Celebrating Earth Day with Artist Boat

In honor of Earth Day, Artist Boat offered a sampling of their programs today for free to teachers.  I couldn't pass up an opportunity to spend a beautiful morning kayaking and creating art along the Coastal Heritage Preserve in Galveston.  We were rewarded with sightings of Roseate Spoonbills, Brown Pelicans (a conservation success story), a Great Blue Heron, a Great Egret (catching a fish!), and a Cormorant.

Artist Boat is a fantastic non-profit that educates the public about our coastal ecology by combining kayak exploration with watercolor artwork.  It's a brilliant combination!  Strapped to each tandem kayak is a plastic box containing two sets of non-toxic watercolors and two boards taped off with watercolor paper.  Sometime during the trip, we stop our kayaks for a brief art lesson and then pull out the art supplies to create a watercolor right in the kayak.  Making art pushes us to slow down and look at nature more closely, to pay attention in a different way.

Through grants, Artist Boat has also acquired land along the coast, which they are working to restore by planting native coastal grasses and removing fire ants, red ants, and other invasive species.  In addition to their kayak adventures, Artist Boat also does some land-based hikes, habitat restoration, and field labs that include water quality testing and seining to identify the wildlife in the shallow coastal waters.

I've had several opportunities to participate in trips with this amazing organization over the years: A "Headwaters to Baywaters" professional development series on our watershed, a professional development and team-building day organized by my school, and a birthday celebration I organized with my family.

Just two weeks ago, I participated in another Educator Kayak Adventure offered free to teachers in collaboration with FotoFest.  For this adventure, we kayaked across Lake Charlotte (in Cedar Hill Park) and through the Cypress Swamp of the lower Trinity River region.

Consider taking a public Artist Boat kayak adventure with your family!  It's a great way to get outside and learn about our local coastal habitats!
Then, visit the new Hall of Texas Coastal Ecology at the Houston Museum of Natural Science to learn more!