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I Run Here, I Give Here... Help us #Amplify Austin
Amplify Austin's annual day of giving is happening March 2-3, and our goal is to raise $20,000 in 24 hours for the Trail. We all love the Trail, and we would love for you to show your support directly to TTF so your dollars are stretched further around the Trail. Giving directly to TTF means the Trail will not lose the operational costs and fees kept by Amplify Austin. However, if you prefer to give through the Amplify Austin platform, that's OK! You can find us there too.
There are several ways you can help us reach our goal of $20,000 in 24 hours:
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Update: Trail Bridge at Congress Avenue
The Trail bridge is currently in the permitting stage and we are hopeful to break ground before the end of the year. We are working with a permit expediter to help speed this process. This improvement will greatly increase accessibility and safety in the highly used area of the Trail by eliminating the blind curve and widening the path to 14 feet wide.
Thank you to our newest generous donors: Louis Kokernak, Jonna and Jill Foundation and of course our Austin Marathon team, #TeamTTF.
Learn more about the project here.
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#TeamTTF - Austin Marathon
The Trail Foundation's 99 volunteers were at the mile 7 waterstop all morning cheering loudly and helping the Austin Marathon runners stay hydrated - thank you volunteers!
Our marathon team knocked it out of the park by fundraising $18,445 for The Trail Bridge at Congress Avenue. With the match from Robert F. Smith and The Moody Foundation of Galveston that brings the total raised to $46,890 - go #TeamTTF!
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Ecological Restoration
Even though some animals hibernate and plants go dormant during the winter, we’ve been very busy at TTF implementing our first ecological restoration projects of 2017.
So far this year, we’ve planted 3000 baby trees, controlled grapevine along 4400 linear feet of shoreline, planted 4 acres of wildflower meadow along the dam at Longhorn Shores and installed a new rain garden near the Hilton.
Also at Longhorn Shores, we’ve removed invasive Arundo along 250 feet of shoreline and replaced it with live stakes of Black Willow, Cottonwood, and Roughleaf Dogwood trees. Finally, over 250 clusters of live stakes were planted along the north shoreline between the First Street and Congress Ave bridges to prevent erosion. Watch for these woody stakes to start sprouting as we move into the warmer months.
Thank you to our most recent donors: Shield-Ayres Foundation, Reese Foundation, Charles & Betti Saunders Family Fund at ACF, and Urban Forestry Grant Program. We couldn't do this important work without the support of our donors.
Learn more about this project here.
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March 18th Volunteer Day
Our first quarterly family-friendly volunteer day will take place from 9am-noon on Saturday, March 18th. Activities for this volunteer day will include mulching, removing ragweed, and controlling climbing clematis at Festival Beach. The event is almost full but you can sign up to be on the wait list for this event or sign up for a future volunteer day.
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Planning Trail Projects
Our Project Committee has been working hard to prioritize projects at the Trail! We easily came up with over 35 projects that we would love to make happen. The work is never done and we will continue to listen to you, the Trail user, and make careful, incremental changes to the most used green space in Austin.
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Native Plants Society Talk
TTF's Project and Creative Director, Beth Carroll, gave a talk on "Integrating Native Plants in a High Use, Urban Area" to the Texas Chapter of the Native Plant Society. Her talk covered the history of the urban forest at Lady Bird Lake and TTF's creative usage of native plants in projects and our ecological restoration work.
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Did you know The Trail Foundation has five full-time staff, one part-time staff and one intern? Over the next couple of months, we will introduce you to the people that make the behind-the-scenes improvements to our beloved Trail.
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Staff Highlight
Rachel Rountree, Development Director
Rachel is the Development Director for The Trail Foundation where she is systematically and effectively strengthening the organization's overall fundraising capacity. She has a passion for building strong relationships between organizations and donors in order to showcase how, by working together, they can create positive, lasting change. She has worked on fundraising initiatives and raised millions for nonprofit and for-profit organizations locally, nationally and abroad, showcasing her laser focus and ability to find solutions in any situation. Rachel also serves as a Board Member and Fundraising Chair for the Austin Food & Wine Alliance and is a graduate of the Leadership Austin Essential Program. She holds a B.S. in Communication Studies from the University of Texas at Austin. Whether going for a run or walking with a friend, the Trail is the place she goes to unwind and recenter.
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Did you know, $4.3 million health care expenditures are saved each year for Austin adults that primarily exercise on the Trail? Learn more about the impact of the Trail on our community.
Donate | Become a Member | Volunteer
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