Just weeks after the City of Austin acquired 24 acres of land in Montopolis as a donation from the McElhenney family, volunteers are getting ready for a community service day on the property and a special recognition of the new land from City officials.
 
The Montopolis Greenbelt Association in partnership with American YouthWorks, Keep Austin Beautiful, and the Austin Parks Foundation is sponsoring the second Montopolis Greenbelt MLK Day of Service scheduled for Monday, January 16, from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm.
 
At 11:30 am on MLK Day, Council Member Mike Martinez will join other invited Council Members to recognize the valuable gift that the McElhenney family has made to the City and to the Montopolis neighborhood. 
 
The morning’s activities begin at the Montopolis Practice Fields, located at 901 Vasquez. 
 

Volunteer Opportunity

One month ago we removed lots of junk from the Montopolis Greenbelt and staged it for its easier removal on a later date. This is the date! We will remove debris and put in inside a dumpster and we are done! No need to go into the greenbelt.

Date: Saturday, December 10, 2011
Time: 11:30 AM - 2:00 PM 
Address: Montopolis Practice Field, 901 Vasquez Street, Austin, TX 78741
Contact info: Phillip Pastrano 512-422-8440

Be the Change recruited 1,000 volunteers this year to make wonderful things happen all over the City of Austin. Be the Change is an annual national day of service coordinated by South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT) to inspire and foster civic engagement through volunteerism and community service. Every year, thousands of participants across the country contribute innumerable hours of community service in the spirit of Mahatma Gandhi's famous quote, "Be the change you wish to see in the world." 

Be the Change has allocated 300 of their Volunteers to a work day at Montopolis Greenbelt. In a part of the city not known for its greenbelts, Montopolis Greenbelt is a property with rich historical relevance, and is in substantial need of care and maintenance. Previously used as a dumping ground, stakeholders have held workdays wherein approximately 2,000 tires, an air conditioning unit, a washing machine, and a dishwasher were pulled out of the greenbelt proper and its waterways. The property is also ravaged by invasive plants, and full of trash and debris.  Undoubtedly much progress will be made on this continually improving natural and historical preserve with the help of Be the Change Volunteers.
 
To volunteer for this project, please email volunteer@bethechangeaustin.org.
 
Date: Saturday, October 1, 2011 
Time: 9:00 AM - 1:30 PM 
Address:
901 Vasquez Street
Austin, TX 78741

Trail design workshop findings and recommendations are now available:

• Group 1: Main Hike and Bike Trail (2.9 MB PDF)
• Group 2: Natural Surface Trails (4.9MB PDF)
• Group 3: Connectivity to Colorado River Trails (2.2MB PDF)

On April 30, 2011, the Montopolis Tributary Trail Association and the National Park Service's Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance Program jointly organized a trail design workshop in the Montopolis Greenbelt. The day long design workshop project split into three separate groups.  One focused on a main proposed hike and bike trail that would connect the Montopolis Practice Field to E. Riverside Drive. Another group focused on secondary natural surface trails that might be created on newly donated City land. And another group focused on how the hike and bike trail from the Montopolis Practice Field might best reach the trails along the Colorado River.

The Avatar Tree at 700 Grove Blvd has been submitted as a candidate for Tree of the Year.

See a photo of the Avatar Tree.