Artist Boat
13330 Settegast Road, Galveston, TX (Directions) | Phone: (409)632-0388 | Website
About
Artist Boat is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to promoting awareness and preservation of the coastal margins and marine environment through the disciplines of the sciences and the arts.
Artist Boat’s Coastal Heritage Preserve currently encompasses a 810 acre conservation area on West Galveston Island. Artist Boat’s goal is to preserve and restore 1,400 contiguous acres from beach to bay. The conservation area is one of the largest unfragmented, single-owner, undeveloped properties of its kind on Galveston Island.
In addition to conservation, they educate youth during Eco-Art Camps, Workshops, and Adventures, offer Stewardship Training Programs, and have regularly scheduled kayak adventures to places on Galveston Bay carefully chosen for their natural significance.
Hours
- Monday: 8:00AM – 5:00PM
- Tuesday: 8:00AM – 5:00PM
- Wednesday: 8:00AM – 5:00PM
- Thursday: 8:00AM – 5:00PM
- Friday: 8:00AM – 5:00PM
- Saturday: Closed
- Sunday: Closed
General
- Kayak Adventures Scheduled Throughout the Year
- Preserves & Restores Natural Spaces from Beach to Bay
- Educational Opportunities Available
- Interpretive Tours via The Bucket Brigade
Coastal Heritage Preserve
The Artist Boat Coastal Heritage Preserve currently encompasses a 898 acre conservation area on West Galveston Island. Artist Boat’s goal is to preserve and restore 1,400 contiguous acres from beach to bay. The Preserve is adjacent to West Bay, part of the Galveston Bay system – an estuary of national significance. The conservation area is one of the largest unfragmented, single-owner, undeveloped properties of its kind on Galveston Island.
Artist Boat Kayak Adventures
Artist Boat offers guided tours of some of the most beautiful places along the coasts of Galveston Bay. During your adventure you will discover that the coast is unique, beautiful, and alive from the seat of your kayak. Discover myriad bird and fish species as you glide along the water’s surface. Take a break from exploring marshes, seagrass beds, and rookery islands to create a plein-air watercolor painting of this special ecosystem.
Bucket Brigade
In conjunction with conjunction with Galveston Park Board of Trustees, Artist Boat offers Interpretive Beach Tours that are free for the public, last approximately 45 minutes, and are offered at Stewart Beach. The tours are educational and fun for ocean-lovers of all ages. Hands-on activities investigate topics including Galveston’s turbid water, marine debris, Sargassum landings, and more. Tours are scheduled during the summer months.
Eco-Art Camps, Workshops and Adventures
Art meets science in the Artist Boat Eco-Art Camp Sessions! Artist Boat Eco-Art Campers will experience true science and art enrichment with the creation of Eco-Art to beautify yards and homes.
In-class workshops are interactive and hands-on, while introducing concepts such as non-point source pollution, estuarine and marine ecology, and wetland function. In addition, every student produces his or her own water-color portrait of a native animal from Galveston Bay.
During adventures (kayak, walking, or vessel) students participate in hands-on and feet-in instruction via outdoor and experiential learning to explore estuarine ecology, plain-air water coloring, water quality, and paddling safety. Workshops and Adventures are TEKS aligned, utilize S.T.E.A.M. based learning, and provide 6 hours of field lab to your students.
Beautify the Bucket
The Beautify the Bucket Competition allows participants to take an active role in beautifying Galveston beaches and improving stewardship behaviors. Participants in the competition paint a blue trash barrel destined for Galveston beaches based on a theme: ocean organisms, marine debris, coastal and marine ecosystems, or Galveston recreational activities. After the competition the barrels will be added to Galveston’s beaches where they will be enjoyed by visitors and encourage proper disposal of trash to reduce aquatic trash.
Volunteer Opportunities
Artist Boat is currently recruiting passionate individuals to become members of our Sea Citizen team. Sea Citizens are Artist Boat’s team of dedicated volunteers who help make Artist Boat’s mission and vision a reality.
They also host monthly Open Workdays where volunteers can go out and help restore the native coastal prairie ecosystem. Workday tasks include planting native grasses, treating and removing invasive species, and more!
If you want to help make Galveston a better place, this is a rewarding way to do so.
