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URS: Grow Zones Program
Irrigation systems
- Installation is time consuming and expensive
- Maintenance is extremely time consuming
- Not best use of potable water in drought-prone areas
Containerized trees
- Require irrigation
- Installation requires some strength/fitness
- Poor quality stock (girdling roots, poor nursery practices)
- Few species available in nursery trade
- Expensive
In summary...
- Very few projects can be done
- High investment and high risk
- Skill and expertise required
- Restoration is not landscaping
- Time and resource intensive
- NOT scalable
First version
No Mow Zones
Bigger than us
2012: 12 pilot parks
- MOU with Parks and Recreation
- seedlings instead of container trees
- no irrigation
- passive restoration approach
- Individual zones assigned to staff
- stakeholder meetings
- create volunteer base
- manage site as restoration area
- organize volunteer events
- Staff stretched thin
- High demand for growth
- Partner organizations energized
- No Mow is a negative message
- NOT scalable
Success!!!! but, is it scalable?
lessons learned?
Another bottleneck?
- Limit in number of sites
- High demand for growth
- Partner organizations wanted more creeks and more events
- NOT scalable
Grow Zones 2.0
Adoption and restoration
47 sites and counting
- Keep Austin Beautiful
Adopt-a-Creek Program
- emphasis on restoration
- $ for coordination staff
- $ for seeds, plants, mulch
- riparian restoration training
- restoration plan template
- site assessment
- Austin Parks Foundation
- Tree Folks
take home lessons?
What resources can you leverage?
www.austintexas.gov/creekside
Grow Zones
Restoring our urban creekside forests
empower, support, guide
What is the size of your challenge
How did it start?
Willowbrook reach restoration as a proof of concept
1997 channel frequently mowed
2010 unmowed inside channel
2010 mowed creekside
4 1/2 years later in 2015
2 1/2years later in 2013
2010 tree planting, irrigation
erosion work
Success!!!! but, is it scalable?
lessons learned?
Second version
Grow Zones
2013: 21+ Grow Zones
- Updated MOU
- One staff managing program
- one overarching restoration plan
- one restoration events calendar
- partner organizations lead events
- Keep Austin Beautiful
- Austin Parks Foundation
- Ready, Set, Plant!
- Forestry program
- Tree Folks
Success!!!! but, is it scalable?
lessons learned?
How can you be most effective?
empower
support
guide