E.A.S.T. 2013

Last night I went for a late afternoon walk in the park to have a quiet moment and to photograph progress on the large-scale restoration project.  Standing on top of the Pleasant Valley Overpass I heard an odd noise so walked down to Hargrave to walk around to the park and saw something even stranger than what I'd heard.  There was a man standing on a ladder and holding a pole with a gigantic roll of saran wrap so of course I had to walk over to find out what was going on. 

 

 

 

 

It turns out that they're putting in a temporary installation for the East Austin Studio Tour, E.A.S.T., titled "Albedo."  The project was commissioned by the Art in Public Places TEMPO program and will be up until the first week of December.  The artists are local architects and this piece will create "translucent, inhabitable volumes." 

 

Here's a graphic from their proposal.



 

 

 

Nearby a hole is being dug for "Below" which will use maps, public data, audience participation and led lights to raise awareness of our impact on the environment.  It will be up from November 16-29 and will return to the park in April 2014.

 

Right now it looks like this...

 

 

 

 

 

 

but by E.A.S.T. it's supposed to look like this...

 

 

The East Austin Studio Tour will be November 16-17+23-24, 2013 so grab a catalogue from one of our local libraries or look online and then enjoy the art in our neighborhood.  

 

Death is only the beginning...

The grocery store's entrance is lined with pumpkins and the neighbors across the streets have "cobwebs" covering their shrubs.  Even the plastic flamingos at our next door neighbors' house are in the Halloween spirit as they're black and white instead of pink. 

In a couple of weeks we hope to have skeletons, zombies, and ghosts knocking on our door...and ok probably a princess or two.  The combination of the fact that's it's a month with death front and center plus the fact that I just wrapped up dancing in a Bollywood musical (bonus points to anyone who knows which Bollywood musical the title of this blog comes from) is the perfect stage for the drama that's been unfolding in our park.  This song sets the stage for a discussion about how we judge things, "I'm neither dead nor alive."

 

There's no disputing the beauty of a majestic heritage pecan growing strongly but does that beauty and value go away when it dies?   Should it be seen as suddenly detracting from a park's beauty and worthy of spending money to remove?  The past few years of drought have not been easy on our park and since 2011 we've had almost 30 trees die and that's why we've been spending so much time mulching the remaining trees (in less than a year we've moved 230 cubic yards of mulch) and making plans to plant new ones.  But the question still remains what to do with all of the dead trees.

Understanding that there are some liability concerns with standing dead trees, the Friends have had support from the Parks and Recreation Department to leave as much of the tree as possible.  The remaining stumps or snags serve as a reminder of how many trees we used to have and provide valuable ecological services.

This article concisely highlights benefits of leaving dead wood in an ecosystem.  We should leave dead wood in the park because:

·         it provides perching, foraging, and nesting for birds

·         fungi and mushrooms flourish on and around logs, breaking down the organic matter to release important nutrients back into the forest ecosystem

·         Mammals, amphibians, reptiles, and invertebrates seek refuge in natural cavities and dens

·         spiders, beetles, worms, and microbes move and feed within the decaying matter

·         Decaying logs retain moisture and nutrients that aid in new plant growth

·         Logs also store energy and fix nitrogen

·         lessens soil erosion

I'd also make the case that there's  inherent beauty in these logs as they transform.  Click here to see an album of photos that I took a couple of weeks ago.  And here are a few of my personal favorites:

Buda

 

Blistering Beauty

 

Lady of the Park

 

Vortex

 

 

In addition to all the good for the environment they encourage us to wander off the beaten trail, remember what was and look more closely at the beautifully detailed world around us.

A few weeks ago we noticed that a couple more dead trees had Notice of Removal signs stuck to them so we promptly emailed the Park's manager to ask that they consider leaving them and the manager of East Austin parks and a forester assigned to our park agreed, "Jimmy is fine with snags at this location, and so am I. About 10’ tall. ~Keith O'Herrin"  We rejoiced and then went back to focusing on other park projects like organizing National Public Lands Day. 

Then on October 2, we took our dogs for an evening stroll and didn't see the trees from the distance.  My pace and heart rate quickened as we got closer but this was the site that greeted us. 

 

A lot of emotions, emails and phone calls later here is the response from the Parks and Recreation Department's Urban Forester,

                "I have updated information regarding the removal of the snag(s). In my interest of a quick response while I was out of town last week, I provided you with inaccurate information. The “art logs” I mentioned were in reference to a different high-use location, not Boggy Creek.

           Upon investigation, it turns out that in an effort to reduce some of Forestry’s back-logged work, the Boggy Creek work was handed over to a contractor. The hand-written notes on the original work order included a note to leave the snags, but those hand-written notes were not included when the digital work was handed over. So the contractor, without knowing better, removed the snag(s). This was an oversight on our part and I regret that the snags were removed. Again, I apologize. I can imagine the horror you must have felt when you saw that the snags had been removed.

                I hope you believe me when I say that Forestry is very interested in leaving snags and coarse     biomass in place because of their ecosystem services and wildlife benefits. This instance was an oversight that I will work to prevent in the future....~Angela Hanson."

We appreciate the thoughtful response and that the Department is listening to our concerns.  We are going to work with multiple departments to encourage the default to be to leave as much dead wood as safe in parks instead of the default being to remove everything.

Stay tuned.

Where theory meets the park...

 

Remember classes where the teacher bored you to tears with things like making you do fractions over and over again on paper instead of using practical examples like making you halve a favorite recipe?  Lessons are all around us, but often school favors the theoretical over the useful.  This wasn't so for the students in UT's 10 week design/build studio this summer.  Instead of designing for an imaginary place these academic students are paired with community members to create something real.  Instead of a drawing on a computer screen the students leave with blisters on their hands and the community is left with something tangible.

Last year students designed and built a moveable tool shed for our southern neighbors at Holly Neighbors Helping Neighbors.

This year our neighborhood was lucky to be selected for a project and an obvious place to create something was...you guessed it...our park!

In early June, Coleman Coker and Laura Edwards from the UT School of Architecture's Center for Sustainable Development met with the neighborhood association to present the idea and the project rapidly grew from there. 

 

 One of the main goals for the Public Interest Design practicum is community engagement so logically the next step was for us to meet the students.

On a warm Texas evening we met with the students who instead of being equipped with note pads came armed with smart phones that they set on the picnic table between us to record the conversation.  Together we had a very honest conversation about the park's history and its future.  We discussed past crimes, illegal dumping, housing buyouts, floods, young neighbors desires for a cool playground and more.  The students left with more information then they probably imagined was possible when it comes to a little piece of land with lawn and pecan trees but also with a sense of how important this community space is to neighbors.

 

They digested the information and several weeks later sent very detailed plans to the neighborhood for planned kiosks.  When many neighbors first heard that they were planning kiosks we imagined that they'd create a post with some cork board tacked to it and maybe a shelter but the plans we got were for architectural pieces of public art with an interpretive connection.

In all there were three groups, three designs, and three kiosks created.  The designs were tweaked by the Parks and Recreation Department but stayed true to the students initial vision.

Human Kiosk - Highlights human intervention with the creek by drawing the eye towards the transition from the creek with natural sides to the concrete channel.  Students interviewed community members who frequent the Conely-Guerrero Senior Activity Center and incorporated their memories into the piece.

the design

 

 

the reality

 

Canopy Kiosk - Provides a space to recline and relax while staring into the trees' canopy.  Middle school students provided poems and thoughts about the park in English and Spanish that were etched into the wooden slats.

the design

 

 

the reality

Riparian Restoration Kiosk - Draws the eye toward the creek which due to urban flow patterns cuts deeply into the landscape and isn't easily seen.  It highlights some of the native plants being used in the restoration and the wildlife that it supports.

the design

 

the reality

Once the students had the greenlight from the Parks and Recreation Department and our group they started to order materials, cut, haul, screw, weld and more.  They spent many HOT hours in the park patiently building their pieces while answering questions from curious passer-bys and doing it only for their class requirement and the occasional popsicle or slice of pizza from one of us.

 

 

Before we knew it the summer was almost over and on August 14, 2013 we came together to learn more about the students vision, thank each other and break bread.  Click here to see more photos of the entire process.

 

THANK YOU to the professors and students for making a difference while learning.  We look forward to seeing you in the park!

 

Serious Papers - Boggy Creek Restoration

Project Manual - Book 1 of 2
Project Manual - Book 2 of 2
Streambank Stabilization and Restoration

Erosion

According to FloodPro we had 2.72" of rain in the last 7 days and that was more than enough to sweep soil off the banks of Boggy Creek.  Earlier this week the restoration contractors finally sprayed the exposed banks with hydromulch.

photo taken May 23, 2013 looking upstream from Pleasant Valley overpass.  new hydromulching and some plants going in

However, the seeds in the hydromulch didn't have time to take root before the much  needed rain so here are some photos of the sad results.

 

some large debris and a dead tree that the contractors are waiting to plant

 

Johnson grass and erosion, photo taken from Rosewood Avenue looking downstream

 

 

photo taken from pedestrian bridge looking upstream towards Pleasant Valley overpass

 

National Trails Day, June 1

As part of National Trails Day, we were awarded a grant for 30 yards of mulch to help our trees through this ongoing drought.  Come help us spread it out on Saturday, June 1 from 9:00 - 11:30 AM.  Bring a water bottle, closed-toe shoes, and sunscreen.  We'll have water, gloves, and tools. Additional wheel barrows, rakes, and shovels are welcome too! 

Register via Austin Parks Foundation: http://www.austinparks.org/multi-project-list.html?eventid=651&linkid=202&action=selectproject. 

An after party at Barton Springs will provide volunteers with free lunch, local beer, and a chance for some prizes!

one step forward, 1/2 step back, but we're still ahead

Some days you win, some days you lose, and some days you learn a lesson.  We'll count today as a lesson learned day.  We've been working to establish a Grow Zone on the tributary that flows from Hargrave Street into Boggy Creek and today mowers visited our park. 

We've met with park staff on site, talked with several departments to ensure we could pull mowing back from the banks of the creek, and we put in posts to mark the Grow Zone.  We found old construction fencing and put that up between the posts but didn't have enough to cover the length of the area. 

Oddly enough, last night I felt strongly that I needed to go out and put rope between all of the posts but was feeling sick so convinced myself that it would be ok to put the rope up today.  Oooops!  Wrong decision!

Here's what I found today:

you can see that the area with orange fencing in front of it is still full of wildflowers

 

 

area that was not mowed

 

close-up of the area that's still growing

 

 

area that was mistakenly mowed  :-(  all of the area between the slope and the post was supposed to be allowed to grow

 

SOLUTION!

 

 

The evidence is clear that if there's a strong reminder that mowers should stay away then they will.  Let's hope that neon rope strung between the posts will send a message next time the park is mowed.

 

Onward toward wildflowers and eventually an urban creekside forest.  

 

 

 

 

Clean Sweep 2013

There's no better way to start a Saturday than with volunteers working to make the world a little bit better.  On April 13 we welcomed volunteers to the park for Keep Austin Beautiful's annual Clean Sweep.  We were one of 134 cleanup sites and we're biased but we think we had the happiest volunteers in town.  Thank you to everyone who came out to make a difference!

 

Photos of our Boggy Creek Clean Sweep

 

 

"before" shot of trash floating in the creek

 

See all the volunteers in our creek?

 

moving some mulch leftover from It's My Park Day

 

 

Victory!

 

Oh & did we mention that KAB throws a volunteer party?  We made a neighborhood bike gang and rode to the party to enjoy lunch, t-shirts, music, face painting, and cool exhibits like making a reusable bag out of old vinyl banners.