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Watershed Exploration

Activity

Where Does Your Water Go?

Learn about how water travels through your watershed by making your own model! Crumple up a piece of paper or foil. Notice all of the valleys and hills? This is your landscape. You can also use clay or soil. Spray or pour small amounts of water onto your landscape. Notice what happens. Where does the water gather? What direction is it traveling in? You can use markers to trace the waterways near where you live or the park you are visiting.

Aerial view of bend in the Guadalupe River, I-35, New Braunfels, TX

Aerial view of a watershed system in Indonesia

Science Seed

A watershed is an area of land where water naturally collects and drains to one point. Watersheds are important because they act like natural filters and storage containers for our water. They collect rain and snowmelt, which then flow into rivers, lakes, and underground aquifers, providing us with clean water for drinking, watering crops, recreation, and protecting us from flooding. Watersheds also support diverse ecosystems, from forests to wetlands, which are home to a wide variety of plant and animal species! TSBVI is in the Shoal Creek watershed.

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earn Badges

Badges can be earned through hands-on experiences within each of the 16 branches of science, or “Science Slices.” You can earn a badge in each branch of science by doing four activities in these categories. We also encourage participants to keep a Nature Journal to record their memories, and to express themselves creatively through writing or drawing after each activity. We recommend that each child (and parent if they’d like) write or draw in a journal after each activity, with expectations of your children that match their age (the goal is self-expression, not perfection).

Explore Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired

The Ecologist School Pocket Guide: TSBVI edition is a collaboration between Families in Nature and the Texas School for the Blind & Visually Impaired as an effort to help our community learn more about the TSBVI campus, while getting outside into nature together! This booklet has 80 lessons across 16 different branches of science to help you play, learn, and volunteer on campus!

join Families in Nature

It is our vision to inspire all families to fall in love with nature and foster the next generation of conservationists. Becoming a member of Families in Nature will give your family the opportunity to have adventures in nature, experience field science, develop as youth conservation leaders, and make memories that will last a lifetime. Memberships are free for everyone.

Who are we?

Families in Nature works to create opportunities for nature connection with the purpose of sparking a deep love and desire to protect, conserve and restore the environment. Our mission is to connect children and their families to nature and to each other through time spent learning, playing, and volunteering outdoors. It is our vision to inspire ALL families to fall in love with nature and foster the next generation of conservationists.