Previous Workshops
2009 Workshops
Texas Marine Education Association Workshop
"A river runs through it, " The Colorado River and it's tributaries
March 28 & 29, 2009
Join The Texas Marine Educators Association in San Angelo, TX for the first part of a multi-part workshop to study the movement of water through the Colorado River watershed system from it's headwaters down to where it empties into Matagorda Bay. This workshop is designed to help teachers of all disciplines gain a better understanding of how we impact the world of water in many ways.
The first stop of this tour will develop an understanding of the ecology, history, usage and problems of water in West Texas. The tour group, with the help of the Upper Colorado River Authority, will explore the Concho River, a tributary of the Colorado River, and Lake Nasworthy.
Mission Aransas National Estuarine Research Reserve Wetlands Education Center Teacher Workshop
Exploring the Wetlands
May 1-3, 2009
The Mission Aransas NERR announces a K-12 teacher workshop focusing on the Wetlands Education Center (WEC) curriculum. The WEC is a 3.5 acre salt marsh located on site at The University of Texas Marine Science Institute (UTMSI) in Port Aransas. There are four teaching pavilions and three floating platforms, each with a specific focus including barrier island, life between the dunes, the salt marsh, the Aransas Pass channel& jetties, oyster reefs, plankton and marine fish and water quality. Participants will gain hands on experience with specific activities in these seven areas. The avtivities focus on Life, Earth and Physical sciences and are aligned with grad level TEKS and the National Science Standards. Participants who complete the workshop will receive 12 hours of professional development credit and be given preference in scheduling their classes for field trips to the WEC.
Participants will check into the dorms Friday night May 1st, and work in the WEC on Saturday and Sunday morning. The workshop will end by 11am on Sunday May 3rd. The workshop fees is $70.00 and includes two nights in on site dormitory housing (bring your own blankets and towels), three meals on Saturday, breakfast on Sunday and a curriculum material packet. If you stay off site, the workshop fee is $48.00. The workshop is limited to the first 50 paid participants. Please fill out the registration form and return it to the address on the form. Make your check out to The University of Texas. Purchase order numbers will be accepted and credit card (Master Card & Visa) payments can be made by phone (Contact Rynetta Smith 361-749-6805).
Deadline for registration is April 24th.
2007 Workshops
Introduction to the Mission-Aransas NERR Habitats
Presented by The Texas Marine Educators Association and the University of Texas Marine Science Institute - Marine Education Services and Mission-Aransas National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR)
September 22-23, 2007
The Mission-Aransas NERR will bring together scientists, landowners, policy-makers, and the public to ensure that coastal management decisions benefit flora and fauna, water quality and people. This 27th site in the national system includes 185,708 contiguous acres of wetland, terrestrial, and marine environments. The land is primarily coastal prairie with unique oak motte habitats. The wetlands include riparian habitat and freshwater and saltwater marshes. Within the water areas, the bays are large, open, and include extensive wind tidal flats, sea grass meadows, mangroves, and oyster reefs. These unique and diverse estuarine habitats in the western Gulf of Mexico support a host of endangered and threatened species including the endangered whooping crane.
This teacher workshop will start at the most inland part of the MANERR with a tour of the Fennessey Ranch that is located on the back side of Copano Bay between Rockport and the town of Aransas Pass. We will travel downstream, sampling many locations and habitats until we end at the Aransas Pass, (the pass, not the city of) where the estuary meets the Gulf of Mexico. Educators will be exposed to a wide variety of habitats, activities and resources that are found within the MANERR.
2006 Workshops
Maritime History of the Texas Coast
Focusing on the history of the mid-coast in the field and classroom
Co-Sponsored by the Texas Marine Educators Association and Mission-Aransas National Estuarine Research Reserve
September 22 - 24, 2006
Sparkling sand, clear blue water, and an abundance of freshwater rivers and creeks greeted early explorers as they sailed through the Aransas Pass and into Aransas and Copano Bays. Explore these same bays with TMEA as we learn a unique side of Texas history too often overlooked - Texas Forgotten Ports. With instructor Jay Tarkington of Texas A&M and Captain Tommy Moore, we cruise Copano Bay on the M/V Skimmer to the sites of the old ports of Aransas City, St. Mary’s and the ruins of the first port in Texas, El Copano, which became the principal port for the support of Goliad, Gonzales and the Alamo. Probably no other port in history has been used by two opposing armies in at least two wars on an alternating basis – the Mexicans and the Texans during the War for Texas Independence and the Confederate and the Union troops during the Civil War! Saturday afternoon will be spent at the Corpus Christi Museum studying the LaSalle Expedition and the excavation of his flagship the LaBelle in Matagorda Bay as well as a presentation about the recent “dig” at El Copano. On Sunday morning, Pam Stryker will lead us in AIMS activities “Through the Eyes of Explorers” followed by a short TMEA business meeting.
Workshop fee: $97 (double occupancy) $147 (single occupancy) Reservations include lodging for the nights of Sept. 22nd and 23rd at the Best Western in Rockport, all meals on Saturday and breakfast Sunday morning, cruise, activities at the museum and AIMS workshop and curriculum. TEA accredited through the University of Texas Marine Science Institute. 10 hours of professional development credit will be given.
Reservations Deadline: Sept. 8, 2006. Please keep in mind that the spring workshop was full over a week before the deadline, so register early to avoid disappointment! Print the registration form AND the dinner menu and follow the directions for returning both. If you are interested in doing some summer background reading prior to the workshop, we recommend: Texas Forgotten Ports by Keith Guthrie, ISBN 0-89015-6661-1.