Adventure abounds in the many nature programs at the Cibolo Center for Conservation’s campuses: the Cibolo Nature Center and the new Nest Nature School on Herff Farm which will open in the Fall. The Center promotes outdoor learning, community connections and applied research as part of its vision and commitment to Kendall County.
Their biggest endeavor to date is the creation of a new campus to expand on the five successful years of the nature school. The new area on the Herff Farm will feature the Nest Nature School with four classroom cottages, an amphitheater, a historic barn, a gathering hall auditorium, an event lawn, and a school welcome center – “a whole learning village” with plenty of parking nestled among the multitude of heritage oak trees.
Linda Charlton, Nature School Director of Early Childhood Development, stresses the importance of outdoor education for children. “It provides children resiliency and motor skills while assisting to help with ADHD and obesity. Outdoor education helps the children with executive function. It is important to view this education through a lens of conservation and through play, the way children learn best.”
With the opening of the Nest School in the Fall, Sarah Mortati, Nest Nature School Director of Administration, explained that they will “maintain the heart of the current outdoor education program to expand learning to more children.” The Nest School fosters growth for pre-school children ages 3-5.
Margaret Lamar, Executive Director, Cibolo Center for Conservation, explained the three areas on which this leader in conservation focuses. Outdoor Learning is key to programs developed for children, families and adults. From year-round pre-school programs to the summer programs featuring summer camps for children and night hikes for adults, there is something for everyone who wants to play in nature. One of the popular programs is the homeschool garden plots where families grow vegetables from seeds to prepare and sell at the Farmer’s Market in June.
Community Connections are achieved through outreach such as the Farmer’s Market at Herff Farm on Saturdays to the Moondance concerts at the Nature Center. The nature trails are open to the public and plans are in the works for a Monarch Festival in the Fall this year.
Serious conservation work is done through the Applied Research area. For twenty years volunteers and scientists have monitored the wildlife, waterways and plants in their natural habitats. According to Lamar, “For our civic engagement in the community, we sit on committees such as transportation and the unified development code to ensure the City and County decision-makers have conservation on their minds when preparing for the future.”
For more than 32 years, the Cibolo has deepened the community’s connection to its land and water and has become a model of conservation education throughout the state.