Reaching Out
Mimi Cavender
In Central Texas Hill Country, we still hear roosters crow. Boldly they venture from their coop to announce the light of day. Reaching out to those of us just waking, they crow what roosters know.
Hays County Chapter of Texas Master Naturalist™ (HCMN) and our many like-minded environmentalist organizations are acutely aware of the value of reaching out to the public at large—to folks not (yet) enjoying the important work and camaraderie such organizations offer. We’re aware that the more folks know about our natural environment—its beauty, its economic value, and its fragility—the readier they are to protect it.
The Texas Hill Country’s storied natural landscapes, its birdsong mornings and starry nights, are a world disappearing with insufficiently regulated urban development. How much of our natural world—so essential to healthy life in this place on the planet—will we leave to our children’s children?
We believe it is essential that the whole public think about these things so that, in common cause, we take specific actions to protect what natural world we still have.
It’s about wider outreach. Two success stories:
We’ve seen in the March 2025 Hays Humm how whole communities have networked their natural and human resources in an initiative certified by Audubon Texas and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Three Hays County cities—Dripping Springs, San Marcos, and Wimberley—are certified Texas Bird Cities as of January 2025, totaling 15 so far in Texas. Certification requires that those communities reach out for new partnerships and collaborative actions. These partnerships will be sustained and expanded going forward. The prize inspires other Texas localities and associates us with Bird Cities world wide.
Hays County courthouse photo courtesy Lights Out, Neighbors! Hays Humm September 2024.
Another outreach success story: One of the collaborating environmental groups listed on all three of Hays County’s Bird City applications was Hays County Friends of the Night Sky (HCFNS). That project’s vigorous outreach, organized by HCMN Cindy Luongo-Cassidy, had already led to Lights Out, Hays County in 2022.
Then HCFNS was featured as Nonprofit of the Month in Wimberley Living magazine, February 2025. Cindy Luongo-Cassidy contributed a half-page article in that popular general-interest publication, which is distributed free to area neighborhoods.
Luongo-Cassidy’s first paragraph: Hays County Friends of the Night Sky works county-wide to promote smarter outdoor lighting to improve visibility and safety, protect the natural night sky, and save energy. The all-volunteer group organized the Lights Out Hays collaborative, focused on protecting birds during migration. Spring migration runs from March 1st to June 15th. Explore this webpage to learn more about that project.
Lights Out, Hays County! poster image courtesy Soll Sussman and HCFNS.
Bragging rights well earned. Here’s an excerpt from Wimberley’s Bird City application, written by Parks and Recreation director Richard Shaver:
The initiative known as Lights Out Texas stands as a source of immense pride for the entire Wimberley Community. Wimberley is proudly recognized as a certified dark sky community. In 2023, our efforts were recognized when Wimberley was honored with the prestigious Dark Sky Place of the Year Award by Dark Sky International. Our commitment to raising awareness about Lights Out Texas extends beyond traditional media platforms to residents and businesses; we maintain an active presence on social media… Furthermore, the City of Wimberley upholds stringent lighting regulations that all businesses and residents must be aware of, a testament to our unwavering dedication to preserving our pristine night skies.
The media solicit submissions; they need content. It should be ours. From the print, broadcast, and social media—and from this online magazine of the Hays County Chapter of Texas Master Naturalist™—a wider public learns of our local successes.
Environmental groups too often crow only in their coop. We can and must reach out to that coveted “wider public” with our knowledge, with our example. Whole communities then come more easily together for lasting change.
Public education happens. And when many environmentalist groups collaborate—and reach out in common cause—change happens exponentially.
Photos not otherwise credited are courtesy Mimi Cavender.