Around Campus: Nature Activities and Conservation Efforts in San Marcos

Many local groups focus on enjoying, protecting the Jewel of Central Texas

By Andrew Osegi 

The natural beauty of San Marcos, Texas is one of the most compelling reasons why so many people love to visit and live here. Located on the Balcones Fault, where the Texas hill country meets the coastal plains, San Marcos is geographically primed for its natural springs and abundance of wildlife.

The San Marcos salamander’s only habitat is the San Marcos River. It is considered a threatened species.

The San Marcos River, what many residents consider to be the life source of the city, starts its journey at Spring Lake, bubbling up from the underground Edwards Aquifer. The aquifer is home to many endangered and threatened species; those found in the San Marcos area include the Texas blind salamander, Texas wild rice, the fountain darter, the San Marcos gambusia, the Comal Springs riffle beetle, the Comal Springs dryopid beetle, the Peck’s cave amphipod and the San Marcos salamander.

Happenings: Summer Camps

Wide-eyed. Wild. Wonderful.
It’s summer camp at Texas State!

Attendees test water samples in a university laboratory — one of the many hands-on science activities offered by the Aquatic Sciences Adventure Camp.

By Billi London-Gray

The bustle of San Marcos slows as the temperatures rise and thousands of Texas State University students leave the city for their hometowns. But the bustle on campus continues as hundreds of new students — from toddlers to high schoolers — flock to Texas State for summer camps.

Creativity flows at Texas State summer camps, just as pure water flows from the San Marcos springs. Inquisitive young minds gather on campus each summer to explore their passions and discover new ones with the guidance of university faculty and staff. Texas State’s unique Aquatic Sciences Adventure Camp exemplifies this experience.

Spotlight: Flowing Waters

Partnership program brings Texas State students into local classrooms

By Mary Kincy

Students examine slides under microscopes as part of a Flowing Waters exercise.

A partnership between Texas State and the San Marcos Consolidated Independent School District is changing the way middle- and high-school students in San Marcos schools understand science — and just in the nick of time.

Studies show students in the U.S. are lagging in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, and Flowing Waters is a hands-on program designed to engage students in the sciences, offering avenues of approach that promote interest and inspiration.

Each year, Flowing Waters places eight Texas State doctoral students in San Marcos schools, where these “resident scientists” encourage students to ask and answer their own questions using the scientific method.

Spotlight: Gabriella Corales

Student’s commitment to education to be fostered by national award

By Mary Kincy

Gabriella Corales

Gabriella Corales will be the first to admit life isn’t always easy. But for Corales, obstacles have proved to be opportunities in disguise, setting her on the path to becoming a mentor for those attending schools with high concentrations of at-risk students.

Corales, 21, will graduate from Texas State in May with a bachelor’s degree in English. Her minor is communication studies, and she plans to put that skill to work in reaching out to students she will teach in connection with her receipt of a 2012 fellowship from the Woodrow Wilson-Rockefeller Brothers Fund for Aspiring Teachers of Color.