Deadline: Midnight, Friday, March 9, 2018

Scholarships up to $3,000 for Student Research Projects

The Wild Basin Creative Research Center is now accepting applications for 2018/19 research scholarships from the Hook Endowed Wild Basin Creative Research Fund. The Dr. Allan W. Hook Endowed Wild Basin Creative Research Fund offers awards up to $3,000 for creative research by students in the schools of Natural Sciences, Education, Behavioral and Social Sciences, Management and Business, and Humanities. The fund also offers research opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students from other institutions that are based at the university’s Wild Basin Creative Research Center and the Balcones Canyonlands Preserve system.

This year, the application process is through an online portal (here: Apply Hook Wild Basin Fellowship). Applicants should review the Fellowship Application Guide and Instructions, prepare their full proposal, and after review and approval from their faculty supervisor, submit it through the online portal. Interested students should contact the Wild Basin Director if they have questions. Descriptions of past projects supported by the Endowment can be found on the Research portion of the Wild Basin website.

We encourage you to share this announcement with faculty and students in your school and departments. We look forward to receiving a diversity of project applications from many academic areas!

This opportunity is made possible by the commitment and generosity of Dr. Allan W. Hook and Rosemary Guzman Hook, who established the endowment to honor Hook’s life work and dedication to providing students with opportunities both in and outside of the classroom. His philosophy is that “one can learn more from the natural world than from the human-made world.” The fund will promote a greater understanding of and appreciation for the Wild Basin Preserve and the Balcones Canyonlands Preserve system.

Wild Basin is excited to have on board Joy Hernandez as Wild Basin’s new Administrative Coordinator. Joy has a B.A in Zoology and over 10 years administrative and technical experience in the Natural Sciences, including managing daily operations at the UT fire ant laboratory and acting as a liaison between the regulated public and TCEQ. She is also a certified Master Naturalist. Joy is a wonderful addition to our team and she offers a wealth of knowledge about Central Texas flora and fauna. Feel free to reach out to Joy by email at jherna74@stedwards.edu.

After 7 years of service to St. Edward’s University and Wild Basin, our beloved Kim Johnson is moving on to new adventures. Over the past 7 years, Kim has been a vital member of the Wild Basin team and the driving force behind a broad range of Wild Basin programs, including directing Wild Basin’s social media, managing volunteer trail guides and tours, organizing countless events at Wild Basin including full-moon yoga and concerts by local musicians, spearheading Wild Basin’s role in the Balcones Canyonlands Preserve Hike & Lecture Series, and expertly mentoring many student interns.  Kim’s contributions to Wild Basin have made a deep and lasting impact on its programs.  We are so grateful for Kim’s expertise, hard work, and big heart — she will be greatly missed!  Kim’s last day will be Friday, August 11th. Please join us in a send-off celebration for Kim at Wild Basin on Thursday, Aug 10 from 5:30 – 8pm (potluck on the deck).

Wild Basin Wilderness Preserve was mentioned as one of four destinations for students “on an Aggie budget” in Texas A&M’s online magazine, The Battalion. The article can be found here:

http://www.thebatt.com/life-arts/four-summer-destinations-for-the-aggie-on-a-budget/article_954b305e-674f-11e7-99c5-5f727cbfa56b.html

The Wild Basin Creative Research Center is excited to announce the hiring of Marissa Faris as our new Environmental Education Coordinator! Marissa’s first day was July 14th and she is quickly getting up to speed on Wild Basin educational programming and activities, as well as SEU policies and systems. We will work to make opportunities for many of you to meet with Marissa – to discuss your ideas, experiences, questions, and dreams for the Wild Basin Environmental Education Program. Stay tuned for announcements regarding meeting opportunities and other events. In the meantime, please help us welcome Marissa Faris (mfaris@stedwards.edu) to the Wild Basin Creative Research Team!

Bio describing Marissa’s training and experience:

Marissa Faris joined the Wild Basin Creative Research Center team in July 2017 as the Environmental Education Coordinator. We are excited to welcome her and to benefit from her wealth of experience in environmental and outdoor education. Marissa has a Master’s of Agriculture in Horticulture from Texas A&M University and is a certified Texas educator with four years of full-time classroom teaching experience. At A&M, she served as the inaugural Program Coordinator for Experiential Education in the Department of Horticultural Sciences, where she was responsible for increasing participation in undergraduate research, internships, study abroad programs, and service learning. Her teaching experience includes working with students in kindergarten through middle school, college students, and mentoring new teachers. She also has experience training volunteers at the Chicago Botanical Garden, developing curriculum and creating an outdoor learning program for K-5 students, and producing interpretive garden literature for visitors of all ages.

Join us at Wild Basin this Saturday for 2 special presentations by local wildlife artist and Wild Basin’s first Artist in Residence, Andrea Wolf. Andrea will give presentations for both children and adults.

“Kids, Animals & Art” 2-3 pm. Special presentation for children. Learn about John Audubon and how to draw a Golden Cheeked Warbler.
Sign-up here

Adult program, 4-5:30pm. Andrea will be discussing wildlife art and its relationship to conservation efforts, using art as a form of communication followed by the opportunity to observe a painting demonstration.

The Wild Basin Creative Research Center is pleased to announce that we are now accepting applications for 2017/18 creative research awards from the Hook Endowed Wild Basin Creative Research Fund. The Dr. Allan W. Hook Endowed Wild Basin Creative Research Fund offers awards up to $3,000 for creative research by students in the schools of Natural Sciences, Education, Behavioral and Social Sciences, Management and Business, and Humanities. The fund also offers research opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students from other institutions that are based at the university’s Wild Basin Creative Research Center and the Balcones Canyonlands Preserve system.

The deadline for applications is Friday, March 10^th, 2017 at 5pm. Applicants should review the fellowship guide and fill out the attached application form (available on the Wild Basin website welcome page) and submit it via email (or mail) to the Director of Wild Basin (Dr. Barbara Dugelby; bdugelby@stedwards.edu). Interested students should contact the Wild Basin Director or Wild Basin Research Director (Dr. Amy Belaire, jbelaire@stedwards.edu) if they have questions. Descriptions of past projects supported by the Endowment can be found on the Wild Basin website.

This opportunity is made possible by the commitment and generosity of Dr. Allan W. Hook and Rosemary Guzman Hook, who established the endowment to honor Hook’s life work and dedication to providing students with opportunities both in and outside of the classroom. Dr. Hook’s philosophy is that “one can learn more from the natural world than from the human-made world.” The fund will promote a greater understanding of and appreciation for the Wild Basin Preserve and the Balcones Canyonlands Preserve system.