On Saturday, April 26, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Bridgeland’s 17th Annual Nature Fest brought over 7,000 attendees of every age to the community’s Oak Meadow Park in Cypress, Texas. The family-friendly event brought animal lovers and curious minds to spend the day outdoors on a wild adventure learning about local ecology, wildlife, and the vital importance of preserving the habitats of the world’s most unique creatures.
“As one of the nation’s top-selling master planned communities, Bridgeland continues to receive local and national recognition for its commitment to sustainable planning and eco-friendly design,” said Steve Sams, Senior Vice President of MPC Residential at Howard Hughes. “Nature Fest provides a fun and engaging way for the community-at-large to learn more about Texas as well as global wildlife and how we are working to support, preserve and protect their habitats.”
Headlining the 17th Annual Nature Fest was Corbin Maxey. The wildlife biologist, Tik Tok and YouTube sensation who provided unique information about several animals from around the world during three presentations over the course of the day. Maxey, a nationally recognized animal expert who has appeared on The Today Show and other national TV programs, shared his love of animals with great enthusiasm. Some of the animals that attendees were introduced to included Tony, a red tegu from South America, Zoe, a critically endangered cockatoo from Indonesia, Scrappy a black and white lemur from Madagascar and a tamandua, also known as an anteater, named Hubble. His connections to the animals he rescues was evident when Maxey gave Hubble a kiss, declaring, “I just love her!”
An exciting stage schedule filled the day with a menagerie of animals from around the globe. In addition to Maxey, other presentations included: Wildlife on the Move, Houston SPCA’s Wildlife Center of Texas- Birds of Prey, Texas Snakes, Crocodile Encounter and Wild Things Zoofari.
Bridgeland’s Nature Fest is an opportunity for area residents to get up close and engage with wildlife in a way they wouldn’t normally get to experience. At Nature Fest, animal lovers had the opportunity to learn all sorts of amazing facts about creatures great and small. Here is a sampling of some of the facts learned at Bridgeland’s Nature Fest:
- Lemurs, like Scrappy are the world’s largest pollinators as they jump from palm tree to palm tree.
- Hubble the anteater can eat up to 9,000 ants in one day!
- Snakes help to stop the spread of rabies as they – like opossum – do not carry the disease.
- Snakes are beneficial to Texas ecosystems, helping to keep vermin populations under control.
- You can tell the difference between a cheetah and a jaguar, because a jaguar’s spots contain a dot inside the circular design on their coat, whereas the cheetah’s do not.
- The Lightning Whelk is the state shell of Texas.
Occurring simultaneously with the stage shows, families and friends enjoyed a variety of entertainment options, including outdoor laser tag, a kids’ inflatable zone and craft corner, face painting, balloon artists, a nature exhibitor area, a petting zoo, and animal encounter photo opportunities. Paddle boats were also available for spending time on the water, while a rock climbing wall offered a bird’s-eye view of the park for those needing a little more adventure. Nearly 20 food trucks and vendors offered food and beverages for hungry event goers, and Bridgeland Bill’s birthday celebration was made a little sweeter with complementary cookies supplied by H-E-B Bridgeland.
Admission is always free, but some of the activities such as arts and crafts, face painting, gem mining and the petting zoo all required a small fee. As part of HHCares, Howard Hughes’ company-wide social responsibility program that aims to make a positive impact through community-focused philanthropy, monies collected were donated to CY-Hope, the area non-profit bringing hope to underserved children in the Cypress community. Proceeds from Nature Fest activities raised over $12,500 benefiting Cy-Hope.
We are grateful for the support of our many sponsors who generously donated to make Nature Fest a success. Thank you to: Beazer Homes; BGE; Century Communities; Clark Condon Landscape Architecture; Coventry Homes; Delta Environmental; H-E-B Bridgeland; Highland Homes; IDS Engineering Group; Masterson Advisors LLC; Memorial Hermann-Cypress; Municipal Accounts & Consulting, LP; Partners In Building; Ravenna Homes; Schwartz, Page & Harding; and Space City Orthodontics.
