On Sat, May 15, the NatureRocksAustin.org website resource officially went live, via Austin’s first ever Family Nature Crawl, which gave attending families a sampler of the locations, resources, activities the site will feature and recommend ongoing.

Four locations were featured in the Crawl: Austin Nature & Science Center, LCRA’s RedBud Center, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, and REI, who provided activities for families directly and also hosted a Family Expo featuring over 25 other exhibitors. 
 
Well over 100 families participated in the Nature Crawl with kids getting hands on experiences at the locations, parents gathering lots of good information, especially about future outdoor opportunities, and everyone benefiting from goodies and giveaways.
 
Coverage and buzz around the site, and the Crawl, helped put NatureRocksAustin.org on the map in a big way, from a 10X increased in website views and a May 7 press release reaching over 32K; to coverage from the Statesman, Austin 360, KUT, KLBJ, KEYE and Fox 7 News; to social media visibility like a feature in 365 Austin (with its 84K Facebook fans!) and 4X growth of NatureRocksAustin.org Facebook fans, meaningful Twitter buzz;  to partners like REI and Austin Rowing spreading word of the Crawl and the site.
 
We thank everyone who came together to make the Nature Crawl happen, and those partners who will keep the content on NatureRocksAustin.org fresh and helpful for families ongoing.

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Above: The NatureRocks Austin booth at LCRA's Red Bud Center, the first stop on the crawl.

Above: The Westcave Preserve booth at Red Bud Center

Above: The final stop of the crawl: The Family Expo at the REI Downtown parking lot.

Above: The REI booth filled with goodies.

Above: Raffle grand prize - a full size tent donated by REI.