SAWS & Audubon Celebrate Mitchell Lake Audubon Center
(10/6/09)
 San Antonio Water System and Audubon Texas today celebrated five years of collaboration on the during the SAWS Board of Trustees meeting. Audubon representatives presented SAWS with a plaque to commemorate the five year partnership that has helped the 600-acre lake and adjoining wetlands grow into a community educational center.
"Mitchell Lake has long been a hidden treasure for the bird watching community, but the partnership with the Audubon Society has transformed the lake to an exciting educational and recreational magnet," said Greg Flores, SAWS Vice President of Public Affairs. "With the help of volunteers and Audubon staff, the past five years have been a huge success for Mitchell Lake. We look forward to continue building on this successful partnership."
SAWS owns the Mitchell Lake property, which was San Antonio's first centralized wastewater treatment site. SAWS has paid more than $1.5 million to improve roads and bridges on the property and to build the visitor's center. Now, the lake as well as the surrounding uplands and wetlands are leased to the Audubon Society for management and operation as a public use and education facility.
The Mitchell Lake Audubon Center serves the San Antonio community as an outdoor classroom for visitors of all ages, offering public tours and educational programs at the site as well as a unique internship program. Over the past five years, the Center has become a premier science education location for more than 3,500 students each year.
 "The Mitchell Lake Audubon Center is dedicated to instilling a shared appreciation and sense of stewardship for the natural world through hands-on nature education, citizen science and preservation of the Mitchell Lake Wildlife Refuge. Each year thousands of residents and visitors learn about our natural world through free family programs and conservation workshops, volunteer projects, recreational activities and an annual festival," said Susan Albert, Mitchell Lake Audubon Center Director.
Mitchell Lake is positioned on a natural migratory route and serves as a resting point for tens of thousands of birds each year. More than 300 bird species have been recorded at the site, including American white pelicans, roseate spoonbills and various species of egrets, ducks and hawks. The beautifully restored home that is now the Mitchell Lake Audubon Center is nestled among a colorful garden of xeriscape plants that invites an assortment of birds, butterflies and other creatures.
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