Watershed Protection’s Youth Education program provides school outreach, field trips, curriculum, and service learning opportunities. The program encourages youth to make informed decisions about choices that impact Austin’s water quality.
The following programs are available for schools, organized by grade level.
Clean Creek Campus for Grades 3 to 8
Clean Creek Campus is a partnership with Keep Austin Beautiful. The program is free and consists of engaging, science-based activities. Students are able to connect in-school learning to local environmental issues and solutions with a focus on protecting water quality.
Earth Camp and Earth School for Grade 5
Earth Camp is an award-winning science program that focuses on water quality for fifth-grade students attending Title I schools in the Austin Independent School District. The multi-day, field trip-based program takes place at outdoor sites in the Austin area.
Earth School takes place outside, on school grounds, with a hands-on presentation about Austin's watersheds, the Edwards Aquifer, water quality, pollution prevention, and flood safety.
Watershed Detectives for Middle and High School
Watershed Detectives is an award-winning program for middle and high school students in Austin to learn more about our local water resources.
Kids and Families
We have camps and activities that families can do together.
- Family Clean Creek Camp
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Parents, guardians, and youth leaders, join your 9 to14 year-old children in exploring and beautifying Austin creeks, springs, and caves. We’ll hike, wade, snorkel, and spelunk. all while learning about the plants and critters that inhabit these areas.
- Virtual Reality Tours
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Use your computer, smartphone, tablet, or Virtual reality devices to explore.
- Fun Sheets and Masks
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Fun Sheets
Masks
Download and color one of our masks:
- Explore a Creek
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Think back…close your eyes and let your mind return to a day when you were young. You dipped your toes in a little stream, picked up rocks to find bugs, listened to frogs chirping. Austin is a city of creeks; thousands of miles of little creeks and larger creeks flow throughout the city. You can discover, explore, and enjoy many of these creeks. Even in the middle of the urban area, you just need to find the right place as some creeks may be a bit hidden from view.
Central Austin
Blunn Creek Preserve, 1200 St. Edwards Drive, 78704: The Blunn Creek Preserve is a beautiful site for hiking. Get your feet wet and enjoy the surprising silence in this peaceful patch of nature that is surrounded by all the busy city streets nearby. Along the east creek trail, head west on a trail leading to the creek and discover a little hidden gem where seeping spring water paints the rocks and young bald cypresses aim to the sky.
Mayfield Park, 3505 W. 35th Street, 78703: Mayfield Park, located by a little creek called Taylor Slough, is known for brilliant peacocks wandering the property, so follow the birds to a scenic hiking trail near the entrance of the historic cottage. Take the trail downhill, and once you get to a kiosk, turn left to the gently flowing creek. Hop along stones across the creek and view the astonishing grotto overlooks along the hillside.
East Austin
Boggy Creek Greenbelt, 1114 Nile Street, 78702: Boggy Creek meanders through the Boggy Creek Greenbelt near Nile Street and North Pleasant Valley Road. Stand at the pedestrian bridge to watch the creek flow or wade in to get your feet wet. Recently restored from a mostly concrete channel to a more natural setting that meanders with rocks and vegetation, riffles and pools, Boggy Creek is healing fast and its creekside forest is growing! If you feel adventurous, you can follow its path upstream throughout the greenbelt all the way to 12th Street near Downs Mabson Fields.
Bartholomew Park, 5201 Berkman Drive, 78723: Tannehill Creek flows year round directly through Bartholomew Park on Berkman Drive. Maintenance crews discontinued mowing along the creek in 2012, allowing willow and mulberry trees to grow back in force! Observe the creek and its Grow Zone from the pedestrian bridge or explore its path following the creek current. Discover the big bunchgrasses on its banks, watch the fish dart by, and pick up rocks to find what bugs are hiding from sight!
North Austin
11103 Callanish Park Drive, 78750: A hidden creek adventure awaits you at the Upper Bull Creek Greenbelt. A small easement at 11103 Callanish Park Drive leads you along a trail to this beautiful Hill Country creek. Close your eyes and listen to the peaceful running water or take off to explore and have fun discovering critters and plants along the stream.
Bull Creek District Park, 6701 Lakewood Drive, Austin, TX 78731: Bull Creek District Park is one of Austin’s most popular parks. Beloved for its beautiful limestone outcroppings, springs, and cascading creek, this 47-acre park offers numerous recreational opportunities, including hiking. Please note that dogs are welcome at the park, but must stay on-leash.
5601 Shoal Creek Boulevard, 78756: The Shoal Creek Greenbelt embraces the course of Shoal Creek as it meanders from north to south through the heart of our City. A small segment of the creek by Shoal Creek Boulevard near Shady Oak Court is growing strong after mowing ceased in 2012. This Grow Zone has wetland plants to discover at one of the stormwater outlets that was restored in 2014 to slow down the water before it reached the creek. Enjoy the young trees and wildflowers growing in this creekside Grow Zone. Step in the water! Get your feet wet and listen to the rushing flow telling stories from upstream!
South Austin
Onion Creek Greenbelt, 7001 Onion Creek Drive, 78744: One of our largest creeks traversing the city from east to west, Onion Creek offers many spots for exploration. Start at the Onion Creek Greenbelt, at the end of Vine Hill Drive and Onion Creek Drive. This spot has a magnificent view and fun swimming holes to cool down in the summer months. This area was converted to parkland and open space after flood-prone homes were bought out.
Parking lot near 702 Decker Prairie Drive, 78748: If you enter at the main entrance to Mary Moore Searight Park, you’ll probably miss this hidden gem since it’s a bit of a hike to the creek. However, a short downhill hike from a parking lot nestled in a residential area on Decker Prairie Drive may inspire you to explore the part of Slaughter Creek located near a dam. Upstream of the dam, the creek is wide and deep, ideal for fishing, canoeing, or bird watching. Adventure awaits downstream of the dam, a perfect spot to encounter frogs, turtles, great blue herons, and enjoy a sense of tranquility in the city. Note: from the parking lot, take the trail south.
Circle C Metro Park, 6301 W. Slaughter Lane, 78749: Glance at Slaughter Creek as you cross over it when you enter the park from the main entrance. Hike to an even better access point closer to Escarpment Boulevard where the trail merges with the creek. This is a fabulous spot for wading in the cool clear water, swimming or sitting and reflecting. During dry periods and drought, you’ll find the creek bone dry due to its location in the Edwards Aquifer recharge zone. Surface water in the recharge zone flows down into caves, cracks and sinkholes to help replenish our aquifer.
Training and Resources
There are training opportunities for educators as well as resources they can use in the classroom.
- Training Opportunity for Educators
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We partner with the Colorado River Alliance to offer Groundwater to the Gulf (G2G), a FREE field-trip based, summer institute for Central Texas educators that emphasizes classroom techniques and resources on water science and rivers.
- Groundwater Curriculum
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Our ground water curriculum is for high school students.
- Soak-in/Runoff Models
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Learn how to build a soak-in/runoff model with experiments suitable for grades 4 through 6 and grades 6 through 12.
- Kits
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Keep Austin Beautiful has educational kits about water and litter topics that you can check out.
Volunteering
Looking to volunteer? Check out opportunities with the City of Austin or one of our partners.