By Lily Nguyen, Fund Development Intern
Austin is highly urbanized, yet abundant with natural spaces. The Barton Creek Greenbelt, located just 10 minutes from downtown, is a prime example of an outdoor oasis in the heart of the city. The greenbelt spans over 800 acres of lush greenery, limestone cliffs, and flowing water for a majority of the year. On any day, visitors can be seen hiking, kayaking, rock climbing, and swimming in and along Barton Creek.
By Ilya Shmulenson, Director of Programs
Eastside Memorial High School is tucked in the northeast portion of city council district 3. The district, represented by Council Member Renteria, is currently in fourth place in the Austin Recycles Games. The challenge is a four-month competition initiated by Austin Resource Recovery as a way of increasing residential recycling rates and helping residents understand what is and is not recyclable in the city.
By Erin Cord, Community Beautification Coordinator
The holiday season is once again upon us! It’s a time of year for giving, celebration, and joy. With all the hustle and bustle, it’s easy to forget about the natural world around us. Here are some ways you can have an eco-friendly holiday and ring in a green 2016:
By Erin Cord, Beautification Programs Coordinator
Name the service event – Adopt-a-Creek workdays, Lake Travis Underwater Cleanup, or Clean Lady Bird Lake and Richard Maness is not only participating but leading the workday. The kind of volunteer you keep on speed dial due to his willingness to always step in and lead. At a given project, you can find Richard inspiring others as he shares his love and knowledge of the outdoors. Richard has lived in Austin for most of his life. He remembers his love of nature starting at a young age playing in Little Walnut Creek by Dottie Jordan Rec Center.
By Rodney Ahart, Keep Austin Beautiful Executive Director
Keep Austin Beautiful is proud to have been recognized with the Governor’s Community Achievement Award in 2013 for outstanding community improvement. The award is one of the most coveted annual environmental and community improvement honors in Texas. As an award winner, Keep Austin Beautiful is partnering with the Texas Department of Transportation to complete a large-scale beautification project along a local state right-of-way. The project is slated to commence this spring at Rundberg Lane and I-35 in North Austin. The transformation will include converting turf areas to pavers, planting trees for color and shade, and layering a selection of evergreen perennials for a full garden effect.
By Lily Nguyen, Fund Development Intern
The education of local communities is essential in creating a more sustainable future for our city. For this reason, Keep Austin Beautiful recognizes Radha Madhav Dham and its Shiksha School as the 30th Annual Award Winner in the category of Education.
ustin is kept beautiful by the many community volunteers who are dedicated to protecting its natural environment. Gracywoods Neighborhood Association is taking the lead in these efforts, earning them recognition as a Keep Austin Beautiful 30th Annual Award Winner. A map of the North Star Greenbelt Gracywoods Neighborhood is located north of Braker Lane and bordered by…
By Myrriah Gossett, Event and Marketing Coordinator
Adopt-a-Creek group Friends of Copperfield Nature Trails visited The Great Outdoors with their donation credit from Keep Austin Beautiful in hand. Follow along on their adventure to see how easy it is to work with Keep Austin Beautiful and The Great Outdoors to beautify Austin.
by Adrianne Kartachak, Environmental Educator
The nurturing of environmental consciousness within youth is integral to the mission of Keep Austin Beautiful. Through the organization’s Green Teens program, scholars like Jakob Mears are able to become engaged in the promotion of sustainability and emerge as leaders within the community. Over the past year and a half, Jakob has contributed over 55 volunteer hours in service including planting tree saplings along Boggy Creek and Bastrop State Park, tending his school garden, picking up litter at Lady Bird Lake, and removing flood debris at Pease Park.
By Bernard Smalls, Environmental Educator
Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Students at Eastside aren’t sure, but last year they decided to start with the egg. Back in the fall, the Green Teens wanted to do something different, something special. After some serious brainstorming, they decided to introduce students at Eastside to a new school mascot. Since a live panther was out of the question, students considered domestic animals they might raise on campus instead. Chickens made the final cut, both for their feasibility and their familiarity to teenagers.