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About the Celebration of Children in Nature Awards

About the Event

On September 30, 2009, Westcave Preserve will bring Carter Smith, Executive Director of Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to The 2009 Celebration of Children in Nature Awards. Mr. Smith will talk about the current disconnect between children and nature and the urgency in finding regular opportunities for kids to actively explore the natural world. Connecting our children to nature is one if the highest priorities for the Texas Parks and Wildlife and they have been leaders in helping families and children discover the wonder of nature for decades.

The 2009 Children in Nature Awards also will raise awareness of the issue for a broad audience of community leaders, and will generate funds to support Westcave Preserve.

About Westcave Preserve

Westcave Preserve, located 28 miles west of downtown Austin in the Texas Hill Country, hosts more than 8,000 visitors each year for guided tours of its canyon and its stunning grotto and waterfall. As modern communities, families and especially children are spending more time indoors and less time in the natural world, they often demonstrate symptoms of “Nature Deficit Disorder” – a term coined by bestselling author Richard Louv. These include increased feelings of stress, trouble paying attention and feelings of not being rooted in our world. Westcave Preserve offers an antedote for Nature Deficit disorder.

About the Austin Children in Nature Community

The vision of the Austin Children in Nature Community is to ignite and fan the flames of the Central Texas movement to reconnect kids to the wonder and joy of the natural world. Westcave Preserve has served as the facilitator for the Austin Children in Nature Community since the spring of 2007. Examples of the group’s work include influencing the way communities are designed, how schools are landscaped, engaging pediatricians who value and encourage outdoor play, helping teachers integrate the outdoors into their curriculum, and supporting the outdoor choices families make when planning for their play time.

In the Austin community, public awareness of “Nature Deficit Disorder” is rising and a number of initiatives are underway to connect children and nature. To celebrate these successes and inspire even more families, educators, health care professionals and developers, Westcave Preserve will host Austin’s Children in Nature Awards. Awards will be given in four categories:

The open nominations process begins April 1 and selection of the winners will be made by a panel of children and nature-related volunteers and professionals. Award winners will be announced no later than August 15, 2009.

About Carter Smith, Executive Director of Texas Parks and Wildlife Department

Carter Smith“Arguably the greatest challenge that we as conservationists face is ensuring that our young people understand, experience, and value nature as part of their everyday lives. Without those strong bonds, the future of our lands and waters is uncertain at best.”

A native of Austin, Smith developed his passion for wildlife and the out of doors at a young age while roaming his family’s farm and ranch land interests in Gonzales, Williamson, and Edwards Counties. He has a wildlife management degree from Texas Tech and a master’s degree in conservation biology from Yale University. He began his professional career in 1992 as a management intern at TPWD, assisting in the Private Lands and Public Hunting programs. As a biologist, he has worked on a variety of research projects ranging from studying moose in the boreal forests of Saskatchewan to pronghorn antelope in far west Texas.

Prior to his selection as TPWD executive director, Smith was with The Nature Conservancy of Texas, serving as state director, where he led a team that protected nearly 250,000 acres while he was director.

At Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, he is responsible for overseeing an agency of 3,100 professionals in 11 different divisions, including Wildlife, Law Enforcement, State Parks, Coastal Fisheries, and Inland Fisheries.