The sounds of Spring Lake and bird calls added to the ambience surrounding local bands playing folk and country music and the flow of people moving and dancing to the beat. Despite the occasional rain shower, many community members and organizations gathered around the lake to spend a day dedicated to appreciating San Marcos’ unique ecosystem.
Earth Day San Marcos is an annual event hosted by the Meadows Center for Water and the Environment, occurring this year from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on April 19. It connects the community with natural resources, eco-friendly vendors and environmental and sustainability topics.
“The goal of the event, just in general, is to allow for our partnering organizations and all of the booths that are coming to be able to showcase what they’re doing and inform people on what they can do to be more green or better for the environment,” Miranda Wait, deputy director of Spring Lake Education, said.
City Designations
The 12th annual Earth Day San Marcos celebrated a special milestone: the designations of San Marcos as a Monarch Champion City last fall, a Bird City this January and a Bee City this month.
“This year’s theme is ‘Birds, bees and butterflies’ — basically all of our pollinator friends,” Wait said. “The Bird City one is actually a big recognition, so that’s what inspired [the theme] when we were planning.”
The National Wildlife Federation made San Marcos a Monarch Champion City due to completing the Mayors’ Monarch Pledge and committing to monarch conservation through action items and progress reports. Becoming a Bird City means Audubon Texas and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department recognized San Marcos’ efforts to ensure birds, wildlife and people thrived in the community, according to Parks and Recreation.
As a Bee City, San Marcos joined Bee City USA‘s mission for communities to sustain pollinators by providing them with a healthy habitat full of many native plants and free of insecticides.
Opening Ceremony
The event began with a blessing at the springs with the Indigenous Cultures Institute (ICI). Mario Garza, ICI chair, and Maria Rocha, ICI secretary led the ceremony in front of Spring Lake with singing and a drum while the community watched silently.
Garza said his song was about asking the five sacred animals of the water — the deer, wolf, jaguar, water bird (heron) and eagle — to come and give their blessing.
“We consider the river, the water very sacred,” Garza said. “There’s a way a human can bless something that is more blessed than we are, so we do a blessing by the river and ask the river to bless us.”
Eco Sessions
The first eco session, “Celebrating a Conservation Legacy,” was a panel with Andrew Sansom, professor of practice for the department of geography, and Laura Raun, public relations counselor. The two created “Andrew Sansom: A Life in Conservation,” Sansom’s biography released last year detailing his lifelong commitment to Texas’ natural landscape and conservation. He founded the Meadows Center and served as its executive director for 20 years.
Sansom knew from his teaching experience that children today want to change the world and make a difference, so he was very excited to see all the children at Earth Day San Marcos.
“There’s almost nothing more important than inspiring children to be concerned about the environment,” Sansom said. “When I saw these kids having such a good time interacting with people who have dedicated themselves to conservation, that makes me happy.”
The second eco session, “Hays County Master Naturalists & What It Means to Be a Bird City,” explained what Bird City was and how residents could help with that designation. Stephanie Dodson, Texas master naturalist, led the talk and the following interactive activity on using apps such as iNaturalist and Merlin Bird ID to make observations of the different species in Texas.
Dodson said she realized some people might prefer stewardship to the education aspect of being a citizen scientist but loved getting people to think more about nature than they did before.
“Historically, the people who have the most amount of time to dedicate to volunteering are people who are retired,” Dodson said. “But also, before you get into the real throes of life when you’re a student, when you’re building a resume and when you’re meeting all of those connections with people.”
The third eco session, “Engaged Philosophy: Mindfulness Walks & Talks,” explored mindfulness techniques out in nature and how to become more connected with it. The department of philosophy led the walk and talk as part of its Spring 2025 Dialogue Series. Justin Williams, assistant professor of instruction of philosophy, invited attendees to make use of their senses as animals do while observing Spring Lake’s wetlands boardwalk.
While it was the third year leading the walk for the series and at the same location, Williams said the people who show up each time make the experience different.
“When people can show up and feel carefree and vulnerable enough to participate in the event and allow themselves to experience that grounding, that’s what makes it good,” Williams said.
