Preparing for a star party, image Chris Oswalt, TPWD This is Passport to Texas The term “nature tourism” has evolved to include a diverse range of outdoor activities. Advancements in new tools and technologies enhance the outdoor experience. Nature tourism is any kind of tourism that allows people to connect with nature and provide economic impact to the local economies of rural communities especially but it can be big cities as well and this would include things as varied as camping, wildlife photography, wildlife viewing and birding, stargazing, any number of things that are a way to connect to nature. Shelly Plante is the Nature Tourism Manager at Texas Parks and Wildlife The things I think are possibly new to nature tourism beyond birding which everyone is fairly familiar with would include wildlife photography and butterflying. I think both of those have become really big. One thing with butterflying is, butterflies stay still, unlike birds. They do flit around but they stay in one area. You can have your field guide right in front of you. In addition, access to smart phones and apps like iNaturalist allow explorers to snap photos and get immediate help identifying their observations. Butterflying is easier than birding in many ways and it’s a great introduction to noticing the outside world. Start planning your next outdoor adventure with the Texas Parks and Wildlife website. For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.