NSCNA Blog Archive

Sunday March 11, 2 PM for 8 Bus Stops in Wooten,
North Shoal Creek, Allandale

Please RSVP to zettner@snaustin.org if you would like to help with an unusual
tree planting on Sunday Mar 11. Sustainable Neighborhoods (SN) is partnering
with CapMetro on a trial of a device called a Groasis Waterboxx that should
self-irrigate small seedlings during their vital first year in the ground. This
will be the first trial of the device in Austin for street trees.

The tree seedlings are tiny – just 4″ liners. The waterboxxes are about the
size of a large tire. They are donut shaped and wrap around the seedling,
buffering it and emitting moisture very slowly. The waterboxx’s water bladder
absorbs heat during the day and releases it at night, causing water to
condensate and refill the bladder. www.groasis.com.

While the small size of the trees means it will be longer before they reach
maturity, the fact that they are planted at a smaller size means they should be
healthier and grow faster. With less effort required to water the trees, many
more can be planted. The waterboxxes themselves are reusable.

Volunteers should meet at the northeast corner of the Ross Dress for Less
parking lot at 8100 Burnet at 2 PM. We’ll deploy the first two waterboxxes at a nearby
bus stop, then break up into teams to plant trees at the remaining seven bus
stops. As always, axes and shovels are appreciated.

Bus stop locations and proposed tree sites. Note on last slide – Lazy Ln is on
Anderson, not Burnet.
http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=c25hdXN0aW4ub3JnfHNuYXVzdGluLW\
V4dGVybmFsLXNpdGV8Z3g6MWI2NDNmMzlkZGY2YTZmOQ
(NOTE: copied form NSCNA yahoo message 2973)

Date: Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Time: 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM
Location: Pillow Elementary School, 3025 Crosscreek Drive

The next general membership meeting of the the North Shoal Creek Neighborhood Association will be held on March 6, 2012.  The Agenda will include an update on the status of the rezoning request for 8100 Burnet Road.  All members are encouraed to attend.

In Fall of 2010, the Beautification Committee applied for a grant from the City of Austin’s Urban Forest Grant Program. The Committee requested funds to survey our neighborhood to see where street shade was needed and to buy trees to be planted in the highest priority yards. In December 2010, NSCNA was awarded $8,000 to fund this project. The first part, the survey, was completed in Spring 2011 and the final part — planting the trees — was completed on February 23, 2012. That’s the day Texas Trees and Landscapes planted 15 young shade trees throughout our neighborhood. The new trees include live oaks, bur oaks, monterrey oaks, chinquapin oaks, and cedar elms. These young shade trees will add beauty as well as shade to our neighborhood for decades to come. The Beautification Committee thanks everyone who took part in this project and helped bring it to a successful conclusion.

The public hearing for rezoning of property at 8100 Burnet Road, originally scheduled for Tuesday, February 21, 2012, was postponed by the Zoning and Platting Commission for two weeks, and is scheduled to be heard on Tuesday, March 6, 2012 beginning at 6:00 PM.
The NSCNA Development Committee is reviewing a covenant agreement received from Alliance Residential Company, the developer, the night of February 21, 2012, and coordination is ongoing at this time.