Organizations

 

McKinney Roughs Nature Park
By Samantha Schmidt

            One of the four locations at which 8th graders in D-term will be volunteering is McKinney Roughs Nature Park, located just southeast of Austin. The park has been a popular place for recreation among the citizens of Central Texas for many years, owing to its beautiful landscape, diverse flora and fauna, and many fun activities.1
            A key contributor to this varied environment is the presence of four individual ecosystems: East Texas Piney Zone, a riparian zone, Post Oak Savannah, and Blackland Prairie, each of which has its own characteristics.1 The East Texas Piney Woods, for example, contain mainly pine forests and other hardwood  trees,2 while the riparian zone is the bit of land that falls beside the Colorado River where it runs through the park.3 On the other hand, the Post Oak Savannah carries a combination of different grass types and trees, including the live oak, blackjack oak, and the black hickory,4 and the Blackland Prairie, as can be inferred by the name, is filled with grasses to create a spacious, open landscape.5 The sharply contrasted beauties of all these ecosystems can catch the eye of any visitor, assuring him or her that his or her trip was indeed worthwhile from the moment he or she enters the park.
            The many activities available at McKinney Roughs, however, are the main motivation that people have for coming to the park. The 18 miles worth of trails alone provide unique opportunities for hiking and horseback riding, if a group brings its horses with them. Trips on the river are also available for all ages that enjoy rafting, kayaking, and canoeing throughout the warm months. There is also a challenge course packed with team-building activities of varying degrees of difficulty, which is a popular attraction for all sorts of groups. The park offers environmental classes as well in an effort to educate the public, with topics ranging from “Land Stewardship” to “ Making Connections”, a course in which students participate in fun activities while at the same time working to repair environmental problems. Different camps for kids ages 6-12 are also put together by the park, and at them the kids are able to participate in all of the earlier mentioned activities with guidance by those who know the area best. With all of these exciting attractions, it’s no wonder that the park has been able to maintain its city-wide popularity through the years.1
            Considering that McKinney Roughs is so large with 1,100 acres of beautiful land, it's easy to imagine why they need volunteers like the St. Stephen's 8th graders to help them out.1 On Wednesday, the Conservation group led by Ms. Clemons helped to clean up the park.6 The kids participated in several activities under the guidance of three park officials to benefit the land, which included raking leaves and sweeping them from ponds, pulling up dead bushes, and planting new plants to bring the area back to life.7 After their added five hours of work, which portion of the park looked much improved from its winter-struck state and once again resembled its usual, gorgeous self. Though our work on one small region might not seem to make a large difference, one thing that D-term has taught the 8th grade is that when it comes to the environment, every little act is a step in changing the world. 

 

Bibliography:

1. "McKinney Roughs Nature Park: Where Texas comes together." lcra.org. Lower Colorado River Authority, 1996. Web. 16 Dec. 2009. <http://www.lcra.org/parks/developed_parks/mckinney_roughs.html>.

2. "Eco-Regions - Pineywoods." Texas Forest Service - Trees of Texas. Texas Forest Service - Member Texas A&M System, 2008. Web. 16 Dec. 2009. <http://texastreeid.tamu.edu/content/texasEcoRegions/Pineywoods/>.

3. "What is A Riparian Zone - Water Quality - extension.usu.edu." Utah State University Extension - extension.usu.edu. Utah State University Extension, 2009. Web. 16 Dec. 2009. <http://extension.usu.edu/waterquality/htm/watershedmanage/riparian>.

4. "Eco-Regions - Post Oak Savannah." Texas Forest Service - Trees of Texas. Texas Forest Service - Member Texas A&M System, 2008. Web. 16 Dec. 2009. <http://texastreeid.tamu.edu/content/texasEcoRegions/PostOakSavanah/>.

5. "Eco-Regions - Blackland Prairie." Texas Forest Service - Trees of Texas. Texas Forest Service - Member Texas AM System, 2008. Web. 16 Dec. 2009. <http://texastreeid.tamu.edu/content/texasEcoRegions/BlacklandPrairies/>.

6. Laws, Brooke. "D-Term 2009." St. Stephen's Internal Web Portal. St. Stephen's Episcopal School, 2009. Web. 16 Dec. 2009. <http://spartans.sstx.org/~blaws/SSS/D-Term%202009.html>.

7. Kyle, Carter. "Volunteering at McKinney Roughs." Personal interview. 16 Dec. 2009.