| Special Thanks |
TTF would like to extend our sincerest thanks to... Endeavor Real Estate Group for the very generous donation of office space for TTF. Piranha Killer Sushi for donating sushi and The Grove Wine Bar for donating wine. Kiwi Company for donating their brick laying services for our Commemorative Brick Program at Lou Neff Point. |
The Trail Foundation
Board of Directors |
Bill Kerr, President
Kelly Hart and Hallman
Colin Wallis, Vice Pres.
Lance Armstrong Foundation
Jack Collins, Treasurer
Frost Bank
Peter Huff, Secretary
Blue Sage Capital
Dave Andreas
Silicon Laboratories
Bill Curra, P.E.,
Blue Ocean Energy
Lynn Currie
Mercury Mambo
Shirley Domicoli
PureAustin
Mike Elhaj
Simple Power
Asher Flynn
Asher Flynn Realtors
Lisa E. Huddleson
LEH Philanthropy Advisors
Christopher Kennedy
LCRA
Jon Levy
PlainsCapital Bank
John Loudamy
Demand Media
Brian Ott
TBG Partners
Sarah Russ
Communications Consultant
Steve Saunders
Saunders, Norval, Nichols & Atkins, L.L.P
Stephanie Shoemaker
Maxwell Locke & Ritter
Margot K. Thomas
Community Activist
Jesse Weiss
Greenberg Traurig
Bob Wynn
Oxford Commercial
Susan Plettman Rankin, Executive Director
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Join Our List
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Austin Architects Honor Trail Foundation
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At The Trail Foundation, we are delighted to have recently
received an award from the Austin Foundation for Architecture, an arm of the
American Institute of Architects, Austin chapter.
Each year, the AFA honors individuals or organizations from
outside the field of architecture that play the increasingly important role of
transforming the health and beauty of Austin.
The Trail Foundation earned this recognition for our work as a
champion of the Lady Bird Lake trail system and for our fruitful collaboration
with the public and city to enhance this vital thread in the fabric of Austin.
Thanks, AFA!
Photo from left: TTF Board Member Brian Ott and TTF Executive Director Susan Rankin accept the AFA award from Chris Noack, Board President, Austin Foundation for Architecture.
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Johnson Creek Trailhead Design Arrives
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Over the past few months, we have felt the anticipation many of you have been expressing as we eagerly developed our next enhancement at The Rock, near Austin High School. Well, it's finally here: we have our preliminary design to share! The Johnson Creek Trailhead is the most popular Trail entrance, and we believe it should shine. Our new design will increase the usable area, add informal seating and stretching areas, provide a large-capacity water fountain station and add native plants. We will also be adding rainwater gardens as an environmentally friendly and creative solution to the water drainage issues from the MoPac Bridge. Click here to learn more about this project. If you are interested in sponsorship opportunities, contact Susan to learn more about how you or you or your company can take an active role in the Johnson Creek Trailhead.  |
Right This Way: Master Signage Plan
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TTF recently began working with RVi to design a new sign system at the Trail. This is part of our Master Signage Plan to offer users more information in more ways - including spoke trail signs, interpretive signs and directional signs.
 During the plan's initial phase, we will install signs in the downtown section, between the Pfluger Pedestrian Bridge and Congress Avenue on the north side of the Lake. These markers will integrate form, material, color, design and information. The later interpretive signs will help thousands of you to better appreciate the extensive wildlife, history and ecology at the Trail.
Phase I begins in the second quarter of 2010 and is made possible by a generous challenge grant from the MFI Foundation and the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation. Contact Theresa if you are interested in supporting the additional phases of this project.
Click here to learn more about the Master Signage Plan.
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Statewide Trail Conference Visits Next Month
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The Texas Trails & Active Transportation Conference gets underway February 3-6 at the AT&T Conference Center at UT and will include leading national experts on trails. TTF founding board member and past chairman, Griffin Davis, and TTF Executive Director, Susan Rankin, as well as the City Boardwalk project manager, David Taylor, will present a session on Austin's Boardwalk project, including the boardwalk concept, construction methods, and the role of a private non-profit organization in advocacy and public and private funding.
Included are sessions on preserving green infrastructure, encouraging cycling and pedestrian commuting, sustainable trails, integrating interests of diverse stakehoders, the benefits of public-private partnerships and the cycling revolution.
Join us at the conference! Click here to register - you may attend all, or part, of this event.
Boardwalk rendering, view from I-35 |
Healthy Trees Make a Stronger Trail
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  Recently, several of us at TTF hit the Trail - the Zilker Bluffs Tree Grove section, to be more specific - to do a little tree trimming and planting. The Grove was designed to shade the south side of the Trail (just east of MoPac) and to diversify the Trail with more native plant species.
Photos: (Top Left) Board Member Steve Saunders and Executive Director Susan Rankin prune an oak tree. (Top Right) Jan Witt plants a Monterrey oak at the Zilker Bluffs Tree Grove.
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Clean the Trail with your Sweetie on February 13
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As Valentine's Day nears, our hearts turn to... Trail Cleanup!? Why not? What better way to show your love of Austin and Lady Bird Lake than by helping get it all spruced up in time for Valentine's Day? Consider that countless moonlit walks, first kisses and proposals have all taken place right here at the Trail. So join us on February 13, and help the Trail set the scene for Austin's next great love story! There will be four start locations for shoreline volunteers, and on-the-water volunteers will launch from the eastside Camacho Center in boats or on paddleboards. It's a good (some would even say romantic) time. This program is brought to you by The Trail Foundation and Watershed Protection and is managed by Keep Austin Beautiful. Click here to register for this fun cleanup! 
Photo: Volunteers from AISD Launguage Arts and Science Academy at TTF's Trash & Treasure Cleanup in October.
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Permanent Mark at the Trail
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Alex and Alisa Victoria bought a brick at Lou Neff Point with their dog, Lucy T. Dog.
TTF: Why did you buy the brick?
VICTORIA: We purchased the brick because we wanted to support The Trail Foundation's efforts and help maintain an Austin treasure that we all enjoy so much. We are happy to have a place where we can spend time together with our dog, and we look forward to sharing this with our children in the future.
Click here to read the rest of the story of Alex, Alisa and Lucy's brick, or click here to learn more about the commemorative brick program or to purchase a brick.
Photo: Lucy T. Dog
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| Adopted Garden Spotlight |
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On a rainy Monday afternoon in December, Cathy Nordstrom led volunteers from American YouthWorks eCorps and Steve Lucas, a National Wildlife Federation volunteer, to install plants in their adopted garden that is part of our Lady Bird Johnson Adopt-a-Garden Program. The planting will be completed with a final addition of yaupon hollies in January. The group received donations from Barton Creek Nursery and Shoal Creek Nursery.
Gardens are still available for adoption! Click here to learn more about the program, or email us if you are interested in adopting a garden. 
Photo: American YouthWorks, Cathy Nordstrom and Steve Lucas plant in the rain. | |
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The Trail Foundation
PO Box 5195 l Austin, TX 78763 l 512-733-3989
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