Outside of her work at SOS, Lindsey is an Olympic weightlifter and a devoted mom to Eve, and you can spot them most weekends enjoying a wild swim or a kayak adventure. We asked Lindsey to share more about what brought her to this work, what challenges and excites her, and where she finds her favorite waters.
What brought you to SOS, and what do you work on here? Barton Springs brought me to SOS! I had started to swim at the springs regularly and I was feeling like I needed to make a career change. I was sort of lost during this time, just swimming until I could figure it out. I started forming relationships with other regulars at Barton Springs and got plugged into the Zilker Park Vision plan debacle. I'll never forget standing by the pool and watching Ben Livingston march down the stairs and announce to all of us swimmers, "Can you believe this bull*%$&!" holding a print-out about the vision plan in his hands. I started to volunteer and show up. Later that fall I heard that SOS was hiring, and the rest is history! For the past two seasons I have worked as the Outreach Coordinator at SOS, managing tabling efforts, leading snorkel tours and ecotours, and helping to manage our summer internship program. A lot of this work keeps me out of the office and at the springs—which is a great part of the job. Why did you choose to work in water conservation? I spent years studying environmental literature in graduate school at UT and I knew I needed to do something more directly involved with the material world. I had always enjoyed my years as a public school teacher, so outreach and outdoor education was a perfect fit. What’s the most challenging part of your role? I think figuring out how to give people memorable and transformative in-water experiences has been challenging. It's something magical that is really hard to design and execute in advance. So much of our bond with nature occurs spontaneously and through play. How to allow for people to capture this playful aspect of solo exploration while simultaneously "leading" a group of people through a pre-set itinerary is a challenging art. It is one that I am still figuring out. What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given? Be here now.
What part of this work is most rewarding for you? Hands down, leading ecotours and snorkel tours and seeing people discover new swim spots that they want to return to and keep building relationships with. Also, educating elementary school age kids about how groundwater is hugely rewarding. What’s a common misconception you hear about Texas water? That there is none! Since traveling abroad, I have heard many people be surprised that there is decent swimming in Texas. I always tell them not only is there decent swimming, Central Texas is home to some of the best swimming holes in the world. I am very proud of our water in Texas. What we have here is very special and far surpasses many "iconic" swim spots of the world. What’s something unexpected about you? A fun fact! My other sport is Olympic weightlifting! Where’s your favorite place you’ve ever gone swimming? Ooooh this is such a mean question. (I'm not counting the Springs in this question). For freshwater I would have to say the waterfalls in Barton Creek Wilderness Park and a close runner-up being Cascade Lake on Orcas Island, WA. For salt water, it would be the channel swim between St. Kitts and Nevis Island where I got to swim with my partner and saw a handful of sea turtles along the way. Oh and Brighton Beach, English Channel! Where I faced my fear of ocean swimming and sobbed on the beach afterwards because I was so happy. If you could take anyone on a Texas river trip, who would it be and where would you go? Of course I would take my daughter, Eve. I love exposing her to the outdoors and she is a natural wild swimmer. In a perfect world, I would love to take her to the swimming holes on the Frio that are in the H.E. Butt Foundation Camp Grounds. There is a blue hole there that is 30 feet deep! But I would equally enjoy taking her back to the Frio in Garner State Park. Spending all day in the water with her, watching her wade and explore through the shallows, watching her captain her kayak Gingerbread (she named it, not me), and mermaid through the crystal clear waters is all I ever need in this world. What's the funniest thing a kid has said while on a snorkel tour? "Is this a petting zoo?" (asking about the geese. Eager to touch geese). How much can you bench? I have no idea how much I bench but my snatch pr is 38 kg right now! (The snatch is one of two lifts in the sport of weightlifting, the other being the clean and jerk. The objective of the snatch is to lift the barbell from the ground to overhead in one continuous motion) Tell us about a scary encounter in the wild - creature, weather, or other. A year or so ago I wanted to take a quick dip in Barton Creek before work. I knew there was a chance of thunderstorms in an hour but I figured I would be down and up in plenty of time. Well, the water was so beautiful and it was so calm and peaceful out there that one thing led to another and my dip turned into a full on swim-selfcare-communing with Nature session. Warning!: The Greenbelt always works its magic: time seems to stop when you are down at the creek (this should be posted at every trailhead). As I was standing in the water taking pictures I felt raindrops and suddenly remembered where I was and that it was time to GO. As I was hurrying to pack my things and pull on shorts over a wet bathing suit, I saw a bright flash of lightning. OK now we REALLY have to go! However, I still had a 20 minute hike up the Hill of Life in between me and my car. I tore across the flat meadow on the way to the hill. This hike was now going to be an uphill sprint. I hit the button on my sportwatch (might as well get the PR if I make it out alive) and started the long haul up the Hill. Lighting was now absolutely CRACKING above my head, it seemed like mere feet away from me. I was cursing myself for being so careless but I finally made it up to the top and to my car, lucky that I did not get a collateral strike charge from a tree out there. I also learned that my official "Running For My Life" pace is about 10 minutes a mile up the Hill of Life. With a couple of breaks. Not exactly David Goggins, but I'll take it. The lesson here? Folks! With access to high quality weather apps, no one should ever get "caught" in a thunderstorm. (P.S. Beware of Greenbelt magic. It will always keep you longer than you think :) Whether she’s underwater, online, or on the trail, Lindsey shows up for the springs and the people who love them. We are so lucky to have Lindsey on our team. To join Lindsey on a Snorkel Tour, sign up below! Comments are closed.
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