It takes a village to raise awareness.
This is our village.

Nature play in early childhood is an exciting, multisensory way to develop social-emotional skills, build self-confidence, strengthen communication skills, and discover the natural world. Established in October 2004, Kronkosky’s Tiny Tot Nature Spot (Nature Spot) aimed to engage the knee-high-naturalists and ensure the San Antonio Zoo would be a welcoming destination to conservationists of all ages. The Nature Spot continues to be a destination within the San Antonio Zoo for children from birth to five years of age, and their parents or guardians. 

Nature Spot engages their conservation and environmental education message in a setting that is fun, recreational, and interactive for young children and their families. Of the 1.2 million visitors to the zoo annually, approximately 30% stop by the Tiny Tot Nature spot. 

The Kronkosky Tiny Tot Nature Spot creates profound good by introducing nature play to the Zoo’s youngest visitors. The 1.5-acre space for knee-high-naturalists (birth – five years old) includes the John & Greli Less Butterfly Rainforest, Discovery PLAYce and an outdoor nature play area called Go Wild! Go Wild! features Wheel Good Time!, a stroller coaster that allows littles to safely experience the sensory dynamics of a roller coaster from the safety of their stroller or wheelchair.

This area also features a mud kitchen, all-new nature-inspired play structures, and animals such as squirrel monkeys, turtles, tamanduas, and more! Kronkosky’s Tiny Tot Nature Spot has won multiple awards recognizing its excellence in exhibit design and live animal displays since its inception nearly twenty years ago.

Now reimagined for the next generation of knee-high naturalists, guests can expect new environments that provide safe yet exciting spaces to build strength, confidence, and resilience.

Since 1984, the Bandera County Committee on Aging Inc., known as Silver Sage, has been committed to enriching the lives of older adults by providing critical resources such as the Meals on Wheels program, vaccine outreach education and clinics, transportation, food distributions, food pantries, social services, benefits counseling and enrollment, and Veterans services.

Bandera County faces significant challenges due to its limited resources. Approximately 28% of Bandera County’s population is aged 65 and older, and many seniors face food insecurity, limited access to healthcare, and social isolation. Silver Sage provides critical programs and services for over 2,000 older adults in a resource-limited county, enhancing the quality of life for Bandera’s aging population. These services include regular congregate meals, home-delivery meals, and a food pantry.

As a cornerstone of the Bandera community, Silver Sage leverages partnerships from surrounding counties to offer collaborative and innovative programs, including access to mental health services, ensuring that the needs of the aging population are met comprehensively. Silver Sage is embarking on a strategic partnership with Ecumenical Center providing in-office or home therapy sessions for the clients they serve.

Additionally, seeing a need to help with not only the physical and mental health but also the financial health of its clients, Silver Sage has also launched a benefit enrollment center in partnership with Health and Human Services to ensure Bandera’s aging adults maximize their financial stability by enrolling in their eligible benefits.