Hispanic Heritage Month starts today and Pease Park Conservancy is honored to have cultivated a team with such rich and diverse backgrounds!
Representation matters and thanks to these incredible individuals, we have been able to broaden our community offerings and how we serve Spanish speakers through bilingual communications, programming, and our Ecologist School Field Trips. Join us in celebrating the value and leadership they bring to the organization and its mission by getting to know them!
As Latino Conservation Week comes to an end, we want to reflect on the many different ways in which Latinos are playing a role in conservation. From organizing events for groups to spend time in nature like Latino Outdoors’ initiative does, to working in land management, parks departments, and leading research across various topics concerning conservation - the work doesn’t end here! We hope you’ll stay connected with this initiative led by the Hispanic Access Foundation!
Thank you for your feedback and concerns regarding the splash pad at Pease Park.
At this time, public safety remains our top priority. We cannot reopen the water feature until we are absolutely certain it is safe to do so. The sophisticated controller equipment that continuously monitors water quality, dispenses the chemicals, and automatically shuts off the splash pad when water quality is out of balance must be operating properly to ensure that it is safe for play. Unhealthy water quality can cause illness and death.We want to assure you that we are working diligently to diagnose the problem and make the necessary repairs. We are working with GPSI, the firm that designed and built the splash pad, as well as IPS, the manufacturer of the controller equipment.
For the past 10 years, the week of July 15 through July 23rd has been recognized as Latino Conservation Week - An initiative led by the Hispanic Access Foundation to further amplify the presence of Latinos in the outdoors. During this time organizations and community groups across the country have gathered and participated in various events to promote conservation efforts in their local environments.
In honor of Latino Conservation Week, we spoke to Josie (San Antonio Regional Coordinator) and Bianca (Program Coordinator) of Latino Outdoors about the history of Latino Outdoors, the work that they do and why it’s important to build an inclusive outdoors:
One of February’s long celebrated moments of remembrance. Since 1976 we have made it an American practice to “seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of Black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.” — Pease Park Conservancy is working to center narratives, prioritize experiences, and most importantly to restructuralize how public land is cultivated and shared.
We are proud to announce that the recently completed Kingsbury Commons project was awarded Gold under the Sustainable SITES Initiative (SITES) rating system. This designation puts Pease Park in an elite group of local green spaces and makes it the first park in the Austin Parks and Recreation Department (PARD) portfolio to be SITES certified.
The naming committee has reached a decision on the Pease Park Conservancy squirrel name! Learn the name of our park mascot in this video as it reflects back on its life in the great big world and in the park it calls home!
Thank you to everyone who submitted a name idea!
In our recent Sustainability Spotlight series we shared that Kingsbury Commons was designed to encourage community connections. We see this come to life each day and night as our park visitors gather with friends and family for play and relaxation throughout all of Pease Park.
Have you visited Pease Park lately? We would love to hear from you!
Please complete our park visitor survey to help us improve our park and our programs. The survey should take less than 5 minutes to complete and your responses will not be shared publicly with any identifying information. Thank you!
The iconic Pease Park Conservancy squirrel - our mascot - needs a name! We are looking to our community for creative name ideas. Submit your ideas throughout the month of August and we will announce the winning name in September!
Although the Emancipation Proclamation had been issued by President Abraham Lincoln in 1862, enslaved people in Texas were not told of their freedom until June 19, 1865.
Juneteenth - also known as Emancipation Day or Freedom Day - is the oldest known African American celebration commemorating the end of slavery.
The renovation of Kingsbury Commons - the recreational heart and cultural soul of Pease Park - is nearly complete and we will soon introduce the masterfully crafted amenities to the Austin community.
This incredible transformation would not have been possible without the work of the crew members who contributed their expertise to this project.
Photo Credit: Rosy Campanita
Back in 2019, the former disk golf course, now the Caswell Trail Meadow, was overrun by ragweed. The thicket was so dense, if you hadn’t been to the other side of the park you wouldn’t know it was ever there. Every square foot of the area was covered in massive ragweed plants, so large they engulfed the young saplings that had been planted just months before.
Torilis arvensis, also known by its common names ‘Hedge Parsley’ or ‘Spreading Parsley’ is an invasive flowering plant that grows in a variety of conditions, but is especially found within disturbed sites. Hedge Parsley prefers full sun, mesic to dry conditions, and often grows in soil containing limestone gravel. It matures quickly during the growing season, produces flowers and seeds, and then dies.
Anecdotally, we all feel how therapeutic it can be to be outside in nature. Even if you just take a short walk in your neighborhood when you are feeling stressed, it can do immediate wonders for your mental health. Starla Simmons, LCSW, Clinical Assistant Professor and Field Liaison at the School of Social Work, has the evidence and experience to back up this intuition around the connection between time in nature and our mental health.
An advocate, an agitator, and a mentor, Rocio Villalobos is inspiring and driving positive change for Austin in terms of social justice and equity. She also has experienced and continues to enjoy the healing power of being in the outdoors. The convergence of these two passions makes her truly special for our community and invaluable as an advisor to our team at Pease Park Conservancy.
