On Thursday, May 1, 150 volunteers traveling on three bio-fueled buses as part of the Dirty Hands Caravan came to Austin and Barton Creek Greenbelt. With the tremendous support of American Youthworks E-Corps, the Parks Dept, the Austin Parks Foundation, the Greenbelt Guardians and Keep Austin Beautiful we had volunteers removing non-native trees and plants from three sites on Barton Creek - Homedale access, Gus Fruh Access and Loop 360 access and two crews walking the trail and picking up lots of trash. Here’s a photo, thanks the Dirty Hands Caravan blog

After suddenly disappearing this week, Eeyore mysteriously returned to his home at Eastwoods park on Wednesday night. Neighbors are deeply relieved. Eeyore pretends to be as mournful as ever, but we sense a slight air of satisfaction at being home again in his demeanor.

Please contact Austin Parks Foundation at apf@austinparks.org or 477-1566 with any information regarding the theft of this one-of-a-kind statue from Eastwoods Park. The neighborhood, who raised all of the funds to get the statue cast and installed really wants to get it back to the site of the original Eeyore’s Birthday.

Parks Advocates:

Here’s your chance to give input to the city manager on what you’d like to see in our new Parks director. We’ve (Austin Parks Foundation) sent in our requests of course, and I’ll plan on attending and speaking, but please consider coming and speaking and encouraging others to do so as well. Also, a note that they say the parks system has over 50 miles of trails, its actually 117 miles as of 2006.

Thanks so much,

Charlie

Public invited to help develop PARD Director recruitment profile

For immediate release
April 25, 2008

City Manager Marc Ott announced today that the community will have two opportunities to provide valuable input as the City of Austin develops a recruitment profile for the vacant Parks and Recreation Department Director position.

Two public meetings to gather community comments are scheduled at Austin City Hall, 301 W. Second St., on Thursday, May 1. The first meeting is scheduled from 4 to 5:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers. The second meeting will be from 6 to 7:30 p.m. in the Boards and Commissions Room.

Input is being sought on the recommended characteristics, knowledge, experience and expectations of the community for the next Parks Director. This information will help in developing a recruitment profile that will be used to attract candidates in a national search.

The Austin Parks and Recreation Department is responsible for a park system that encompasses more than 16,700 acres. The Director will be responsible for overseeing operations at 205 parks, 172 athletic fields, 17 recreation centers, three area lakes, more than 50 miles of hike-and-bike trails and numerous other facilities.

In 2007, the department received national accreditation from the Commission for Accreditation of Park and Recreation Agencies. This accomplishment reflects the City’s commitment to having a world-class park system and enhancing the quality of life for the community.

For information regarding the recruitment process, contact Edna Santos, City of Austin Human Resources Consultant, at (512) 974-3221.

Contact:
Communications and Public Information Office, (512) 974-2220

Movies in the Park returns to Republic Square on Saturday, May 10* with a screening of “Best in Show” a humorous look at the world of dog shows, directed by Christopher Guest. Thanks to the generous support of Lofty Dog ,2nd Street District, AMLI on 2nd, and AMLI Downtown we’re pleased to screen this movie free of charge at downtown’s Republic Square, located at 5th, Guadalupe, 4th and San Antonio Sts.
But that’s not all! The movie will begin at dusk (about 9 pm) and from 7-9 pm, we’ll have a lot of fun entertainment for you and your canine friends at Republic Square. Included in the pre-show antics are:
- A dog agility course demonstration
- A mini dog training class
- Silly Pet Tricks contests (with the audience voting who’s the best!)
- Information and samples from Emancipet, Lofty Dog, 2nd Street District, ALMI’s downtown city apartments,, Eagle Pack Holistic Select, the Austin Parks Foundation and the City of Austin Scoop the Poop program.
So, grab your blanket, your dog on a leash and your family and friends and join us when Republic Square and Movies in the Park truly go to the dogs!
* * * * *
Movies in the Park with “Best in Show” on May 10th is sponsored by Lofty Dog, 2nd Street District AMLI on 2nd, and AMLI Downtown. Thanks to the Alamo Drafthouse, The Austin Parks and Recreation Dept, The Downtown Austin Alliance and Austin Outhouse for their great support.
*-Rain-date for the movie is Wednesday, May 14th.

Earth day, on Tuesday, April 22 was a hot and humid day at Red Bud Isle. We made fantastic progress at this off-leash dog park with over 95 volunteers from Starbucks stores around Austin working a total of 205 hours, with many invasive trees cut and hauled, coffee grounds and mulching in the main field completed and the digging and placement of 7.5 tons of flagstone creating a new walk near the point of the island. Not bad for just a few hours of work.

The sixth annual It’s My Park! Day was Saturday, April 12 and we had a record 51 park improvement projects with 1,400 volunteers signed up.  We’re getting back reports of actual numbers, but in the meantime, we wanted to begin sharing the many pictures that we are receiving - check them out on our Flickr Page

At over 220 H-E-B and Central Market stores, you can support the Austin Parks Foundation trail projects by purchasing a $1, $3 or #5 coupon from Earth Share of Texas Tear Pad Display Boards (shown below) at all checkout stands during the month of April.

We now have 49 park projects scheduled for our sixth annual It’s My Park! Day on Saturday, April 12 from 9 am to 1 pm.  We have over 500 volunteers signed up but we have space for hundreds of more volunteers. We have a variety of projects from planting, painting, trail construction, cutting, pruning and more.  See the list of all projects and sign up today - on austinparks.org

Earth Share of Texas represents over 70 environmental non-profit organizations, including the Austin Parks Foundation across Texas in workplace giving campaigns. They have a great new TV Public Service announcement that we’re pleased to share with you.