Last Saturday, the conservancy worked with the Texas Spirits for their Spring Recruitment effort. Spirits and prospective Spirits came out to help clean Waller Creek and Palm Park, giving up their Saturday to beautify Austin.
We were impressed by their enthusiasm and energy, committing themselves to a morning of hard work.
Spirits getting started
Our Executive Director, Stephanie Lee McDonald caught with trash-grabbers
Cleaning, cleaning, cleaning!
Spirits pause for a photo-op
Spirits listen to an inspirational wrap-up from their leaders
The result? Just look at one of the piles of garbage we collected. Heavy, water-sogged cushions, glass, rusted metals and styrofoam cups. The sheer volume of materials removed from the creek was satisfying, but not nearly as encouraging as the baby turtle we saw swimming in clearer waters after.
In a trash bag, not in Waller Creek!
We were reminded again of the need to create a healthy ecosystem along Waller. The creek is home to a wide-range of plant and animal life, and though clean-ups make the space more enjoyable for us human Austinites, all creatures stand to benefit from a transformed and restored Waller Creek.
One clean-up at a time.
(If you are interested in cleaning Waller Creek, please contact Jessica Sullivan, our Operations and Programs Associate: jsullivan@wallercreek.org, 512-541-3520.)