Austin Cave Festival

Celebrate Groundwater Awareness Week at the
Village of Western Oaks Karst Preserve
Saturday, March 13, 2010.
 

Help spread the word!  Print and post this year's Austin Cave Festival Flyer!

VOLLUNTEER at the Festival!  We need your help!  Volunteer information.

Each year, the Barton Springs/Edwards Aquifer Conservation District (BSEACD) and the Texas Cave Management Association (TCMA) hold the Austin Cave Festival at the Village of Western Oaks Karst Preserve to educate local residents about the importance and sensitivity of the aquifer and its recharge features.  Last year's festival attracted over 1000 visitors  from all over Austin and included short cave trips in Get Down and Live Oak  Caves, vertical ropes courses, flintknapping demonstrations, hands-on  activities for children, prizes, and two cave-themed storytimes.  Booth presenters from the following organizations provided the public with valuable conservation information and resources:

Austin Science and Nature Center The Barton Springs/Edwards Aquifer Conservation District  The Bureau of Economic Geology – University of Texas at Austin City of Austin Water Conservation Department City of Austin Water Utility Department’s Wildlands Conservation Division City of Austin Watershed Protection and Development Review Department City of Sunset Valley Flintknapping with J.C. Pollard  Lower Colorado River Authority Splash! Into the Edwards Aquifer Exhibit  Texas AgriLife Extension Service Texas Cave Management Association Texas H2Oasis Texas Water Development Board Travis County Balcones Canyonlands Preserve Travis County Master Gardeners Association Tree Information from Guy LeBlanc, Arbor Vitae Tree Care The Underground Texas Grotto

The Village of Western Oaks Karst Preserve is located in South Austin just west of Mopac at Davis Lane (click here for a map to the preserve).  It encompasses approximately nine acres in the recharge zone of the Barton Springs aquifer.  Despite its small size, the preserve contains six karst features including one that is habitat for cave-dwelling species of concern and one that recharges, or contributes water to, the Aquifer.  The preserve is open year round and is handicap accessible.