Earn $3,000-$5,000 by leading 32 Canoeing/Kayaking trips this summer

Position: Trip Leader  

Available: Immediately thru October

To Apply: Email your letter of interest to graham@texasriverschool.org

Job Summary

The Trip Leader will be responsible for leading (and organizing) river trips for groups of 25-30 youth on Lady Bird Lake and Barton Creek. Trips are funded from a grant received from TPWD. Currently, we have funding for 32 river trips. This would be an ideal position for a college student or retired schoolteacher. Trips can also be team shared with another trip leader.

Responsibilities and Duties

• Manages all aspects of four river trip programs: River Sense, Discover the Source, Find and Capture, and Canoe Camping.
• Oversees river trips from start to finish.
• Works with the Assistant Executive Director in the planning and organizing of all trips.

Qualifications

• Flexible schedule preferred
• Enjoys working with youth
• Excellent references

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Demonstrates personal alignment with the mission of Texas River School
• Thrives in an outdoor environment
• Experienced paddler
• Certified in First Aid/CPR and basic water safety a plus

Compensation

• Competitive shift pay (per trip)
• Fees for any training classes

Physical Demands

• Stamina for paddling long distances, potentially in strong winds
• Able to lift/carry canoes or kayaks

About Texas River School

Texas River School teaches young people to love, protect, and safely enjoy Texas waterways through hands-on educational outings that include canoeing and camping.

We practice our motto – Helping to Keep Our Kids and Rivers Healthy – by continually working toward reducing the nature deficit in area youth through our river trip programs. Incorporated into these half-day, day-long, and overnight excursions are tools we use to inspire, educate, and nurture students’ experiences and imagination, such as environmental education, camping, canoeing, kayaking, orienteering/geocaching, nature photography, open-water swimming, and much more.

Folks, we are sorry to say that our June 18 Moonlight Bat Float has to be cancelled due to high waters on LBL. As of today, Friday, June 17, the river is running at 6,354 cfs…normal flow is 600 cfs…a challenge going upstream even for seasoned paddlers, which is what we have to do to get back to the docks of Texas Rowing Center. We fully anticipate the waters will recede well before the July 16 Bat Float, so mark your calendars now and purchase your tickets online…everyone will be ready to get out on the water by then.

BISH, or British International School of Houston, floated the Lower Colorado River in early December outfitted by Texas River School (TRS). Seventeen students and three instructors took float on a 4-day 3-night adventure to prepare for a final excursion as part of their curriculum titled the Gold International Duke of Edinburgh Award and Expedition. The group consisted of mostly international students and teachers that hailed from such countries as United Kingdom, Pakistan, Germany, France, Scotland, Italy, and the U.S.

Guided by TRS trip leader Spider De Victoria, the group put-in on Wednesday, December 2^nd under the Montopolis Street Bridge in the warmth of the afternoon sun. Their first night was spent at Texas River School’s River Camp, 5-miles south of Austin, with successive nights spent on sandy bars on the river. While two students had to drop out the first day due to illness, the remaining 15 students had a great trip with many learning experiences. When asked by Joe Kendall if they would do it again, they all responded positively.

The trip ended on Saturday, December 5^th at Big Webberville Park, where all 10 canoes were unloaded and cleaned before boarding the bus back to Houston. All in all, a successful trip for both BISH and TRS; we hope to see them again.

Texas River School and Executive Director Joe Kendall were recognized on Monday, November 23, 2015, as SBCA’s Partner of the Year at the 36th Annual Save Barton Creek Association Awards Banquet. Olivia Hayden, Director of Development & Community Relations for SBCA, presented the award.

Recognition stemmed from the partnership Texas River School has had with SBCA over the last six years as recipient of the Community Outdoor Outreach Program (CO-OP) Grant. “This has been the necessary seed capital and one of the few unrestricted grants that provides us with the funds to actually go out and write grants,” Joe stated. “This partnership will grow because of new grant opportunities and the young people on our staff.”

Joe continued by saying, “I cut my teeth with SBCA. You were the first environmental organization I was associated with, and I want to thank all of you who went to the meetings every Monday night and to council meetings on Thursday nights, you all did the hard work. I found my niche in outfitting trips, and with the help of Wayne Gronquist I started doing trips and became SBCA’s outfitter, something I want to continue doing in the future.”

On-hand to help accept the award was the TRS staff and several members of the Board of Directors. Joe took particular pride in introducing his younger staff who “are a serious, enthusiastic, experienced group of young people ready to take over the program.” Congratulations Joe Kendall and Texas River School.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife has just awarded a $38,000 grant to the Texas River School for Project PADDLE!

The Colorado River, an environmental resource underutilized by Austin area school children, becomes an exciting and exceptional outdoor classroom when made accessible through the cooperation and the canoes of the Texas River School.

By providing infrastructure, canoeing equipment, training and mentored outdoor experiences to underserved and at-risk youth in Central Texas, The Texas River School’s Project PADDLE creates opportunities for improving academic performance and appropriate social behaviors for students attending Austin Independent School District elementary schools. 

We teach specific skills in a proven manner: environmental awareness, cooperation, physical movement, team building, respect for natural resources, water bird and animal habitat identification, personal safety and project completion. And we have fun: canoeing, open swimming, underwater photography, orienteering/geocaching, camping and appreciation of the power of a song are some of the skills students develop in our curriculum.

Our Project PADDLE classes coincide with AISD school semesters and are offered in the seasons of early Fall and late Spring.

Project PADDLE places kids in canoeing education courses on Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s Lady Bird Lake Paddling Trail as well as the Colorado River. Our classes are designed specifically for a variety of ages and experience levels:  

• “River Sense” on Lady Bird Lake provides basic canoeing education with river safety education; 
• “Discover the Source” combines the attributes of our River Sense program while instilling environmental awareness through an appreciation and discovery of the source of of Barton Springs; 
• “Canoe Camping” on the Colorado River is offered to “River Sense” students who exhibit a willingness to serve the environmental good through participation in COOP Service Project;
• TRS COOP Service Project:  students learn the values of biodiversity by identifying and remove invasive plant species along the Colorado River adjacent to the Texas River School’s River Camp. Students replace invasive plants with plants native to the Texas environment.

The Texas River School is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt charitable organization. Along with the Austin Independent School District (AISD), Project Paddle is produced in cooperation and through the generosity of The Texas Rowing Center providing Lady Bird Lake access and donating canoes for classes, Austin songwriter and performer Bill Oliver, as well as many in-kind and generous donations from people and businesses of the Austin, Texas community.

Here are some wonderful pictures from our Moonlight Bat Float on July 12th, 2014. Click on any photo to see a larger image. We hope these inspire you to join us for our next Moonlight Bat float on Saturday, August 9th.  Click here to reserve your canoe today!

Friday, May 30 – Saturday, May 31st – Sunday, June 1st

Are you a certified Yoga instructor?

Does teaching Yoga in a canoe appeal to you – take your students out of the studio on a Yoga field trip – to become one with the river?

Would you like to receive additional income by hosting River Yoga on the Colorado downriver trips?

If so, then you are cordially invited to experience the joy of becoming one with the river as we travel 4 miles down the Colorado River from Austin’s east side to the Texas River School’s River Camp.

Join us – free of charge – over the weekend of May 30th to June 1st. There are 3 different trips to choose from when you sign up below.

Texas River School, an Austin based nonprofit that benefits at-risk youth in Central Texas, is launching a new program in June – River Yoga on the Colorado.

We are offering a weekend of free River Yoga on the Colorado trips to Austin based Yoga instructors and Yoga Studios.  Our River Yogi Orientation provides an opportunity for you to see if partnering up with the Texas River School is right for you.

Hosting River Yoga on the Colorado downriver trips raises money for Texas River School and provides an additional source of income for Yoga instructors and their Studios.

Our weekend retreat of downriver trips for River Yogis is hosted by Joe Kendall, Executive Director of the Texas River School, and Austin musician and member of the Board of Directors, Barbara K.  We’ll teach you the J-Stroke – the key to becoming ‘one with the river’ – and share ideas and perspectives about Yoga, breathing techniques and meditation. Potluck cookouts, campfires and live music included. Please join us.

We encourage you to invite a fellow Yoga instructor who may be interested in co-hosting a River Yoga on the Colorado downriver trip with to come along.

Sign up for your choice of a downriver trip.

Thanks. We’ll see you on the river.

[gravityform id=”107″ name=”River Yogi Magic Hour – Friday, May 30th, 6:00 pm”][gravityform id=”110″ name=”River Yogi Morning Flow – Saturday, May 31st, 9:00 am”][gravityform id=”108″ name=”River Yogi Magic Hour – Saturday, May 31st, 6:00 pm”]

For more information, please contact Barbara K, bk@sparrowswheel.com, 512-436-6530.

Dear Friends of Texas River School,

Eeyore’s 51st Birthday Party is just a month away and it’s time to start rounding up our volunteers for the Texas River School (TRS) Chicken Fajita food tent!  Mark your calendars for Saturday, April 26th, and plan to be a part of our fun crew at Pease Park.

TRS has been participating in this event for over 15 years.  It’s our longest standing FUNdraiser where we really get into the spirit of Keeping Austin Weird while raising money for Texas River School programs.

Texas River School Volunteers as Eeyore’s Birthday Party

About 40-50 volunteers are needed to help cook, roll, and sell nearly 1800 of our fabulous chicken fajitas to hundreds of hungry party-goers.  We have several 2-hour shifts to choose from, beginning at 10am and ending at 8pm, or until we’re all cleaned up and packed.

Texas River School Volunteers as Eeyore’s Birthday Party

Pease Park is located at N. Lamar & 15th Streets.  For directions, and to learn more about the event, click here.  The rain date for Eeyore’s is Saturday, May 3rd, so let me know if you are available that date, as well.

Texas River School Volunteers as Eeyore’s Birthday Party

Plan to be there – volunteer a few hours, play a few hours, get your face painted, see dazzling costumes, wear a dazzling costume, enjoy live music, eat good food, join the drum circles.  It’s a bucket-list must do!

We look forward to hearing from you soon!

Linda Overton – Volunteer Coordinator
Joe Kendall – Executive Director

Contact information:
512-289-0750
linda@texasriverschool.org
joe@texasriverschool.org

Photos by Memphis Hank Jones, III