Meadows Center and BlueTriton Brands Renew Partnership to Tackle Texas Water Challenges

Members of the Meadows Center for Water and the Environment guide BlueTriton Brands members through a wetlands trail walk in October 2023.

SAN MARCOS, TEXAS – October 13, 2023 – The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment at Texas State University and BlueTriton Brands (BlueTriton) has launched an expanded three-year partnership to continue working together to ensure the long-term sustainability of Texas’ water resources.

Building on the successes of their five-year partnership, BlueTriton and the Meadows Center will scale community science efforts across the state and enhance sustainability education on-site at Spring Lake in San Marcos.

“We are excited to continue our support of the Meadows Center,” said Trey Mixon, Natural Resource Manager for BlueTriton Brands and Ozarka® 100% Natural Spring Water. “Their leadership in water stewardship, management and sustainability aligns very well with the work we do at BlueTriton and we look forward to collaborating on future projects, including our scholarship awards and the incredible Texas Stream Team.”

“The nature of the state’s water crisis is of such magnitude that collaboration across sectors, disciplines and boundaries is the only way we can drive lasting positive changes for our natural resources,” said Dr. Robert Mace, Meadows Center Executive Director. "This unique partnership shows what is possible when companies and conservationists work together to tackle our state’s growing freshwater challenges.”

Over the next three years, the Meadows Center’s Texas Stream Team program will recruit and train community scientists to mobilize long-term monitoring efforts in targeted regions of Texas, including near bottling plants operated by BlueTriton. Texas Stream Team, one of the nation’s longest-running and most successful community science programs, leads a network of over 11,400 trained community scientists who monitor and report monthly water quality and environmental data for waterways across the state.

Community scientists serve as the first line of defense for the state’s natural resources, documenting baseline data for waterways and sounding the alarm should there be a concern that would impact local communities. These services have proven invaluable in protection efforts, especially in smaller communities where professional resources to evaluate environmental conditions are lacking.

A member of the Meadows Center for Water and the Environment tests the pH of the spring lake water as part of the Texas Stream Team protocol.

“Texas Stream Team offers its training free of charge to ensure our program remains accessible to all interested in assisting with our water quality monitoring efforts, so the support from partners like BlueTriton is critical to the program’s resiliency and continued success,” said Aspen Navarro, Meadows Center Community Science Program Coordinator. “Thanks to BlueTriton’s support, Texas Stream Team will be able to expand its outreach efforts, provide more resources to groups across the state and increase our impact throughout Texas.”

The partnership will also support an expansion and redesign of the environmental education exhibits located throughout the Meadows Center's Wetlands Boardwalk at Spring Lake, with a special focus on water sustainability. Wetlands are among the most productive ecosystems on Earth that provide flood protection, improve water quality and yield millions of dollars in economic benefits annually. They also promote biological diversity by supporting habitats for migratory birds, insects, mammals, reptiles, amphibians and other wildlife. Yet, according to the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, Texas has lost more than half of its wetland habitats in the past 200 years.

“Educating the public about the importance of protecting this critical habitat is vital to its conservation,” Miranda Wait, Deputy Director of Spring Lake Operations said. “BlueTriton’s support will allow us to work with experts that can bring our vision to life by conveying both the ecological and community values of wetlands to meaningfully connect people with and encourage continued stewardship of the natural world.”

The updated educational boardwalk will provide the 125,000 guests and K-12 students that visit the Meadows Center each year with an understanding of the rapidly disappearing freshwater ecosystem and the need to protect it. The interactive exhibits will enhance the outdoor experience, both visually and educationally, by highlighting the wonders of the region’s freshwater wetland ecology through science-based illustrations and interactive elements.

BlueTriton will also continue providing its $10,000 "Every Drop Counts" Earth Science Scholarship to a Texas State University student each year to further support environmental and sustainability education efforts.

The 2023 scholarship award was presented to Tyler Hartwick, Texas State geography and environmental studies graduate student, on October 13.

Pictured (L) Trey Mixon, Natural Resource Manager for BlueTriton Brands and Ozarka® 100% Natural Spring Water, (C) Tyler Hartwick, award recipient and (R) Dr. Robert Mace, Meadows Center Executive Director