Get ready for the July 4 Parade!

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Friends:

The 4th of July Parade is just two weeks away. Let’s all come together to celebrate our country’s birthday in this most Barton Hills demonstration of sheer fun!

Get your cookies and watermelons ready. Decorate your kids, bikes, scooters pets, strollers, wagons, and whatever else you can think of adding to the parade. There will be great prizes and awards.

Line up at 8:30 AM at Barton Hills Market, 1220 Barton Hills Drive. The parade starts at 9 AM to Barton Hills Elementary School Park for after-parade festivities including the Pledge of Allegiance, National Anthem, awards for parade decorations, cookies, watermelon, and games.

Remember it takes all of us to celebrate. If you are not planning on marching in the parade, please come out to the parade route (from the Barton Hills Market to Barton Hills Elementary School) to cheer.

Donations of cookies and watermelons are needed; please bring them to the BHE playground before the parade.
Judges, adults to supervise games, parade sponsors, and helpers for set-up and clean-up are also needed.

If you can volunteer to help in any way please call me or email.

We want YOU!!!!!

Sunny Luther
2012 Parade Chair
512-441-0748

Be a part of the Neighborhood Habitat Challenge!

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The Neighborhood Habitat Challenge is an annual contest organized by the Austin Parks and Recreation Department in conjunction with the National Wildlife Federation. The goal is to make Austin a more wildlife-friendly city. To date, Austin has more than 1,700 certified wildlife habitats in the city, according to the Wildlife Austin! website. Nationwide, there are more than 150,000 NWF certified habitats.

Here’s how you can make your little piece of Austin a part of it:

  1. Turn your yard into a wildlife-friendly habitat. There are four elements you need to transform your yard into a habitat: food, water, cover and places to raise young.  In addition, practice two sustainable gardening measures — such as maintaining a chemical-free lawn, planting native species and conserving water.
  2. Complete the Wildlife Habitat Certification form on the NWF website. You can also download and print the form. There is a $20 fee for certification, but pre-paid applications are available by sending an email to wildlife@austintexas.com. A limited number of applications are available.

The three neighborhoods with the most new certifications by Nov. 14 win recognition from the City of Austin, as well as prizes. Prizes for past years have included neighborhood picnics, tree giveaways and wildlife workshops.

For more information about the program, check out the challenge guidelines and FAQs. For more details about how to get involved, email Melissa Hawthorne.

Come help! Greenbelt work day Saturday, June 2

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Greenbelt Fans,

We hope you will join us for our next workday on Saturday June 2, from 8-Noon, to do some important tasks on the Gus Fruh portion of the greenbelt. We will meet at 8:00 sharp at the Gus Fruh entry at 2642 Barton Hills Drive for sign-in, breakfast tacos, a group photo, and task orientation. We are planning some important trail repair and resurfacing work, retaining wall construction, and invasives removal and monitoring. We’ll also do some weeding, edging, and pruning in the front entry area. We will need lots of hands to help, and hope that you will be able to join us to assist.

There are lots of enticements: Maria’s tacos for breakfast, lush beauty on the trails due to the spring rains, camaraderie with other greenbelt lovers, AND a lunch party afterwards outside Barton Springs, sponsored by the Hill Country Conservancy. This work day celebrates National Trails Day, and numerous other volunteer groups will be working on other areas of the greenbelt. The Austin Parks Foundation is providing the overall organization and registration for the various volunteer groups.

To volunteer with us at Gus Fruh, please RSVP directly to this address so that we get an accurate count for our planning, and ALSO register on the Austin Parks Foundation web site so they can accurately plan for the overall event and after-party food and drinks. Thank you!

We’re looking forward to a great work day and hope to see you there!

Glee Ingram
Greenbelt Guardians Coordinator
(512) 441-3278
gleeful@earthlink.net
http://greenbeltguardians.org