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Lady Bird’s Legacy meets Austin Community Foundation Giving Card
A comparatively mild, wet summer has left Central Texas with a sprinkling of hardy wildflowers, usually fried to smithereens by June. Some were planted courtesy of Lady Bird’s Legacy, a multi-year project initiated by the American-Statesman to honor the late Lady Bird Johnson by raising bucks for seeds.
The Kuhls and friends donated $3,000 to dedicate a bit more than a mile of roadside wildflowers along RM 12 at Elder Hill Road.
“We chose that location since our folks drove together back and forth from Wimberley to Austin through that stretch quite a bit, and my father still does,” wrote their son, John Kuhl, to TxDOT. Officials “helped get us set up to throw a bit of seed ourselves.”
The department’s part of the program — other Legacy money goes to seeds for schoolkids and parks — forges ahead with $20,000 worth of promised flowers this season. This time, TxDOT concentrated on hills along Austin roadways. As you read this, 47 acres of bluebonnets, Indian blankets, greenthreads and more are sinking into rights of way along MoPac Boulevard (Loop 1), Interstate 35, U.S. 183 and Texas 71.
“We wanted to make sure they had good visibility,” says Dennis Markwardt, TxDOT director of vegetation management. “A lot of people drive through these areas, especially tourists along Interstate 35, U.S. 183 and Texas 71 (not so much MoPac). These are probably some of the best wildflower locations in the state.”
Markwardt’s crew avoids thick grass and flat surfaces, focusing instead on well-drained slopes. The selection of four proven species, rather than a vast array, allows him to get more bang for his limited bucks.
“I’d love to have unlimited funds, but that’s not going to happen,” he says. “Instead, we are tying to be good stewards of the land with species that come back year after year.”
What would an additional $15,000 in gifts add, if donated soon? It would seed 38 more acres identified as prime spots along Austin freeways. For information, go to statesman.com/wildflowers.
A sweet message was attached to a birthday card last week: “You are the very first recipient of an Austin Community Foundation GivingCard. It’s the newest effort to further enable charitable giving in Austin.”
My first impulse, after 21 years in journalism, was to return anything that resembled a valuable gift. Then I turned over the card: $25. Instructions direct the recipient to www.austincf.org, where I entered the card number and promptly forwarded the $25 credit to Lady Bird’s Legacy.
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By Ken Gladish
October 30, 2010 8:31 PM | Link to this
Michael: Cool...the Foundation's giving card program is easy, fun and flexible. Of course I am prejudiced in its favor because I have worked for the Foundation for the past three years ! I am sure the Wildflower Center will appreciate your gift.