This by far is my favorite class to teach. The biggest reason is because most of the time is spent outdoors and in some of the most unique natural places found in south Texas. It's also a class where I hear students express their disbelief in never having been to some of these locales. They can't believe that they have spent their life in the Rio Grande Valley and missed out on the places and people who make the "Valley" such a wonderful natural place.
Even though the class is a month or two away, I wanted to encourage you to visit some places that we won't be able to visit. There are wonders to be seen just outside your door whether you live in town, suburb, or country side. We won't go to the beach, the zoo, Port Mansfield, Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge, exotic game ranches, Resaca de las Palmas State Park, and our local parks. There just isn't time, but I can tell you that there is plenty to see in all of these areas.
What we will experience is based on a theme, "Our Watershed". Of all of our natural resources, the one we are most dependent on is water. We'll explore the principles of surface and groundwater. We'll try to understand that this resource's availability is tenuous. As I write this today, we don't consider ourselves lacking water, but last year we were at the tail-end of a multi-year drought. And, this can happen again and probably at a time when our population and development has increased.
We think of water as needed for drinking and bathing, needed for agricultural and landscaping, and our need to use it for recreational purposes. The water problem isn't one single topic its about many that have a great effect.
Hope you enjoy the course and what it has to offer.
