What happens when kids trade screens for creeks?
Host Bryan Eisenberg sits down with Joecelyn Esparza of Wild Explorers Nature Co-op to talk about a simple idea that carries big weight for families in Round Rock and across Central Texas. Kids need the outdoors. Not just for fun. For learning. For confidence. For a deeper bond with the places they live.
Joecelyn did not start with a grand business plan. She started with three boys and a question many parents asked during 2020. How do we get our kids outside more often. One walk turned into many. Trails turned into lessons. Families started joining. Soon Wild Explorers grew into small groups that meet across Round Rock, Austin, Georgetown, and San Antonio.
Picture a typical day with the group. Families meet at a trailhead. Kids lead the pace. They hike until curiosity pulls them toward a creek a rock formation or a cluster of trees. Then the learning begins. Books. Movement. Study guides. Buckets nets shovels and tools in small hands. Parents rotate teaching lessons in the co op program while Joecelyn leads classes in another program.
Sometimes the woods even deliver surprises. One group once stumbled on something strange and a little gross on a trail. A reminder that nature always keeps people curious and alert.
Families who want in make a simple commitment. Show up once a week. Walk. Learn. Explore.
Joecelyn believes something powerful happens when children spend time outdoors. Behavior improves. Curiosity grows. Kids start caring about the land around them. They begin to protect it.
She also carries a bigger dream. Round Rock needs a true nature center. A place where families can study the land explore creeks and learn how to care for the wild spaces around them.
Listen to the full conversation on Rock Solid and discover how one mom turned a weekly hike into a growing movement for families across Central Texas.
