The Rio Brazos Chapter offers the public a variety of opportunities for learning about nature and Texas natural landscapes, expanding knowledge about natural resource ecology and management, and enjoying the outdoors. Explore what we offer below and please let us know what we can do to help you and our communities learn about and enjoy nature.
Opportunities for youth education
Information for public and private school teachers
The chapter’s Education Committee develops and maintains a collection of learning materials for use by members to assist teachers, camp hosts, and others in enhancing children’s knowledge about wildlife, birds, insects, plants and trees, rocks and fossils, soils, and more. In addition, members can lead nature walks, field investigations, and citizen science activities.
Our volunteers have a variety of presentations that focus on different parts of the natural world. We develop content linked to Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) when possible. Presentations may be tailored to number of students, grade level(s), and lesson time available. Our most popular programs have general topics based on grade level with individual activities or lessons. Multiple activities and lessons for a single session are tied together under the general topic. Some of these activities are suitable and/or designed for outdoors. We offer many of our outdoor educational activities at Acton Nature Center. If you would like your program at ANC, please check Policies and Tips for Field Trips at Acton Nature Center.
Teachers: Please submit the Education Assistance Request Form to request nature-related educational assistance in the classroom or with a field trip. Please try to submit assistance requests as far in advance of your anticipated need as possible (we suggest 3 months). We need adequate time to line up volunteers and assemble materials and may not be able to meet your need on short notice.
Information for homeschools
Photo by V. Taber.
The Rio Brazos Chapter provides trained volunteer instructors for a homeschool science program at Acton Nature Center. Classes cover nature-related topics, such as rocks and soils (Earth science); water; wildlife; plants; insects (bioscience); and the night sky (astronomy).
To learn more and to participate in this program, please go to the Acton Nature Center Programs and Projects webpage and scroll down to find information about the homeschool program at Acton Nature Center.
Opportunities for our communities and the public
Chapter Booth
The chapter has a booth featuring a backdrop and a touch table. The backdrop shows features of nature – birds, butterflies, rocks, flowers, reptiles – and things we do – conducting training classes, teaching children, interacting with people at public events, putting up bird boxes, leading nature walks, maintaining butterfly gardens, and more. The touch table holds a variety of items from nature — seeds, insect specimens, animal skulls, fossils, and more — that spark interest and prompt questions and stories. Chapter members staff the booth, providing information and answering questions about the chapter and the Texas Master Naturalist program. The chapter welcomes opportunities to provide outreach with our booth at community events.
Please go to the Contact Us page and submit a request for more information about booth availability at your event or venue.
Speakers
Some of our chapter members can give presentations about the Texas Master Naturalist program or special nature-related topics at meetings of community and civic organizations and groups. Limited services are available now, and we are working on expanding our capacity to provide speakers on a range of topics. Depending on the topic and time frame, we may be able to customize a presentation for your group, so please ask.
Please go to the Contact Us page and submit a request about having a Texas Master Naturalist speak at your meeting or event.