Government Canyon State Natural Area (GCSNA) offers onsite and offsite presentations. In addition, Urban Wildlife offers materials (trunks) for your classrooms. This page provides detailed information on these resources as well as contact information to schedule your event.
On-site Field Trip Tips:
- GCSNA staff will provide a School Group Entrance Fee Waiver form providing a zero cost admittance to the site.
- Most of GCSNA trails will close after a significant rain event with the exception of the Discovery Trail (1.25 mile loop). For up-to-date trail closure information, call the Visitor Center at (210) 688-9055 or check our Facebook page: me/TPWDGCSNA.
- GCSNA has two rental facilities, the open air Picnic Pavilion, and the semi-enclosed Gallery. These facilities can be rented for $30 per half-day or $60 per full-day or in many cases may be available at no cost. Please note that we do not have indoor (air conditioned) facilities available.
- Ranger Guided:
- These trips are ranger led and can be customized for your curriculum which could include hiking, presentations, and/or themed booth stations (aquifer, birds, mammals, etc.).
- These trips are generally scheduled on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, or Thursdays when the Natural Area is closed to the public.
- Two months’ notice is required, in most cases, to schedule a ranger-led field trip. If you have a small group (<15 individuals), less notice is sometimes allowed.
- Self-Guided:
- Self-guided trips are led without GCSNA staff, usually by an instructor, student parent, or school volunteer.
- These trips can be scheduled for a Monday or Friday.
- Curriculum for your trip can be provided by GCSNA staff with advanced notice otherwise you are welcome to arrange your own.
***Two months’ notice is best practice but in most cases not always necessary. Large groups (>15 individuals) are the exception.
Off-site Ranger Presentations:
- School Event Booth Setting
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- A ranger will provide educational material with a theme (i.e. aquifer, mammals, or bats) based on your event and present in a one-on-one, booth station setting.
- Two months’ notice is required, in most cases, to schedule an event booth and is dependent upon staff availability.
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- Classroom Setting
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- A ranger will provide educational material with a theme (i.e. aquifer, mammals, or bats) based on your curriculum and present in a classroom.
- Two months’ notice is required, in most cases, to schedule a classroom presentation and is dependent upon staff availability.
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- Educational Trunks and Materials:
- Texas Parks and Wildlife’s, Urban Wildlife division has wildlife themed educational trunks and materials for you to check out.
- Included in each trunk or tub are various hands-on activities, presentations, and instructions.
- The following are just a few of the available trunks/materials you can get on loan:
- Wild in the City Mammal Trunk: This trunk offers an array of manipulatives, such as mammal furs, mammal skulls and bones, rubber track and scat replicas, and deer and squirrel calls. In additional, there is a mammal slide show along with various resource books, lessons, and activities.
- Bat Trunk: This trunk offers one taxidermy Mexican free-tailed bat, Microbat detector, Bat Chat tape, bat posters, bat slide show, three different videos, and various resource books and activities.
- Rare and WILD Trunk: This trunk offers an array of videos and games to teach students about our Texas threatened and endangered species. In addition, there are resource books, lessons, and activities.
- Mammal Tubs: This trunk offers a hands-on opportunity to study ten local mammals (coyote, fox, bobcat, raccoon, opossum, skink, ringtail cat, rabbit, deer, and beaver). The tubs offer the skins, skulls, scat and tracks of these ten species of wildlife.
- Mammal Track Molds Tub: This activity offers eighteen track molds (front and hind) of local urban mammals.
Contact Information:
Government Canyon State Natural Area
12861 Galm Rd.
San Antonio, TX 78254
(210) 688 – 9055
- Follow us on Facebook: me/TPWDGCSNA
- To schedule a ranger-led on-site field trip or off-site presentation, please contact Resource Specialist, Theresa Edwards at (210) 688-9055 X 2002 or email edwards@tpwd.texas.gov.
- To schedule a self-guided, on-site field trip please contact Assistant Office Manager, Veronica Arguello at (210) 688-9055 X 2007 or email arguello@tpwd.texas.gov.
- To check out an educational trunk or materials please contact Urban Wildlife biologists, Judit Green and Jessica Alderson at (210) 688-6444 or email Green@tpwd.texas.gov, and Jessica.Alderson@tpwd.texas.gov.
Trails To Tomorrow 