Movie at Pease Park, Sat, 3/26!

Your Choice for Sat 2/19: Tree Planting or Invasive Tree Removal

Two more workdays to tempt our volunteers for Sat, 2/19.  At Pease Park from 9 am to noon, volunteers will plant 65 trees.  Meet at Kingsburg end of Pease Park.  At West Bouldin Creek from 8:30 am to 1 pm, Invasive Species Removal efforts will continue.  Meet at the S. 6th St entrance.  Both parks will have big It’s My Park Day events, you can volunteer here for Pease Park and here for West Bouldin Creek on 3/5.

 

1st Workday on Mesquite Flats (aka Pease Park along Lamar)

I went out and helped for a few hours with Richard of the Pease Park Conservancy (formerly Trees for Pease) and the great folks who run Eyeore’s.  Today’s goal was to begin the process of restoring Mesquite Flats as former Parks Dept Director Warren Struss used to call it, Richard refers to it as the “goat ranch.”    See for yourself.

This area was filled back in 1952, the city shifted the course of Shoal Creek to expand Lamar Blvd northward.  Shoal Creek used to be a lot broader in size here.  And thus, Mesquite Flats was born.

Today’s goal was to spread a thin layer of dillo dirt, then a thicker layer of mulch, then mix in some native plant seeds.  Small berms made of rock and stone about 25 feet apart were laid out to prevent the dillo dirt, mulch and seeds from moving much. (The good news is that there are ample rocks and stones on site for sure).  I had to leave at 1 pm to get ready for another event at 3 pm, it’s looking pretty good. They are working until 5 pm.

Thanks to Richard, the parks dept, the friends of the forest (Eyeore’s), the rangers that came and helped out, as well as students from LBJ high school, UT and some great volunteers from the APF volunteer list.

A Few Park Updates for Friday

A few updates to share from Parks around Austin:

First, we were out at Pease Park / Shoal Creek the other day with several folks from Parks and Watershed looking at some of the previous experiments that we did with demo plots, rock work, tree planting, etc. in anticipation of the big restoration project coming to that area.

Look at all of the new growth in the center of the tree!

We began at the Parking lot on parkway, just south of 24th St where earlier this year, PARD Operations (thank you Danny!) pulled back a portion of the parking around a certainly over 300 year old massive Oak tree, PARD Operations and Forestry performed a root zone invigoration with an airspade, applied dillo dirt and mulch and re-used the stone bollards we had left over from Republic Square phase 1a to surround the site. (Thanks Walter and Danny)   Further, They Might Be Monkeys, local arborists, did some pro-bono pruning and painting of the tree (thanks Walter)

Picture of Tree in Late Feb 2010 showing just completed root work and bollards installed

Pretty Amazing!

Massive Oak that recently received Root Zone Invigoration at Brush Square

Second, Work continues over at Brush Square with the Art In Public Places Courtyward with big stone pieces being moved into position.  Slow and careful work for sure, but progress is being made.

Courtyard Project continues....

Finally, while not directly park related, another portion of the Lance Armstrong Bikeway has been completed with the installation of a bridge over Waller Creek as well as additional dedicated bikeway from Red River to the frontage of IH-35.  Here’s a photo…   About 8 people on bikes passed me while taking these pictures around 11 am on a Friday…

Pease Spray Ground Sign

Wow!

Demo Restoration Plots at Pease Park Photos

In the fall of 2007/winter of 2008, the Austin Parks Foundation established a series of demonstration restoration plots in portions of Pease Park – tilling areas, applying dillo dirt and liquid compost and then planting a great mix of wildflower and grass seeds.  Of course, we then experienced two years of drought, but some flowers and grasses did appear each of the two springs.  Well, thanks to rains this fall, winter and spring, our plots along Kingsbury are looking good – here’s a few photos from yesterday.  (we also planted 35 trees in this area and they are doing well thanks to irrigation installed at the same time.)

Congratulations to Richard Craig!

Our congratulations to Richard Craig – amazing volunteer and chairperson of the Trees for Pease effort, who has won the Mayor’s 2010 Environmental Awareness Award:

Here’s what the press release said about Richard:

“Richard Craig’s “Trees For Pease” project is a “grass roots, tree roots” solution to the problem of deforestation and environmental decline in the Pease Park portion of the Shoal Creek Greenbelt. Since its inception the program has raised close to $100,000, and scores of volunteers have joined in planting 333 trees, installing irrigation systems, and covering barren ground with moisture-retaining mulch.”

Richard Craig, Chair of Trees for Pease, on the right (Charlie McCabe, Exec Director of the Austin Parks Foundation is on the left)

New Trailhead at Pease Park

New ramp and trail connection at Pease Park / Shoal Creek

The Austin Parks and Recreation Dept’s Construction Crew is working on a new trail head and access point for the Shoal Creek Trail at Pease Park on Kingsbury St..  On Friday they constructed a ramp to provide easy accessible access to the trail from Kingsbury St. and also allow deliveries of mulch, trees and dillo dirt that the Trees for Pease folks ask for all of the time.  This replaces the old “route” which went up the middle of the park and is now populated with newly planted trees and in ground irrigation.

new trail looking south to new ramp at Kingsbury

Our thanks to James Young and his construction crew as well as Tony Arnold and Marty Stump of the Parks Department’s planning, construction and design team.  The crew has another day or so of work, packing down the granite gravel, refinishing the edge of the ramp and along the trail and installing another small section of trail deeper in the park to allow vehicles to turn around.

Re-roofing a great old building

There’s an old brick tudor style building at Pease Park that used to house the restrooms.  Since a new restroom building was built a few years back, the old building has fallen into disrepair. Thanks to Richard from Trees for Pease, the fine folks at the Old Enfield Neighborhood Association, and approval from the Parks Dept, the building is getting a make-over with a new wood shingle roof being installed now and on It’s My Park, scraping and priming the wood on the sides in preparation for a new coat of paint.

Recycling Stone Bollards At Pease Park

With the completion of Phase 1b of the Auction Oaks Project @ Republic Square, we have a number of surplus stone bollards that used to ring the Auction Oaks area.  Thanks to help from the Parks Dept, specifically the folks in forestry, we removed a portion of a parking lot immediately around a big old oak tree, put down mulch, set out the bollards and presto – another tree breathing a little easier.

Thanks to Walter with Parks Forestry, Danny from the Parks Northwest District, and Richard from Trees for Pease.