Parks & Recreation

from May 2021

by City of Schertz

City Headlines

AN EGGCELLENT TIME AT THE EASTER EGG-STRAVAGANZA

Schertz Parks & Recreation, along with the Schertz Family YMCA, made a splash as they hosted their annual EggStravaganza event! The Easter event has become well known for its unique twist on a traditional egg hunt as kiddos can dive in to gather those colorful plastic eggs. 160 youth participated in the exciting underwater egg hunt. Collected eggs were exchanged for Easter goodies courtesy of Schertz Parks and Recreation, the Y, Schertz Raising Canes, and Alligator Dental. Thanks to Clemens and Steele high school swim teams for volunteering to provide fun interactive games out in the courtyard.

STAY INFORMED!

WE WANT YOUR BEST SHOT!

GET OUT AND DISCOVER NATURE

Join us for the 2021 Nature Discovery Series! The program is designed for families with elementary-aged children, but older and younger siblings are welcome too! Texas Master Naturalist volunteers lead the themed programs held at 10:00 a.m. at Crescent Bend Nature Park, and the program is free. Pre-registration is required for all participants to ensure materials and activities are available. *Parents and adults must register themselves if they would like to stay.

May 8 Discover The Forest – Every living thing plays a role in the forest June 12 Discover Clues and Traces – Find what animals leave behind July 10 Discover Horns and Thorns – Staying alive is tough

The Schertz Parks and Recreation teamed up with the San Antonio Zoo Center for Conservation and Research to present the first of the Ed-ZOO-Cation series at Crescent Bend Nature Park. The zoo team comprised of Bekky Muscher-Hodges, the Manager of the Center for Conservation and Research, and Conservation Technicians Ariana Duffey and Brittany Nunn, brought two Texas horned lizards out as part of their presentation on the reintroduction project of these native reptiles and spoke on how the park itself has started playing a large role in the food source for these animals. Crescent Bend Nature Park is home to a large population of harvester ants – the main food source for horned lizards – and this partnership between the city and the zoo has allowed wildlife professionals to sustainably collect meals for them locally as they had previously depended on private ranches or out of state mail orders for their stock.

The convenience of the public access to these ants also allowed for an educational opportunity for community families to come out and participate in the collection and learn more about how urban sprawl has driven many of these lizards out of Texas and how the San Antonio Zoo is working alongside the Dallas and Houston Zoos and Texas Christian University to reintroduce them. Participants also got to meet K9 handler Chris Bagley and see a live demonstration by Grenadier the first ‘lizard-sniffing’ conservation detection dog trained to detect populations of these horned lizards in the wild to aid in the rehabilitation process. The hands-on educational Ed-ZOOCation and Nature Discovery Series are free for area families and continue throughout the summer. Check out Schertz.com for the full calendar of events!