PRESS RELEASE
Media Contacts:
Aaron Reed, Texas Parks & Wildlife Dept., (512) 389-8046 or aaron.reed@tpwd.state.tx.us
Natalie Tejeda,  Dublin & Associates, (210) 227-0221 or ntejeda@dublinandassociates.com
Denise Rodgers, (512) 303-7858 or drodgers520@austin.rr.com

BASTROP, Texas – Proclaimed as “Leave No Child Inside Day,” city and state officials will come together on October 24th to host the 3rd Annual NatureFest, a day-long “Mini-Expo” community event to celebrate the rich ecosystem that includes the Lost Pines region and the Lower Colorado River. 

Recognized as the “Most Historic Small Town in Texas,” Bastrop’s NatureFest will be held on the banks of the Colorado River from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Fisherman’s Park at Willow and Farm in downtown Bastrop.  Admission is a $3 donation for adults, while children 12 and under are free. 

NatureFest is sponsored by Environmental Stewardship, a nonprofit organization whose purposes are to protect, conserve, restore, and enhance the earth's natural resources. A recent finalist for the 2009 Envision Central Texas annual stewardship awards, Environmental Stewardship is partnering with the City of Bastrop, TPWD’s Bastrop and Buescher State Parks and LCRA’s McKinney Roughs Nature Park for the Kids Challenge events providing over forty nature-related experiential activities which include learning how to make  miniature terrariums, hats out of newspaper, seed balls, and origami toads. 

“This is going to be the best NatureFest yet,” said Denise Rodgers, event organizer and owner of Rising Phoenix Adventures, a kayak and bicycle shop in Bastrop. “Newly featured this year is the ‘Last Chance Forever’ Birds of Prey falcon show and a 30-foot Big Bass Tub with live fishing demonstrations throughout the day,” said Rodgers.

Back this year are wildly popular activities such as the rock climbing wall, archery instruction, photo scavenger hunt contests, dip-netting for critters, and birds and bugs identification. Capital of Texas Zoo will provide a petting zoo and present the “Mr. Slither” reptile show and herpetologist Bill Brooks will present the “Snakes Alive” show.  With the assistance of Campfire USA, “newbie” floats for first-time kayakers will be offered where parents and children can try out a kayak and take a short float. 

Live music will fill the park throughout the day as visitors enjoy talking with local artisans about their wildlife-inspired arts and craft work on display.  Emcee for the day will be “Mr. Habitat,” Bill Oliver, joined by his “Otter Space” band.  Also new singing sensation “Brii” will make her debut.  Food and drinks are available with healthy options. Other vendors will feature some of the newest technologies for energy conservation and “green” living. 

Environmental Stewardship has joined the “Children & Nature Network,” a national grassroots movement involving more than a hundred conservation, education, and nature-based non-profit organizations, many of which will participate in NatureFest including the Texas Master Naturalists, Bastrop County Audubon Society, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts of America, Lone Star & Austin Sierra Clubs, Pines & Prairies Land Trust, Leave No Trace, and Texas AgriLife Extension as well as many others. 

Storytelling about the rich history and lore of Bastrop in the early 1800s will be featured at NatureFest,  including the famous ghost tale of Josiah Wilbarger and how he survived being scalped by Comanche Indians and left for dead just upriver from Fisherman’s Park in 1832, as well as music and stories regarding the significance of El Camino Real and the role it played in Bastrop’s early history. Only a short walking distance from Naturefest will be “Art on the Courthouse Green,”  featuring regional artists.  Following NatureFest, from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m., festival goers can walk to Bastrop’s Main Street section to enjoy food, live music, and local fare.  The “Still Rockin’” band will play at Baxter’s on Main that evening.
Bastrop is home to two paddling trails designated by Texas Parks & Wildlife, a six-mile trail entitled “El Camino Real,” and the “Wilbarger” Paddling Trail, a fourteen-mile trail, both launched at the first and second annual NatureFest events. Proceeds from NatureFest will help to establish future paddling trails downstream to Smithville as well as continue important stewardship work currently underway with the Lost Pines Nature Trails and upcoming restoration project of the Bastrop Springs.   

For information regarding NatureFest, contact Denise Rodgers at 512-303-7858 or visit http://Environmental-Stewardship.org. Other info about Bastrop can be found at www.VisitBastrop.org or call 512-303-0904.   For more information about paddling trails, go to www.tpwd.state.tx.us

About the Lost Pines Region -  The Legend .

The lost stand of Loblolly Pines known as the Lost Pines Region is situated primarily in Bastrop County, Texas, with a large portion between Bastrop and Buescher State Parks.  The region represents the westernmost tract of the great southern pine belt of the United States, and these lost pines are believed to have been in the area for more than 18,000 years.
Many wonder how those Loblolly Pines ended up “lost,” so far away from their botanical brothers and sisters in East Texas.  Local legend is that Native American runners from East Texas planted seedlings in the Piney Woods to comfort a homesick girl who had married into another tribe far from home.  Botanists offer a more scientific explanation: the pines were left over from the Ice Age, when pine forests covered much of the land that became Texas.  Visitors can decide which answer they prefer as they discover the natural magic of the Lost Pines Region.