Volunteer Opportunity Spotlight: Wild Basin

Wild Basin Wilderness Preserve, founded in 1974, was Austin’s first nature preserve. The 227 acre tract, which is jointly owned and managed by Travis County and St. Edward’s University, has prime habitat for golden-cheeked warblers and is part of the Balcones Canyonlands Preserve system.

Volunteer opportunities at Wild Basin (805 N. Capital of Texas Hwy) include both stewardship of the 2.5 miles of hiking trails and educational outreach events. Weekly stewardship workdays are held on Thursdays from 8:30 – 11:30 AM and are supervised by Preserve Manager Trevor Rice (email trice3@stedwards.edu). Trevor also holds Monthly Stewardship Saturdays at the same time, usually occurring on the 3rd Saturday of the month. 

Educational Outreach opportunities consist of guiding hikes for school groups and non-profit organizations, as well as hosting the Visitor’s Gallery in the Research Center on the first and second Saturday of each month. The Outreach opportunities are coordinated by Paul Vickery, the Wild Basin Environmental Education Coordinator (pvickery@stedwards.edu).