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.

 

 

 

 

waffle maker, juicer, new towels OR stuff for the park?

When Doug and I got engaged one of the first things we did was adopt this park.  We love walking our dogs (Kona & Pippa) here and now that our partnership was going to be formalized it seemed like the right thing to formalize our partnership with the park too.

 

Kona         &                 Pippa

 

We did have ulterior motives though, we didn't want stuff.  As soon as you get engaged it seems like people begin to ask you where you're registered so by adopting the park and setting up a fund management account with the Austin Parks Foundation we could cleverly skirt that question and encourage people to donate to the park.   Besides, if you get a juicer it needs to be cleaned every time you use it and you have to clean it alone.  If you take care of a park with a creek then you do need to hold cleanups every once and a while BUUUUT people help you and thank you for what you're doing! When was the last time you were thanked for cleaning a juicer?

So on the fifth anniversary of our first date, we tied the knot and now we just need to decide how we want to improve our park.  The great staff from the Parks and Recreation Department have requested some trash cans with side entry and a lid that'll be more attractive, easier for them to use and will reduce the amount of litter that blows out.  It would also be nice to have  bench facing the creek so we can have quiet moments to watch wildlife.  What do you think our wedding gifts to the park should be? 

 

It's My Park Day!!! - Power in #s

It's My Park Day was March 2, 2013 so this blog is a little late but better late than never.  We had an outstanding turnout for our first It's My Park Day!  More than 60 volunteers joined us to move 120 cubic yards of mulch, pickup trash, paint over graffiti, put up bird boxes, and take on Bermuda grass in the sand volleyball court.  We also had some great door prizes thanks to neighborhood businesses: East Village Café, East Side Pies, Hillside Farmacy & Blue Dahlia. 

 

SIDE NOTE: I JUST WENT TO GET THE LINK TO THE "IT'S MY PARK DAY" PAGE AND GUESS WHAT, WE'RE THE MAIN PHOTO!!!

Here are some more photos of the fun:

MULCHING

 (& a video on how to properly mulch - www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLdbdQ9fVZE)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PAINTING OVER GRAFFITI

 

 

 

 

 



 STORYTIME

growing the next generation of park stewards

 

 

 

 

CREEK CLEANUP

 

 

 

 

 

VOLLEYBALL COURT RESCUE

 

 

 

GIVING OUT PRIZES!!!

 

 

 

Thanks to everyone who volunteered and donated prizes.  Our trees, our creek, and our neighborhood are a better because of your service.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hargrave Grow Zone

Some people see a drainage ditch and some people see an area full of dewberries, wild onions, and tree saplings.  Last month our Friends group contacted the City of Austin Watershed Protection and Parks and Recreation Departments to talk about turning the drainage ditch that runs from Hargrave to Boggy Creek into a Grow Zone. 

The orange line marks the new Grow Zone that goes along the

drainage channel that runs from Hargrave Street to Boggy Creek.

 

 

photo taken from the track at Hargrave looking toward Boggy Creek

 

 

By allowing plants to grow along this area we will reduce the heat island effect, slow water down to allow it to soak into the soil, create wildlife habitat, and improve water quality.

 

Since there is already engineered construction going on along the creek with orange fencing we decided to install some orange fencing along our Grow Zone too.  This will allow vegetation to begin to re-grow so when mowers are working in the park they will be able to clearly see the area we are allowing the recover.

 

 

February 18, 2013 - Doug & Staryn install temporary fencing

 

 

 

 

 

 

we also removed 3 grocery bags full of trash & a tire from our new Grow Zone

 

 

 

What's growing in our Grow Zone now?

 

Alamo Vine - stunning seed pods

 

Dewberries - yum!

 

Wild Onions

 

 

Cedar Elm Saplings

 

 

We can't wait to see what grows next!