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May 2008   Town Lake Trail Foundation | PO Box 5195 | /Austin, TX 78763 | 512.733.3989
 
 

restroom

Get ready for fun and fitness beneath the stars as Freescale Semiconductor presents the Fourth Annual "Moonlight Margarita Run" at the Trail on August 7.  The 5K event is for runners and walkers of all ages.

The fast, out-and-back race route starts by the Trail beneath MoPac.  A shotgun start at 8 p.m. will send runners and walkers winding their way along a 5K course through the streets bordering Lady Bird Lake. Afterward, you may also elect to join the Trail Foundation in a lively, music-filled party - including food and margaritas from Maudie's TexMex.  

Sound stellar? Here's a special price offer for TLTF members who register by June 15: $30 for the run only, $35 to attend the afterparty, or pay just $60 to attend both.  

Don't wait -- the afterparty has sold out the last two years, so register today!

Sponsorships are still available, please email [email protected].                                                         

To volunteer, please email [email protected].

Many thank to our generous sponsors!
Freescale Semiconductor is again our underwriter, Maudie's TexMex will provide their famous Mexican fare. Other sponsors include: Plains Capital, Kelly Hart and Hallman, Mediterranean Resources, Maxwell Locke & Ritter, Granite Ranch Events, News 8, KGSR, RunTex, and Whole Foods Market.


RVi Joins TLTF, 40 Trail Supporters in Vision Planning
 
On April 24th, RVi brought the Town Lake Trail Foundation's Vision Plan (a gift from RVi in celebration of its 25th Anniversary) one step closer to completion.
 
RVi and the Town Lake Trail Foundation played the role of co-hosts as more than forty Trail supporters brainstormed the future of Austin's crown jewel. Representatives from environmental groups, neighborhood associations, local businesses and the City of Austin Parks Department united in a no-holds barred discussion and idea session.  "The energy, enthusiasm, and willingness of such diverse groups to work together speaks volumes about just how important the trail is to Austin," said intern Lindsey Petersen of RVi. "It was a great event to be a part of!" 

 
Update: 2008 Healthy Trees for the Trail 
american youthworks
Using ropes and terrific coordination, an American YouthWorks crew keeps a removed invasive tree from falling into the Lake! 
 
We have lots of news to share this spring regarding this ongoing program that helps restore the natural woodlands around Lady Bird Lake:
  • Crews from American YouthWorks removed dozens of non-native invasive trees in two sections of the Trail: the Holly Peninsula to I-35 on the eastside, and the west side of Barton Creek.  These non-native invasive trees such as privet, Chinese tallow and chinaberry, are spreading along the Trail and crowding out native species vital to birds and other wildlife.
  • The City Parks and Recreation Department completed pruning of many pecan trees along the Trail on the west side of Barton Creek and along the Zilker Park train tracks in order to assure the safety of Trail users.
  • As part of our new pilot ecological restoration project along the west side of Barton Creek, we have planted cypress trees, wetland plants, native grasses, and wildflowers. These plantings will beautify and diversify that area and the data gathered over the next year will allow TLTF to develop restoration plans for the Trail's riparian and woodland areas.

Thanks to Trail users for understanding our need to close the Trail in Barton Creek area for safety reasons on March 24.  The spring 2008 work was a partnership between TLTF, the Austin Parks and Recreation Department, American YouthWorks, the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at UT, and Environmental Survey Consulting.  

 
Special Thanks! ~ To the LCRA Employees United Charities Fund for donating $1,000 to help fund the pilot ecological restoration project.

Trash Talk 
 
 
 
kayak cleanup 

High-energy volunteers from LASA (Language Arts and Science Academy of AISD) Cares Club used kayaks to retrieve litter and debris along the Lake's eastside. The teens removed barricades, a fire hydrant, toilet parts, shoes and countless plastic bottles! Thanks to LASA Cares volunteers and the Texas Rowing Center for the generous donation of 10 double sit-on-top kayaks!
 
TLTF is exploring ways to address something that affects the use and enjoyment of the Trail and the Lake - trash along the Lake's edge. While some litter enters the Lake from careless Trail users, other debris blows in from adjacent construction projects or flows in, via contributing creeks, after major rains. In our partnership with Keep Austin Beautiful, TLTF and KAB are working together to develop a volunteer initiative and to raise onsite anti-litter awareness. As we initiate these activities, we will continue cleanup work at the Trail and the Lake with volunteers.
 
 
Commemorative Bricks at Lou Neff Point
At press time, workers are scheduled to install more than 250 new commemorative bricks (those purchased by November 16) at Lou Neff Point in early June, with another set of 250 (those purchased by February 16) scheduled to be installed in mid June.
Strengthen a special connection to the Trail!
Consider a gift that will make a lasting impression. Order a brick for yourself, your graduate, your family, or in memory of a loved one. We'll schedule the next installation of new donor bricks as soon as the next block of 250 bricks have been purchased.

  

"Weird" Restroom Wins Award

The new TLTF restroom near the Milago Condominiums was the Keep Austin Weird� Winner at the Best Real Estate Awards presented by the Austin Business Journal in April. This stunning Miro Rivera design continues to win praise by both relieved Trail users and the Austin community.

 

 
volunteer
 
Lady Bird Johnson Adopt-a-Garden program, Spring 2008
Some adopters use their gardens for creative expression, like Bonsack Phrasavath and David Weaver, who adopted a planter garden on Pfluger Bridge and filled it with texture and color.  Others find satisfaction in grooming an existing garden, like Frieda Rinehart at the Agave Garden.  Still others, such as Neely Ashmun, stick to their theme but imaginatively reinvent their garden year after year.
 
 
 
Neely Ashmun beside her fragrant herb garden
near the north end of the Pfluger Bridge.
 
No matter the approach, we thank our adopters from the bottom of our hearts for making the gardens and the Trail more beautiful and more individually expressive. 
 
For information about garden adoption, please email Sara Moore at [email protected] or visit our website. 


Summer Volunteer Opportunities

  • Volunteer for the Moonlight Margarita Run, email      [email protected]
  • Strong, sure-footed volunteer needed to bucket water plants over the summer, 1-2 hours per week, email [email protected]
  • If you have a group of 10-20 volunteers who would like to clean up trash along the Lake's edge using kayaks,email [email protected]
  •  Flexible times, clean the Roberta Crenshaw Pedestrian Bridge, group of 10-20, email [email protected]

 

Heartbeat of Austin Video

See the new AMS Production Group video celebrating the Trail!  The new video, produced pro bono by AMS, features scenic vistas of the Trail, historic photos, and interviews with people throughout the community who enjoy and support the Trail.



 
Board of Directors  |  Town Lake Trail Foundation
  
Griffin Davis, President,  MarketHardware.com 
Bill Kerr, VP, Kelly Hart and Hallman
Colin Wallis, Secretary, Lance Armstrong Foundation
John Loudamy, Treasurer, Pluck Corporation
Dave Andreas, Silicon Laboratories
Cory Blahuta, vcfo
   Jack Collins, Frost Bank
Bill Curra, Halliburton/KBR
Lisa E. Huddleson, Dell
Peter Huff, Blue Sage Capital
Christopher Kennedy, LCRA
    Elizabeth McGuire, Writer
Sara Moore, Botanist
Brian Ott, TBG Partners
Jim Sud, Whole Foods Markets
Margot K. Thomas, Community Activist
Maura Thomas, Burget Ave Mgmt Services  
 
Susan Rankin, Executive Director 
Donate to the Town Lake Trail Foundation