It’s My Park Day – one week to go!

We’ve  had a host of wonderful volunteers at our office in the past three days folding t-shirts and promotional materials, stuffing project leader bags, packing trail mix and rubber banding packs of gloves. We’re in good shape for our supply distribution day next Thursday at REI Downtown, but we still need more volunteers for the big day next Saturday March 7th.

Presented by Wheatsville Food Co-op.

 

 

See the full list and register online at www.austinparks.org/itsmypark.html

Central

Mayfield Park and Preserve invasive plant removal
We will continue with our efforts removing invasive plants at Mayfield Park and Preserve. This will involve cutting ligustrum, dragging brush to a chipping area and removing cats claw. 40 volunteers needed.

South

Dick Nichols Tree Planting
240 trees are scheduled to be planted. Volunteers will receive training on how to properly plant container trees. The holes will be pre-dug, so you can focus on the fun part – planting and mulching! 115 volunteers needed.

Stephenson Preserve 
We will be focusing on invasive removal at one of Austin’s most precious wilderness areas. 20 volunteers still needed.

Lakeshore Park Cleanup at Hostelling International
Hostelling International – Austin will lead a cleanup of Lakeshore Park and the east side of Lady Bird Lake. For folks 16yrs and older, we’ll have canoes and/or kayaks for the water cleanup. We’ll also be planting vegetables and herbs in the garden, and pruning plants. Bring a boat if you have one! 30 volunteers needed.

North

Gus Garcia Trail Project
Volunteers will be assisting PARD with a major trail building project and picking up litter that has accumulated near the creek’s edge and through out the park. 75 volunteers are needed!

East

Dottie Jordan Park
Note: this project is from 12 – 3 pm. We will be cleaning the creek, spreading dillo dirt, manicuring overgrown landscaping, and there will be an art project for kids. 30 volunteers needed.

Bartholomew Park
We will be cleaning the park and the creek and rehabilitating the main bleachers at the baseball field. 150 volunteers needed!

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Registered volunteers receive t-shirts, snacks, and will be instructed in all tasks. Register now or find out more at www.austinparks.org/itsmypark.html or call 477-1566 to find a park that needs YOU.

Auction Oaks @ Republic Square – latest photos

A few more photos of the Auction Oaks at Republic Square now surrounded by stone bollards with connecting chains added to half of the area.  We should be seedingall bare ground areas with grass seed shortly.

Support Us at H-E-B Stores in April 2009!

We are pleased to announce that H-E-B has selected Earth Share of Texas (our Workplace contributions campaign organization) to be the beneficiary of its in-store coupon promotion for April 2009, in recognition of Earth Day. This means that customers can tear off and add check-out coupons worth $1, $3, or $5 to their total bill to support environmental work in the Central Texas, Houston/Galveston, Gulf Coast, Rio Grande Valley and Border, plus North Texas Central Markets.  

H-E-B has supported many Earth Share of Texas organizations with corporate grants or in-kind contributions. The tear-pad promotion enables H-E-B customers to support the environmental program work of more than three dozen Earth Share of Texas organizations including The Austin Parks Foundation. Look for the Earth Share of Texas display and tear-off coupons at the check-out stands in more than 200 H-E-B and Central Market stores in most areas of Texas beginning the last week of March.

Republic Square: Bollard Installation Finished

Our new stone bollards now ring the Auction Oaks portion of Republic Square!  These massive limestone blocks double as seats and will be connected with heavy chain shortly.  We’re very excited about this task being completed.  Only a few things left to do in this phase of work at Republic Square.

It’s My Park Day – We need 1,000 more volunteers!

It’s My Park Day presented by Wheatsville Food Co-op is rapidly approaching on Sat, March 7, 2009 – we now have 63 projects and we have 1,000 people signed up to volunteer  but we need 1,000 more.  Please take a look at the projects on our It’s My Park Day page and sign up for one.  

Here are a few projects in special need of volunteers:

Gus Garcia Trail Project Volunteers will be assisting PARD with a major trail building project and picking up litter that has accumulated near the creek’s edge and through out the park. 75 volunteers are needed!    Lakeshore Park Cleanup at Hostelling International Hostelling International – Austin will lead a cleanup of Lakeshore Park and the east side of Lady Bird Lake. For folks 16yrs and older, we’ll have canoes and/or kayaks for the water cleanup. We’ll also be planting vegetables and herbs in the garden, and pruning plants. Bring a boat if you have one! 30 volunteers needed. Dottie Jordan Park Note: this project is from 12 – 3 pm. We will be cleaning the creek, spreading dillo dirt, manicuring overgrown landscaping, and there will be an art project for kids. 30 volunteers needed.    Bartholomew Park We will be cleaning the park and the creek and rehabilitating the main bleachers at the baseball field. 150 volunteers needed! Joslin Park’s First It’s My Park! Day Event Help new park adopters get off the ground by participating at Joslin Park. They will be weeding, raking, and picking up trash. 15 volunteers needed. Building a New Trail at Great Hills Park Recently neighbors rescued abandoned land adding about 15 more acres to the park. The new trail will connect to existing trails as well as open up the trail system to new neighborhoods. No experience neccessary! 200 volunteers needed.    Dick Nichols Tree Planting 240 trees are scheduled to be planted. Volunteers will receive training on how to properly plant container trees. The holes will be pre-dug, so you can focus on the fun part – planting and mulching! 115 volunteers needed.

100 Trees for Pease!

On Saturday, Feb 21, several hundred volunteers converged on Pease Park to plant the first 100 trees for Pease.  It took a village to get them purchased, placed, planted and irrigated!  We’d like to thank the following for all of their hard work:

• Richard Craig, who formed Trees for Pease, raised the bulk of the funds (nearly $20,000 to date) for irrigation, the landscape plan and some of the trees.  Our thanks to the Old Enfield Neighborhood Association, who donated $1500 for some of the trees planted Saturday.  Richard also supplied coffee, breakfast tacos and snacks for the volunteers who arrived early.

• Jill Nokes for assistance with selection, placement, planting and much more.

• Our thanks to Geo Growers who donated planting mix, to PSP Landscape, who carefully hauled and installed three big tooth maples and to the City of Austin Parks and Recreation Dept, especially, the Forestry group, who brought truckloads of dillo dirt, mulch, purchased the trees, hauled and place them.  Thanks to Brack Green who coordinated hauling and placement efforts and Emily King who ordered the trees.

• Our great irrigators at Avery’s Landscape – especially Richard, who got the bubbler irrigation working on Sat afternoon in record time, despite a break or two.

• TreeFolks, who’s board members (Marcus, Colleen, Carlene) did demo tree plantings and assisted folks in planting their trees.

• Council members Leffingwell and Martinez as well as Council Candidate Riley who planted a tree.

• Members of the Friends of the Forest (Eyeore’s B-day) who came in the afternoon and continued the work started on Feb 14, installing more check logs, spreading dillo and mulch on the hillside.

We appreciate all of your hard work.

Giving Pease Park Some Love on Valentine’s Day

Friends of Pease Park was joined on Valentine’s Day by the University of Texas student service fraternity Gamma Beta Phi and by the Eeyore’s Birthday Board of Directors’ organization known as “Friends of the Forest” for a special work-day in Pease Park.  Nearly 100 volunteers, wearing “I © Pease Park” T-shirts worked tirelessly to address both erosion control and soil compaction problems on the hillsides in the main park on Kingsbury Street. Eeyore’s Birthday organization leaders hope to make this Valentine’s Day group work session an annual tradition.

L-R: Friends of Pease Park Founder Richard Craig with Eeyore’s Birthday Party leaders Scott Sexton, Snow White-Coe and Cody Coe

L-R: Eeyores Birthday leaders Snow White-Coe and Cody Coe, UT students and Gamma Beta Phi members Clara Bush and Nicholas Martinez

Republic Square – Bollard Installation – Day 1

A number of the new stone bollards were installed today, they will surround the entire Auction Oaks area and will be connected by a heavy gauge chain.

 

The row of bollards looking east

 

Looking west at the bollards surrounding the central auction oak

Please Support Completing The Trail @ Lady Bird Lake

In the next few weeks, the Austin City Council will consider the proposed concept plan for the Riverside Boardwalk Trail.  Work on design and possible routes has been underway since this past summer and we hope that you’ve been able to attend the many open houses and public meetings. Specifically, the conceptual plan seeks to close the 1.3 mile gap in the trail, stretching from just east of the Austin American Statesman property to parkland near the intersection of E. Riverside and S. Lakeshore.  

Completing the trail has been an active project for the past 12 years when the City Parks department staff started working on a series of possible designs and pursuing state and federal funding opportunities.  We are thrilled to see the work on the conceptual plan progress to this stage.

On February 12, the Council will receive a briefing on the project from the Parks and Recreation Department and the Public Works Department. On February 26, the City Council will vote on the concept plan.

There are still issues of construction methods, segment routes, environmental impacts, and funding to be considered in the months ahead during the design stage.  Advancing the concept plan to the next stage does not mean the work of designing, funding and building the best boardwalk trail for Austin and Lady Bird Lake is finished.  But it will mean we would be closer than we have ever been to providing safe, continuous pedestrian access along the entire lakefront.

The Trail around Lady Bird Lake is the most popular park in Austin with hundreds of thousands of visits each year.  Further, it is the number one tourist attraction in Austin. Please help make the Trail the best it can be for all of Austin. Show your support on or before the 12th and mark February 26 on your calendar and plan to attend the Council meeting.

Please show your support for completing the Trail by emailing our City Council today:

will.wynn@ci.austin.tx.us
lee.leffingwell@ci.austin.tx.us
mike.martinez@ci.austin.tx.us
randi.shade@ci.austin.tx.us
brewster.mccracken@ci.austin.tx.us
sheryl.cole@ci.austin.tx.us
laura.morrison@ci.austin.tx.us

Republic Square – Here come the bollards

This week, we’ll have the final elements of Phase 1A of the Auction Oaks @ Republic Square project put into place – a collection of stone bollards, connected by heavy chain to outline the Auction Oaks grove.  These are 2 foot high limestone blocks, which double as handy seats.  The first one is already out at the square, we’ve included a picture of one here.

Other than that, all of the planted trees are doing well and we need to seed the areas with grass seed which should take place once the bollards are installed.

More pictures soon!