Description

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In the heart of the Texas Hill Country lies an astonishing place called Westcave Preserve, a 76-acre nature preserve and environmental education facility in western Travis County, near Austin, that provides a sanctuary for the flora and fauna of surprisingly diverse ecosystems.

Westcave has been connecting children and families to nature since 1976, when the nonprofit Westcave Preserve Corporation was established to restore and protect a popular but rapidly deteriorating picnic spot that encompassed a fern-covered grotto, an ancient rock shelter, and a spectacular forty-foot waterfall.

In Discovering Westcave, Chris Caran and Elaine Davenport take readers on a walk through the beautiful preserve, which includes a 3,000-square-foot learning center, unveiling the evolutionary past of its stunning natural features and acknowledging the many people who have been a part of Westcave’s long history. The aim of this guidebook is not only to share the natural and human history of this refuge, soon to be surrounded by one of the fastest-growing urban areas in the country, but also to inspire through environmental learning a continued respect and appreciation for the natural world.

To learn more about The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment, sponsors of this book's series, please click here.

About the Author

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S. CHRISTOPHER CARAN is a research and consulting geologist, currently working for the Texas Water Development Board. ELAINE DAVENPORT is a writer and journalist who is a Westcave Preserve docent and Texas Master Naturalist.

Praise For…

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"Discovering Westcave is a remarkable tool for exploring this incredible preserve. Whether just for fun or for educational purposes, you'll find a deeper personal connection with nature. Westcave is a perfect place for inspiring every generation." — Richard Louv, Author of Last Child in the Woods and Vitamin N.
— Richard Louv

"Westcave Preserve is the jewel of the Texas Hill Country and its preservation is one of the great conservation achievements of the 20th century. This book offers a marvelous accounting of the human effort to secure that environmental victory and of the diverse, native flora and fauna that have been protected." — Victor Emanuel, Victor Emanuel Nature Tours
— Victor Emanuel

"Caran and Davenport have given us not only a guide to one of Texas' most beautiful places but, also a road map for engaging children with the natural world, a mission that the staff of Westcave have championed and led in our state." — Andrew Sansom, Executive Director, The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment, Texas State University
— Andrew Sansom