Guide is linked to short videos, which provide an overview of the main ideas in each chapter and to Texas Aquatic Science text for students that provides clear concise scientific information in an interesting way with illustrations of important concepts. Videos and student text can be found at http://texasaquaticscience.org/

The curriculum consists of a comprehensive teacher guide, available student textbook and an online student portal consisting of:

  • 14 Chapters with video introductions
  • Water and Aquatic Science Careers
  • Short Stories about Water and the Environment
  • Online video lessons

The Texas Aquatic Science curriculum is a cooperative education project sponsored by Texas Parks and Wildlife, The Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, and The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment at Texas State University. 

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Teacher Resources

Watershed mapping tool

A brand new water education tool for educators from TPWD Conservation Education and the TPWD GIS Lab!

The Texas Watershed Viewer allows users to identify local watersheds, sub watersheds, river basins, and river sub basins throughout the State of Texas.

To find your watershed and river basin, simply type your address into the search bar and press enter. The map will zoom into the address. From here, click anywhere on the map and the name of the sub watershed will appear. If you click the next arrow on the feature label, the name of the watershed will appear. If you click the next arrow again, the name of the river sub basin will appear followed by the larger river basin. Feel free to explore this tool.

Check out the Texas Watershed Viewer 

And the slimmed down mobile version: Mobile Texas Watershed Viewer

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Upcoming Events

View all upcoming events on the Events Calendar.

  • Jun 27 Growing Up WILDRound Rock, TX , TX - Round Rock - REI Learn to share conservation with children: Professional Development for anyone who works with children
  • Jul 22 Texas Aquatic Science Teacher WorkshopSan Marcos, TX - San Marcos-The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment. Earn Continuing Professional Education (CPE) credit attending the Texas Aquatic Science is a comprehensive aquatic science curriculum, from molecules to ecosystems, and headwaters to ocean, for middle school and high school students.

To learn more about other fun events and recreational activities, we invite you to sign up to receive our free email updates.  Here are archived copies to preview:

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  • State Parks Getaways e-newsletter and State Parks Promotions and Offers, highlighting ideas for your next park visit, news of park events, and fun seasonal activities  
  • Preview the next issue of the Award winning Texas Parks and Wildlife Magazine
  • Specialty Newsletters, such as Eye on Nature and Texas Hummer, including topics on wildlife diversity, conservation and statewide volunteer opportunities

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Program Links

Angler Education | Boater Education | Buffalo Soldiers | Coastal EXPO
Hunter Education | Recreation Grants | Save Water for Wildlife | Teacher Toolkit
Texas Archery in the Schools | Texas Children in Nature
Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center | Texas Master Naturalist
Texas Nature Trackers | Texas Project WILD | Texas State Parks

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