By Elizabeth McGuire Prince Pen, a 15-year-old high school freshman, is working to establish a community garden in his South Austin neighborhood. He got the idea after successfully bringing fresh vegetables to a nearby corner store that previously stocked only processed foods. And he got that idea after working on a presidential campaign during the 2016 election. That’s right: WHEN …
By Elizabeth McGuire In the mid 1990s, a flat, empty lot sat on the western edge of downtown Austin, virtually ignored by its neighboring law firms, beauty salons and other small businesses. Developers, too, had dismissed this spot near 9th St. and Lamar Blvd. because of its floodplain status. Besides the substantial shade trees, the property held nothing but a …
By Elizabeth McGuire For Micaela, Rex and their daughter Maliha, Saturdays are for volunteering. Not just some Saturdays, but every single one. It’s not a matter of if they are volunteering, but where. “I come home Friday night and I ask, what are we doing tomorrow?” said Rex. The answer is usually planting saplings, mulching trees or picking up trash …
By Elizabeth McGuire We’ve all heard this before: one person can make a difference. But really, how? One person can make a difference because one voice can amplify others. One person can inspire dozens. One effort can snowball into action and eventually lead to change. This is how our community improves. So goes the philosophy of Sally Baulch, who has …
By Elizabeth McGuire If you ask Anissa Castillo what she remembers about volunteering with her young family at the last It’s My Park Day, she will talk of quality time, life lessons and good citizenship. If you ask her kids what they remember, they will say, “digging in the mulch and jumping on rock piles!” Both answers are perfect. The …
2018 proved to be a great year for parks advocacy! Park advocates and APF Board and staff worked hard on issues like the 2018 bond development and election, Austin’s annual budget, raising the profile of parks issues for City Council candidates, and more. In the spirit of gratitude and giving thanks – here’s a look back at all we were …
A big thank you to all of our IMPD volunteers for helping make It’s My Park Day such a success! The over 2,000 volunteers helped contribute more than $162,000 worth of labor to our city parks, trails and preserves. We couldn’t have made this event happen without all of them, so from the entire Austin Parks Foundation board and staff – …
By Elizabeth McGuire Jennifer Ramos got hooked on hiking when she realized that it nudged her out of her comfort zone and into places she might not otherwise experience. This growing passion led to trail clean-ups, park projects, and eventually a role as an APF Ambassador. To her surprise she found that volunteering mirrored hiking in at least one …
Austin Parks Foundation helped fund the new shade structure at Gullett School Park, in partnership with the Adopt-A-Park group, the Gullett PTA. Premiering with a ribbon cutting ceremony last week, the shade structure over the playground at Gullett Elementary now allows kids to play year-round. The Gullett PTA, which is also the Adopt-A-Park group for the park, saw how the …
By Elizabeth McGuire Daniela Nunez was raised in a few different parts of central Austin, but no matter the neighborhood, she always had easy access to parks and loved growing up in these green spaces. So when she bought a home in a north Austin neighborhood that lacked nearby parkland, she was determined to help bring one to the area. …
