New dues paying members now get a free Friends of Barton Springs Pool t-shirt!
Signing up new members at the Pool today
Call for volunteers to clean the pool on 5/28
The Service Committee of FBSP is holding our next “Volunteer Pool Cleaning” Thursday, May 28th, 2009 from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM.
Please sign up for a 2 hour shift to help us care for the pool. Send an e-mail to Service@FriendsofBartonSpringsPool.org with your name, phone number and the shift(s) you would like no later than Wednesday, 5/27 at 7pm.
SHIFT TIME SHIFT LEADER
10am – NOON Annie Walker
NOON – 2pm Robin Cravey
2pm – 4pm Maria Weber
4pm – 6pm Annie Walker
Donated snacks will be available. We will provide a water jug for you to refill and we ask that you please bring your own water bottle (so we can reduce disposable cup waste).
REMEMBER – YOU GET FREE MEMBERSHIPSHIP WITH FBSP (A $25 VALUE) FOR CLEANING THE POOL JUST 4 HOURS IN ONE YEAR!
VOLUNTEERS: Please check the weather forecast and dress accordingly. Be prepared to get wet. Wear a pair of old sneakers / watersocks / teva-type sandals because the bottom is slippery. Wear clothes you do not mind getting wet in. Typically the work does not require you to submerge totally but wading in waist high water is not uncommon. Bring gloves as some of the duties can cause blisters. Use sunscreen on all exposed areas; and we recommend a big hat to help shade your face & neck.
Please note: No swimming is allowed because the lifeguards are part of the cleanup crew. Please let the shift leader assigned to your time know of any jobs that you do not feel you can do. We are permitted to use the showers when we’re finished cleaning. Remember that staff will be cleaning, so post a lookout at the dressing room door if you feel the need.
OBJECTIVES: (subject to change depending on the priorities set by BSP staff)
1.) Push-broom the shallow end of the pool to remove as much algae as possible
2.) Scrub rails to remove algae
4.) Weeding in bathhouse garden areas
Thanks in advance for your help! We’ll see you at the pool!
Call for Board Members
This is a call for board members to be elected at the April membership meeting on Saturday, April 25th (you can subscribe to our calendar to stay updated with FBSP events).
We are in need of:
Vice President
Advocacy Chair
Fun Chair
Anyone interested please contact Steve Barnick at:
president@friendsofbartonspringspool.org
Thank you volunteers!
Greetings Volunteers!!!
Thanks for two great weekends of successful cleanings! I’m sure everyone’s excited that the pool is open again 🙂
We were able to accomplish quite a lot both Saturdays:
– Trimmed plants around pool & outside front entrance
– Painted trim of main building and bathhouses
– Weeded areas around the grounds
– 20 pallets of sod placed on north & south hills
– 20 aquatic plants prepared for transfer into the springs
– Swept shallow end of pool
– Finished raking leaves along the south hill
– Mulch distributed outside front entrance of pool
– Flowers & vegetation planted outside front entrance
– Painted benches inside bathhouses
– Floating algae removed around the pool
– Handrails scrubbed
Additional appreciation goes to the previous Friends of Barton Springs Pool Members whose generous donations help provide the volunteers and pool staff with vital tools needed to accomplish the tasks above (and more), the Austin Parks Foundation for coordinating another successful It’s My Park Day!
Day event, FBSP for the snacks donated for the 2/28 cleaning, and Wheatsville Co-Op for the delicious snacks provided on Sat 3/7.
For those of you who registered with the Austin Parks Foundation on their website by March 4th for It’s My Park! Day, please send me an email if you did not receive a t-shirt. Unfortunately, they ran out of Small and Medium size t-shirts so all I received were Large t-shirts. I’m not sure who all received t-shirts on Saturday (3/7/09) but I received 19 t-shirts and have 7 left. Please let me know if you did not receive a t-shirt and if L is okay or a different size is preferred & I will contact the Austin Parks Foundation to see if any other sizes (other than L) were returned.
Everyone who volunteered BOTH Saturdays (2/28 & 3/7) have earned a Friends of Barton Springs Pool t-shirt! We have S – XXL available, so if you got the wrong size or didn’t get one at all, please let me know. We have our annual FBSP Membership meeting at the Splash Exhibit on Saturday, April 25th at NOON where you can pick up or trade your FBSP t-shirt at that time, and meet the rest of the FBSP Board. We do have some vacancies on the board this coming spring, so if you are interested in being more involved, we welcome you to join us!!!
We have added a few more events to our calendar including the Full Moon Swims, and the next sub-committee meeting for the Barton Springs Pool Master Plan (improvements/renovations for the pool & grounds). Coming up, we will be posting pictures from our cleanings and the dates for our future pool cleanings! I will send out another email with the cleaning dates for the swim season once they are confirmed.
Thank you all again for your assistance & we hope to see you at the pool
again soon!
~ Annie Buckman
FBSP Service Chair, service@friendsofbartonspringspool.org
Volunteer Opportunity: Spring Cleaning 3/7
Barton Springs Pool is closed from (Mon) Feb 23rd until (Fri) March 13th.
Come volunteer with the Friends of Barton Springs Pool!
Volunteers will be helping to scrub the sides & bottom of the pool to get ready for this next swim season! Miscellaneous jobs will also be assigned as needed including: painting, trash pick up, trimming, planting, and mulching flower beds around the grounds.
Please check the weather forecast & dress accordingly. We recommend you bring: clothing you don’t mind getting dirty, swimsuit, towel, sunscreen, hat, grip sandals (or water socks), and closed-toed shoes. If you have any gardening gloves, please bring a pair in case we run out as some of the duties can cause blisters. You will be permitted to use the showers when done with your shift; keep in mind that the staff will be cleaning so post a lookout at the dressing room door if you feel the need. At the beginning of your shift, please let the shift leader know of any jobs you do not feel you can do.
Ages 14 & above are welcome. Anyone under the age of 18 must have a parent or guardian available to sign a waiver on their behalf for the March 7th cleaning.
FBSP Cleaning Days:
Contact: Service@FriendsofBartonSpringsPool.org to sign up for as many shifts as you would like!
Saturday, March 7th, 2009 (It’s My Park! Day)
(2 shifts)
10am – 2pm
2pm – 6pm
Sign up through the Austin Parks Foundation Website.
Contact: Service@FriendsofBartonSpringsPool.org if you have any questions.
If you are interested in helping out while the pool is closed for Spring Cleaning during a weekday, contact Wayne Simmons with the City of Austin Parks & Rec Aquatics Dept: Wayne.Simmons@ci.austin.tx.us
It’s your pool… help keep it clean!
Upcoming Volunteer Opportuny: Cleaning the Pool 2/28
We will be cleaning the Pool on Saturday, February 28 from 10AM to 6PM and we need your help!
Please contact Annie Buckman at service@friendsofbartonspringspool.org to schedule a 2 hour shift to clean the Pool.
Information about cleaning the Pool:
At the seasonal monthly pool cleanings, FBSP volunteers scrub rocks, vacuum the pool bottom, clean algae off steps and railings, skim algae off the pool surface, plant flowers and help maintain the pool grounds, paint benches and trim, and generally lend a hand to make the pool and grounds as clean and beautiful as possible.
Volunteering to help with the pool cleanings is a great way to learn more about the Pool. Once you’re in the pool wrestling the floor buffer or swimming along with the giant algae skimmer, you’ll begin to understand how the water flows through the pool, where the main springs are, what creatures live in the pool and where, and how we can continue to improve pool cleaning and maintenance practices.
Pool cleanings usually take place in three or four two-hour shifts—usually 10–12, 12–2, 2–4, and 4–6. We need three or four volunteers for each shift along with experienced volunteers to serve as shift leaders. Volunteers who clean the pool four hours annually become members of FBSP without having to pay dues.
Next volunteer opportunity is on Saturday, March 7th.