by Ed Meza

For the month of July, the South Texas Ecotourism Center offered a four-week summer camp to students ages seven to tenon Tuesdays through Thursdays. The goal was to introduce the children to the preservation, restoration and education of our various rich ecosystems in the Rio Grande Valley and South Texas. 

The first week focused on native plants. Students learned how to keep a journal of their lessons and findings. They explored the life cycle of plants, created miniature ecosystems, played nature-based games, watched nature movies and gave presentations of what they learned that week. 

The second week focused on birds. Campers learned about the structure of birds, native and migratory birds, as well as raptors and raptor identification. 

On the third week, students learned about native wildlife. Activities focused on wildlife habitat, animal footprints, and what animals eat. During the final week, the students learned about butterflies and insects. They explored butterfly and insect structure, habitat and food. They created butterflies as an art project. Students participating were from Laguna Vista, Port Isabel, South Padre Island, Bayview, Los Fresnos, Brownsville and Cd. Victoria from Mexico.

Staff and volunteers, including Texas Master Naturalists Marilyn Lorenz and Madeleine Sandefur, shared their knowledge and experience with the students and made the classes more interesting. Blue Marlin Supermarket of South Padre Island sponsored the entire summer camp with a generous donation. The summer camp ended with a luncheon for the students and their parents, volunteers and staff. Gift bags, STEC T-shirts and certificates of participation and appreciation were given out. 

What made this summer camp special was the use of our 10 acre site which gave the students an opportunity to experience the beauty of nature in one location. STEC interprets the six major types of habitats found in the Rio Grande Valley including the coastal prairie, lomas, savanna, thorny brush forest, salt prairie and agricultural.  Interpretive panels with QR codes, inside classroom and lab, outdoor classrooms, lookout platform with binoculars and telescopes, outdoor displays with sculptures, ponds, agricultural garden and WiFi are useful tools to enhance learning.

Education is the major goal of the center and this year’s summer camp focused on our youth. In the fall, we plan to have a speaker series, seasonal events, and evening events.

The South Texas Ecotourism Center is a department of Cameron County and is free to the public It is open daily from 8 am to 5 pm and is located at 501 W. State Highway 100, Laguna Vista, Texas. For information please call (956) 772-0210.

Please check out our webpage www.stec-lv.org and FB page: www.facebook.com/STECLV.