2010 Neighborhood Beautification Grant Recipients

Keep Austin Beautiful awards Dillo Dirt, Austin Energy native trees, and $12,200 to ten outstanding community improvement projects. Now in its sixth year, the KAB beautification grants program has supported a diverse array of projects, investing over $60,000 to support public space beautification and community involvement.

Click here for a map documenting the 2010 KAB Grants pool of applicants. 

Special thanks to our panel of judges for donating their time and talents to the selection process. 

2010 Recipients

• Austin Independent Business Alliance (East 6th from IH-35 to Comal, 78702)-  East Sixth IBIZ District will work with Sol Design Lab and a team of Uplift Austin Garza High School students to design and build recycled metal planter boxes for the East Sixth street corridor. Students and volunteers will partner with local businesses to implement 6-10 planter boxes for businesses to maintain and to grow native plants and edible herbs in. The planters will use recycled steel from a local scrap yard which will be welded into functional and sculptural shapes and colorfully painted.

• Casey’s Butterflies & Crocodiles Beautification Project (9400 Texas Oaks Drive, 78748) –Casey Elementary School’s PTA, students, and teachers will plant 18 native trees to reduce the heat island effect and to make the playground area more enjoyable for children as the trees project them from the sun and wind.  The tree planting is part of an overall landscape plan with the goal of bringing the campus in line with AISD’s Environmental Stewardship Envisioning Committee’s vision of “utilizing a systemic approach to inspire our students to become better stewards of our environment, resulting in improved student learning and academic achievement.”

• Del Valle Community Coalition (5301 H Ross Road, 78617) – The Children’s Wellness Center provides primary medical care for over 3,000 low to low middle income children within Del Valle, Austin and Travis County.  In August 2009, the clinic moved and the butterfly garden built and donated by the clinic staff was left behind. Funds and donations of trees and dirt will be used to create a garden at the new site complete with native plants, vegetables, and a maze for the kids to explore.

• Ecotopes (Springdale Park, 1175 Nichols Ave, 78721) – Residents who live near Springdale Park enjoy using the playground and amphitheater, but with hot Texas temperatures, park users struggle with playground equipment like metal slides that heat up and are uncomfortable to use.  To make the park more welcoming, combat the heat island effect, and create wildlife habitat volunteers will plant native trees and create a wildlife habitat demonstration garden.  Since east Austin is originally Blackland Prairie, only species native to that eco-region will be used in the project.

• Friends of Mayfield Preserve (3505 W 35th St , 78703) – For the past several years Friends of Mayfield Preserve have worked to eradicate an invasive plant species, ligustrum, from the preserve.  More than 3,000 volunteer hours have been dedicated to the restoration of the preserve to date.  Funds will be used to rebuild a scenic overlook with recycled plastic lumber and to speed up native re-vegetation by introducing native seeds and trees.

• Hostelling International - Austin (2200 South Lakeshore Blvd, 78741) – Located on Lady Bird Lake, Hostelling International is the only hostel in Austin and the first impression of Austin that many visitors receive.  Funds will be used to revitalize garden beds with native plants and vegetables, install a rainwater barrel, paint a mural, and install a compost system.

• J.J. Seabrook Neighborhood Association (JJ Seabrook Park and Greenbelt, 78723)- The J.J. Seabrook greenway has very few park amenities and is seen as underutilized by neighbors, so to make it more appealing to park users, residents will volunteer to enhance it as a habitat for native plants and animals.  To address the mosquito problem, volunteers will install purple martin houses, a chimney swift tower, and bat boxes and compliment the installations with native plantings.  The added amenities will provide a beautiful place for neighbors to learn from and enjoy, and with increase park use they will also achieve their goal of improving neighborhood safety.

• McKinley Heights Neighborhood Association (Harvey Street, 78702) – McKinley Heights is a small neighborhood in East Austin bordered on the north and south by MLK Jr Blvd and 12th Street and on the east and west by Harvey Street and Airport Blvd.  Harvey Street is the neighborhood’s most significant thoroughfare and while it has seen infrastructure improvements, this will be the first beautification project to date.  Volunteers will work together to reinforce their strong sense of community and neighborhood pride as they plant native trees along the street to beautify it and reduce the heat island effect.

• Neighborhood Harvest Project Unity Park (2746 Gattis School Road, 78664) – The Unity Park in Round Rock broke ground on their community garden in December 2009 and has already witnessed tremendous success as they have gone from an empty lot to a fenced in garden with 40 available plots, accessible beds, compost bins, a rainwater collection system and a water tank with well access.  Funding will be used to install a picnic table for volunteers to enjoy together after workdays, and to create a pollinator garden along the fence line. 

• South River City Citizens (1300 St. Edwards Drive, 78704) – A core group of volunteers have focused efforts on the Blunn Creek Preserve in the last 2-3 years and have worked on removing invasive plant species, enhancing trails, mapping, and educational work like making videos of the process.  Funds will be used to plant sedges and bunch grasses along Blunn Creek.  The volunteer led plantings will control erosion along Blunn Creek, reduce silt entering the creek from erosion, reintroduce diverse and native plants to the preserve, and provide shade and cover for aquatic life in Blunn Creek.