SCC launches Volunteer Events Dashboard
2024
City of Austin constructs three new rain gardens along Shoal Creek Blvd and SCC facilitates their establishment with native plantings
Duncan Park reopens with major improvements to grading and ADA accessibility, enhanced connection to the trail, wildflower meadows, a restored wetland area, a walking path and other amenities like seating, a drinking fountain, and shade trees
Construction began at the historic West Sixth Street Bridge to install under-bridge trail lighting, add a new stone parapet, and repair two segments of retaining wall
SCC holds the 2nd Annual Shopping Cart Corral where volunteers at 8 locations removed 47 shopping carts, 116 bags of litter and lots of large bulky items from Shoal Creek!
And the year’s not over yet!
2023
SCC partners with the city’s Urban Trails Program to install 125 wayfinding signs along 9.5 miles of Shoal Creek
Inspired by Austin WPD’s Trash in Creeks field study, volunteers across 6 sites along Shoal Creek removed 48 shopping carts, 6 scooters, 111 bags of litter, and more at SCC’s Shopping Cart Corral event!
SCC and sponsors host creekside hangouts as part of the 2-week giving campaign and community event, the Shoal Creek Social
Four new pet waste stations installed along the Shoal Creek Trail to help prevent harmful bacteria and parasites from entering our waterways
New Grow Zone created within the Seiders Springs Greenbelt, protecting 2.87 acres of riparian zone and removing 0.29 acres, or nearly 12,500 square feet, from mowing
Austin City Council voted to allocate millions of dollars to support mobility projects around Shoal Creek and 3rd Street, a major priority in the Shoal Creek Trail Plan
470 volunteers contribute trail stewardship and maintenance at 41 service events including creek cleanups, riparian restoration workdays, and rain garden workdays. Cleanups result in almost 14,000 pounds (or 7 tons) of trash removed from Shoal Creek!
SCC hosts Monthly Creek Tours, including Shoal Creek Flooding and Hydrology with Jose Guerrero, Pollinators with Katie Ortiz, and a Workout Class with Matt Borer
2022
SCC launches dual language Shoal Creek Audio Walking Tour highlighting historical locations and events along Shoal Creek
Multi-site riparian restoration efforts remove 7 truckloads of invasive elephant ear and giant cane and plant nearly 1,500 native plants and trees throughout the watershed
SCC and sponsors host creekside hangouts as part of the 2-week giving campaign and community event, the Shoal Creek Social
352 volunteers contribute trail stewardship and maintenance at 47 service events including creek cleanups, riparian restoration workdays, and rain garden workdays. Cleanups result in 8,500 pounds of trash removed from Shoal Creek!
SCC hosts Monthly Creek Tours, including Botany ID with Capital Area Master Naturalists, Geology and Fossils with Austin Geological Society, and a Frogging Tour with Matthew Sato
2021
Trail connection piloted to create an ADA-accessible on-street pathway at 31st-34th Streets
All-way stop and crosswalk installed at 34th Street & Shoal Creek Blvd
SCC and sponsors host creekside hangouts as part of the 2-week giving campaign and community event, the Shoal Creek Social
First-ever Shoal Creek Watershed Coordinator hired!
216 volunteers contribute trail stewardship and maintenance at 22 service events. This effort, and 11 additional cleanups completed by our partners at The Other Ones Foundation, results in 4,500 pounds of trash removed from Shoal Creek!
SCC hosts Monthly Creek Tours, including Birding with Travis Audubon Society, Finding Fungi with Central Texas Mycological Society, and Urban Stargazing with Austin Astronomical Society
2020
Rain gardens installed along the Shoal Creek Blvd Bikeway at 38th Street, Crawford Street, and Woodview Avenue
SCC celebrates Shoal Creek Social Distancing, a reimagined 2-week social distancing giving campaign and community event
City of Austin acquires land for a new park along Shoal Creek at the site of the Wood Street Historic Settlement
SCC partners with The Other Ones Foundation to conduct cleanups in the watershed
SCC hosts Monthly Creek Tours, including Nature Photography Happy Hour with Ian M. Wright
2019
New 5.5 mile bikeway installed along Shoal Creek Blvd from 38th Street to Highway 183
5 intersections along the Shoal Creek Blvd bikeway receive safety upgrades, including 12 new pedestrian crossings
Trail stabilization repairs completed between 5th and 6th Streets
Bluffs bordering the Shoal Creek Trail at 24th-27th Streets experience second landslide in two years
SCC and the Downtown Austin Alliance establish a partnership to improve the Cypress & Shoal Creek area
469 volunteers contribute trail stewardship and maintenance valued at nearly $25,000 at 11 service events
SCC hosts Monthly Creek Tours, including Bilingual Fish & Critters with Austin Youth River Watch
2018
Shoal Creek Trail Plan completed by SCC and stakeholders, and adopted by the City of Austin Public Works Department
SCC, the City of Austin, and watershed stakeholders begin development of the Shoal Creek Watershed Action Plan
Texas Historical Commission commemorates the site of Shoal Creek’s Wood Street Historic Settlement with an Undertold Historic Marker
New urban trail constructed from 5th Street to West Avenue, with accompanying lighting
New ADA accessible trail entrance constructed south of 6th Street Bridge
Safety improvements to the Shoal Creek Blvd bicycle/pedestrian crossing at Highway 183 implemented
The bluffs overlooking Shoal Creek Trail at 24th-27th Street experience a major landslide
348 volunteers contribute trail stewardship and maintenance valued at nearly $17,000 at 12 service events
SCC hosts Monthly Creek Tours, including Medicinal Plants with Carolyn Long and Trains of Austin’s Past with Austin Steam Train Association
2017
SCC releases City + Water, an international showcase of innovative stormwater management and flood mitigation
SCC partners with Austin Parks Foundation to complete a structural assessment of the century-old railroad trestle at 3rd Street and develop concept for reuse of the trestle as a public plaza
Completion of Shoal Creek restoration project between 15th-24th Streets, including streambank restoration and sidewalk/trail repairs
306 volunteers contribute trail stewardship and maintenance valued at nearly $15,000 at 13 service events
SCC hosts Monthly Creek Tours, including Fossil Hunt with Austin Nature & Science Center, Bat Walk with Bat Conservation International, and Art Ride Creekside with Bike Austin, Waterloo Greenway, Downtown Austin Alliance, and The Contemporary Austin
City of Austin reviews opportunities and constraints around widening the Shoal Creek Trail between 5th and 15th Streets. The resulting report provides a guide for future improvements.
2016
SCC develops the 1887 West Sixth Street Bridge over Shoal Creek Restoration Study to guide rehabilitation of this hidden gem. The study prompts emergency structural repair work on the 6th Street Bridge.
SCC partners with Bat Conservation International to humanely evacuate the 6th Street Bridge’s resident bat colony prior to emergency repairs
Junior League of Austin volunteer gardeners plant and tend native grasses and seeds at 1-acre native habitat restoration site on the Shoal Creek Greenbelt
500 volunteers contribute trail stewardship and maintenance valued at nearly $30,000 at 12 service events
SCC hosts Monthly Creek Tours, including Tree ID with TreeFolks and Shoal Creek Flooding at Northwest District Park with City of Austin Watershed Protection Department
2015
Memorial Day Flood inundates parks and neighborhoods along Lamar Blvd. SCC serves as a clearinghouse for post-flood volunteer cleanup opportunities and provides a community voice for flood mitigation solutions.
SCC hosts 1st Annual Shoal Creek Awards to honor watershed heroes
City of Austin dedicates $4 million for trail improvements between 5th Street and West Avenue
1,000 native trees planted at 1-acre native habitat restoration site on the Shoal Creek Greenbelt
715 volunteers contribute trail stewardship and maintenance valued at nearly $45,000 at 10 service events
SCC hosts Monthly Creek Tours, including Native Plants of Shoal Creek with the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
SCC signs collaborative agreement with the City of Austin Public Works, Watershed Protection and Parks & Recreation Departments for planning initiatives
2014
1887 West 6th Street Bridge over Shoal Creek listed in the National Register of Historic Places by the U.S. National Park Service
Texas Conservation Corps removes invasive golden bamboo at 1-acre native habitat restoration site on the Shoal Creek Greenbelt
526 volunteers contribute trail stewardship and maintenance valued at nearly $30,000 at 18 service events
SCC hosts Creek Tours, including Birding with Travis Audubon Society
2013
Culmination of 15-month Feasibility Study to evaluate the sustainability of a nonprofit organization dedicated to stewardship of Shoal Creek
