By Brandt Mannchen

One of the things I like to do is get out in Nature.  I will write articles periodically for the Bayou Banner to let Sierrans know about wild places they can visit in the Greater Houston Area. 

Places along the Texas Coast are favorites of mine to visit.  One such place that is not well known is owned by Artist Boat.  Artist Boat is an interesting organization because it uses the arts and sciences to protect and preserve coastal and marine areas in Texas.  Artist Boat is famous for its kayak adventures where you combine learning about coastal habitats and painting those habitats from a kayak!

Artist Boat has a Coastal Heritage Preserve that is about 600 acres.  This Preserve consists of coastal prairie, various types of back-bay wetlands, and is the largest unfragmented property on Galveston Island.  One of the best ways to see this property is to do service work like the Houston Sierra Club did in April 2016.  Having done service work on the Coastal Heritage Preserve, I can testify that there are beautiful Galveston Bay scenes, cool shorebirds, and neat salt marshes on the property.  After the service work is done you get a tour of the Preserve.

Service work is important because not only do you put in sweat equity and enjoy the scenery but you help restore ecosystems so that they are healthier and closer to what they were before human impacts, like overgrazing, occurred.  Some of the work done includes mowing, potting native grasses, removal of invasive trees, fence-line clearing, and fire ant control.    

Four times a month (1st and 3rd Thursdays and the 2nd and 4th Saturdays, 9 am to noon) Artist Boat schedules service days.  If you would like to do some service work (tell them the Houston Sierra Club sent you) you can contact Kristen Simmons, Habitat and Stewardship Program Coordinator, at 409-770-0722 or habitat@artistboat.org.

Brandt Mannchen
January 18, 2017