River Watch Open House

Please join us for an Open House on Sunday, February 26th, 2-5 p.m. Come learn about our programs and relax with River Watch students, staff, Board members, and our families.

If you’ve come to our open houses over the last couple of years, you know to expect fun conversations, tasty snacks, and family-friendly activities. This time, we’ll have archery from 2:30 – 3:30 and a nature hike from 3:30 – 4:30. We’ll also have some kites on hand for anyone who wants to give that a try in the open area next door.

The River Watch EcoHouse is at 10611 Platt Lane.

Directions: Take 71 east, just past the airport, to FM973. Turn left at the light, and go north 2.2 miles. Turn left on Platt Lane, which then doglegs to the left. River Watch is the third house on the left.

An RSVP is not necessary, but we would love to hear that you’re coming: Contact Brent Lyles at brent@ayrw.org or 512-773-9789.

In case of bad weather, check message at 512-773-9789.

Feel free to forward this invitation to other friends and family! See you there!

Volunteers needed for EcoHouse work day on Saturday, Feb. 25th

Volunteers needed! On  Saturday, February 25th, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., we need 10-15 people to help us tidy up and get ready for our Open House the next day. Come do some light cleaning around the River Watch EcoHouse; do some yard work; and help set up tables, chairs, and decorations. There will be two shifts, from 10 to 1, and from 1 to 4. If you’re interested and available, please email our Executive Director, Brent Lyles, at brent@ayrw.org

Young Women River Watchers call for owls and search for mussels

January 20 – 21, 2012       15 River Watch students from three Austin high schools spend the night at the Hornsby EcoHouse. Fun and adventure was had with games, a night hike calling for owls, and a morning freshwater mussel search. Photos from the hike.

Introducing River Watch’s new Strategic Plan

It’s been nearly a year in the making, and it’s finally done! Our new Strategic Plan is available for download (see link below), and we welcome your comments and feedback.

What’s more, we’ll especially welcome your support as we grow over the next few years!

Our plan has three main goals:

  1. Double the size of our core program;
  2. Add new service-learning projects to complement our core program; and
  3. Behind the scenes, grow our organizational capacity (Board, staff, infrastructure, etc.) to support this programmatic expansion.
Click on this link to download a PDF of our plan:

A new grant for River Watch

We are pleased to announce that the Philip T. Bee Charitable Trust has awarded Austin Youth River Watch a grant for $5,000 to support our core programs in the coming semester. The Philip T. Bee Charitable Trust is based in Dallas, Texas, and supports a variety of charitable organizations in Dallas and Austin, as well as statewide programs benefiting all Texans. This is their first gift to River Watch, and we are honored to have been chosen for support — thanks, y’all, we’ll make you proud!

New video of Spring Break EcoAdventure 2011

Click below to see the short (and wonderful) video of our Spring Break trip to West Texas in March 2011. On that trip, 11 of our high-school students traveled to Balmorhea, the Davis Mountains, McDonald Observatory, Big Bend National Park, Kickapoo Cavern State Park, and many spots in between. We camped under the stars, swam with endangered pupfish, competed to see who could sound like an angry javelina, hiked for miles in Big Bend, and even did some karaoke with Cowboy Cooter in Terlingua. In 2011, it was the girls’ turn to go on a road trip, and next year, it’ll be the boys’ turn for a similarly life-changing adventure…

A big THANK YOU goes out to Michelle Canning and her husband Jim, who volunteered hours of their time to put this video together!

Website is live!

Our new website is live! (Of course, if you’re reading this, you already know that…) The site was designed by Causality, and it’s built on a WordPress platform. Causality did a terrific job, and was a great group to work with. This has been a team effort, and we’d like to thank all of the Board, staff, and community members who helped with reviews and edits. Please, take a look around, and let us know what you think!

September 10, 2011: River Watch invites the public to celebrate World Water Monitoring Day

On Saturday, September 10th, from 10 a.m. to noon, please join our River Watchers on the hike-and-bike trail to learn about the importance of clean water. We’ll show visitors how we do our scientific tests, and you can even do a test yourself! This is a family-friendly event, so bring your kiddos and pooches. We’ll look forward to seeing you there!

About World Water Monitoring Day: Each year, water-quality monitors all over the world join together to celebrate their important work. The actual date varies from place to place, but the intent of the event is always to bring public awareness to issues of water quality in our rivers, lakes, and streams. For more information about this global effort, click here.

August 29, 2011: Fall Program Begins

On August 29th, River Watch will begin its 20th year of programs. Congratulations to Program Director Elisabeth Welsh on kicking off another great year!

July 15, 2011: Eutrophic water discovered in Bouldin Creek

During our Summer Leadership Program, our River Watchers were doing their regular monitoring visit to Bouldin Creek when they discovered something unusual: Eutrophic (pronounced “yoo-TROE-fick”) water, in a place that usually contained normal, healthy creek water. Eutrophic water is water that has experienced a sudden decline in quality, including a loss of oxygen, and it is dangerous for fish and other living organisms. Eutrophication can sometimes be caused by an influx of nitrates or other pollution, but in this case, we think it was caused by our extremely hot weather, combined with decreased water-flow rates. We alerted our partnering scientists at the City’s Watershed Protection Department, and we will continue monitoring this site. Hopefully, the situation will correct itself once the drought and the record-setting heat are over.