EverGreen Austin

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EverGreen Austin We believe Austin must invest deliberately,
urgently and generously in green infrastructure.

No other civic initiative impacts the climate crisis, ensures adequate water and clean air, improves the health and wellbeing of our residents and contribute

Austin’s parks are on the ballot this November, and here’s why we’re asking you to consider voting YES on Prop A. 🌳If yo...
10/07/2026

Austin’s parks are on the ballot this November, and here’s why we’re asking you to consider voting YES on Prop A. 🌳

If you didn’t know, a bond is money the city borrows to build things now and pays back over time through taxes. This isn’t unusual for cities to do, and fun fact: Austin has a pretty good track record of paying its bonds back.

Prop A is a $260 million bond to invest in Austin’s parks, trails, and green space, and to buy new parkland before it’s developed and gone for good.

It would fund repairs, new trails and playgrounds, upgrades at parks like Zilker and Mount Bonnell, and land acquisition across the city. And it’s overdue: Parks has nearly spent through its last bond from 2018.

Bonds are how Austin has built and protected its green space for decades, from saving the Barton Creek Greenbelt to creating 30 new parks with the 2018 bond. Prop A keeps that going.

🗓️ Election Day: November 3, 2026
🗳️ Vote YES on Proposition A

Make a plan to vote. Our parks are counting on it. 🌱

10/05/2026

Stormwater management doesn’t have to mean concrete pipes, clogged drains, and giant detention ponds. 🌧️

Instead, we can use the beautiful, multi-purpose systems the earth already created and science has proven, like bioswales, rain gardens, and biofiltration ponds.

These natural systems might be part of the answer to the street flooding we see today. They add permeable ground and give plants and trees the chance to soak up and slow the water that, left on concrete, has nowhere to go but pool or rush.

Better flood prevention doesn’t have to be gray. Sometimes the smartest infrastructure is the greenest. 🌱



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El manejo de aguas pluviales no tiene que significar tuberías de concreto, drenajes tapados y enormes estanques de detención. 🌧️

En su lugar, podemos usar los hermosos sistemas multiusos que la tierra ya creó y que la ciencia ha comprobado, como los biofiltros, los jardines de lluvia y los estanques de biofiltración.

Estos sistemas naturales podrían ser parte de la respuesta a las inundaciones en las calles que vemos hoy. Agregan suelo permeable y les dan a las plantas y árboles la oportunidad de absorber y frenar el agua que, sobre el concreto, no tiene más opción que estancarse o correr.

Una mejor prevención de inundaciones no tiene que ser gris. A veces la infraestructura más inteligente es la más verde. 🌱

In the 1970s, seven women refused to let one of Austin’s most beautiful places disappear. 🌳A stretch of stunning Hill Co...
10/02/2026

In the 1970s, seven women refused to let one of Austin’s most beautiful places disappear. 🌳

A stretch of stunning Hill Country was threatened by a major housing development. So a group of local women formed “Now or Never” and set out to protect it.

The result was a remarkable collaboration. Led by Janet Poage, they worked with the developer, Travis County, and private fundraisers to preserve the land. The developer donated over 100 acres, the county assembled the rest with state grants, and in 1976, the 227-acre Wild Basin became Austin’s first nature preserve.

Fifty years later, it’s still protected, a reminder that green space and growth don’t have to be at odds. It just takes people willing to show up and find the solution. 🌱

Swipe through for the full story.



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En los años 70, siete mujeres se negaron a dejar que uno de los lugares más hermosos de Austin desapareciera. 🌳

Un tramo del impresionante Hill Country estaba amenazado por un gran desarrollo de viviendas. Así que un grupo de mujeres locales formó “Now or Never” y se propuso protegerlo.

El resultado fue una colaboración extraordinaria. Lideradas por Janet Poage, trabajaron con el desarrollador, el condado de Travis y donantes privados para preservar la tierra. El desarrollador donó más de 100 acres, el condado reunió el resto con fondos estatales, y en 1976, los 227 acres de Wild Basin se convirtieron en la primera reserva natural de Austin.

Cincuenta años después, sigue protegida, un recordatorio de que el espacio verde y el crecimiento no tienen que estar en conflicto. Solo hace falta gente dispuesta a presentarse y encontrar la solución. 🌱

Desliza para ver la historia completa.

09/30/2026

Green vs. gray infrastructure? It’s not a competition. The best cities use both. 🌳

Gray infrastructure is man-made: pipes, drains, gutters, and concrete channels.
Green infrastructure is natural: trees, creeks, rain gardens, and permeable ground.

Here’s the difference. Gray does one job. Green does one job and more. When you use trees or plants to manage water, they’re not only doing their assigned job, they’re also filtering the air, cooling the streets, and making a more beautiful city, often for less.

And when they work together, the results are even better. Trees give better results than man-made shade structures, because they don’t just provide shade, they naturally cool the air around them. Permeable pavement doesn’t just carry cars, bikes, and pedestrians, it also lets water soak back into our aquifers.

It often costs less, too: the EPA has found green infrastructure can make projects significantly cheaper than conventional ones.

The greener the balance, the healthier, cooler, and more resilient our city becomes. 🌱

09/28/2026

Big win for Austin’s parks, and we’re proud to have been part of it. 🌳

Until recently, a public park in Austin could be condemned and closed with almost no warning, and no consistent process to protect it. So we got to work.

Since early spring, Evergreen Austin partnered with City Council to change that, and in August, the ordinance passed.

Here’s what’s different now:
🌳 Any proposed parkland condemnation must be brought to a public Council meeting
🌳 The city must evaluate impacts on parkland access, equity, and service levels
🌳 Any money from a condemnation must go toward replacing that lost parkland, and can’t be spent on anything else

Thanks to Council Member Ryan Alter, who worked closely with us to bring it to council.

This is a genuine step forward, and we’re keeping our eyes on it. We hope it’s the first of many green wins to come. 🌱



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Una gran victoria para los parques de Austin, y estamos orgullosos de haber sido parte de ella. 🌳

Hasta hace poco, un parque público en Austin podía ser expropiado y cerrado casi sin aviso, y sin un proceso consistente para protegerlo. Así que nos pusimos a trabajar.

Desde principios de la primavera, Evergreen Austin colaboró con el concejo municipal para cambiar eso, y en agosto, la ordenanza fue aprobada.

Esto es lo que cambia ahora:
🌳 Toda propuesta de expropiación de parques debe llevarse a una reunión pública del concejo
🌳 La ciudad debe evaluar los impactos en el acceso a los parques, la equidad y los niveles de servicio
🌳 El dinero de una expropiación debe destinarse a reemplazar ese parque perdido, y no puede gastarse en otra cosa

Gracias al concejal Ryan Alter, quien trabajó de cerca con nosotros para llevarla al concejo.

Es un avance real, y seguimos atentos. Esperamos que sea la primera de muchas victorias verdes por venir. 🌱

New York City is aiming for 30% tree canopy, and Austin should be paying attention. NYC recently released its first-ever...
09/25/2026

New York City is aiming for 30% tree canopy, and Austin should be paying attention.

NYC recently released its first-ever Urban Forest Plan to grow and protect its 7 million+ trees. Here’s how the plan works:
🌳 Wrote the 30% canopy goal into law, to be updated every 10 years
🌳 Tracks every tree through a recurring citywide census
🌳 Targets planting in the neighborhoods with the least shade
🌳 Gets residents involved in caring for the canopy

The payoff is huge: NYC’s trees already deliver $260 million in benefits a year, from cleaner air to cooler streets to stormwater management.

As Austin grows hotter and denser, this is exactly the kind of long-term commitment our own city needs 🌿

——

Nueva York busca un 30% de cobertura arbórea, y vale la pena tomar nota de cómo lo están logrando.

NYC acaba de publicar su primer Plan de Bosque Urbano para hacer crecer y proteger sus más de 7 millones de árboles. Así funciona el plan:
🌳 Escribieron la meta del 30% en la ley, para actualizarse cada 10 años
🌳 Rastrean cada árbol con un censo periódico de toda la ciudad
🌳 Priorizan la siembra en los vecindarios con menos sombra
🌳 Involucran a los residentes en el cuidado del dosel

El beneficio es enorme: los árboles de NYC ya aportan $260 millones al año, desde aire más limpio hasta calles más frescas y manejo de aguas pluviales.

A medida que Austin se vuelve más caluroso y denso, este es justo el tipo de compromiso a largo plazo que necesita nuestra ciudad 🌿

Without it, we wouldn’t have the Greenbelt. Land banking is the best tool we have against losing green space to developm...
09/23/2026

Without it, we wouldn’t have the Greenbelt.

Land banking is the best tool we have against losing green space to development. 🌳

The idea is simple: buy open land early, before it’s developed, for less than it’d cost later. Austin has done it before, and some of our most-loved parks exist because of it.



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El land banking es la mejor herramienta que tenemos contra la pérdida de espacio verde por el desarrollo. 🌳

La idea es simple: comprar tierra abierta temprano, antes de que se desarrolle, por menos de lo que costaría después. Austin ya lo ha hecho, y algunos de nuestros parques más queridos existen gracias a eso.

09/21/2026

Once land is developed, you can’t get it back. The best way to protect Austin’s green future is to buy the land now, before it’s gone. 🌳

That’s land banking: securing green space before development prices it out of reach. Treviño Park is one example of how it actually saves the city money. Austin bought those 330 acres in 2003 for $8 million. Today, that same riverfront land would cost nearly ten times as much.

But we’re not doing enough of it. Every year we wait, the lots that could be your future park get more expensive, or covered with concrete. And green space isn’t a luxury, it’s what makes a city healthy: cooler streets, cleaner air, and places to get outside. Parks come from a city willing to plan ahead. 🌱

-—

Una vez que la tierra se desarrolla, no se puede recuperar. La mejor forma de proteger el futuro verde de Austin es comprar la tierra ahora, antes de que desaparezca. 🌳

Eso es land banking: asegurar espacio verde antes de que el desarrollo lo ponga fuera de alcance. Treviño Park es un ejemplo de cómo esto le ahorra dinero a la ciudad. Austin compró esos 330 acres en 2003 por $8 millones. Hoy, esa misma tierra frente al río costaría casi diez veces más.

Pero no lo hacemos lo suficiente. Cada año que esperamos, los lotes que podrían ser tu futuro parque se encarecen, o se cubren de concreto. Y el espacio verde no es un lujo, es lo que hace sana a una ciudad: calles más frescas, aire más limpio y lugares para salir. Los parques vienen de una ciudad dispuesta a planear con anticipación. 🌱

Your next City Council member will shape your neighborhood for years. Come meet the ones asking for your vote. 🌳This fal...
09/18/2026

Your next City Council member will shape your neighborhood for years. Come meet the ones asking for your vote. 🌳

This fall, five Austin City Council seats are up for election, and our second Green Space and Climate Change Candidate Forum is for Districts 5, 8 & 9. It’s your chance to hear directly from the candidates on the issues that decide how Austin grows, from parks and creeks to flooding, development, and green space.

🎤 Thursday, Sept. 24, 6-8 PM
Districts 5, 8 & 9
South Austin Senior Activity Center
3911 Menchaca Rd

Local elections are closer than you think, and these forums put you in the room before you head to the ballot box.

Bring a friend, and be part of the conversation. 🌱

RSVP at the link in our bio.

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Austin, TX
78701–78705, 78708–78739, 78741–78742, 78744–78769

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