Friends,
Happy almost Summer! The FBSP Board, and I in particular, would like to give A HUGE SHOUT OUT to the 30+ emergency volunteers who showed up with less than 24-hours’ notice to help clear the pool of flood damage on Tuesday May 7th. These amazing volunteers showed up and with their help we cleared much of the flood debris off the south lawn and nature trail and put the finishing touches on removing gravel from the pool at the north corner by the dam. Their work allowed BSP staff to concentrate on the pool once the flooding stopped which meant the pool was able to reopen sooner!!!
FBSP Picnic- Saturday June 15, 2019
I am pleased to announce that the FBSP Picnic is scheduled for Saturday, June 15th from 1:00 – 3:00 pm at Austin Beer Garden Brewing Co. (ABGB), 1305 W Oltorf St, Austin, TX 78704!! We have reserved the outdoor picnic table area, will have food and drinks tickets available, and will be raffling off swim passes and FBSP towels. Around 3:00pm, we’ll bike over to the pool from ABGB for some afternoon fun at the Springs. Come by, introduce yourself to the current board members, and learn more about all of the good things we are doing and what we hope to accomplish in the coming year. Please RSVP to fun@friendsofbartonspringspool.org
Upcoming Volunteer Cleanings
Our next volunteer cleaning is on Thursday June 6th from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. This year we have gotten a lot of interest from corporate volunteer teams to work along our regular crew of dedicated volunteers. A special THANK YOU to ABGB, BRC Recovery, AMD, Whole Foods, and American Youthworks for participating! Your engagement is an invaluable and very welcome contribution to our volunteer efforts. For members that have not previously volunteered for one of our cleanings, please join us! For more information and to sign up, visit our website at www.friendsofbartonspringspool.org.
Ongoing Advocacy
As many of you know, FBSP is focused on raising awareness and advocating for change at the pool. One of those ongoing efforts is re-populating the aquatic plants in the pool. These plants play a key role in the pool’s ecosystem and are necessary to the quality of water and the overall health of the pool. FBSP is part of a small group of stakeholders manning this initiative and is putting together a team to monitor and maintain the aquatic plant presence, which has been challenged by recent repeated flooding.
Another important effort outside the fence is improving safety in the creek above the Pool near the upper dam. We are working with Save Barton Creek Association and others to get temporary warning signs posted while we look at potential long-term solutions to this issue.
We are looking forward to seeing the bathhouse rehabilitation project begin sometime in early 2020 thanks in large part to Barton Springs Conservancy, which celebrated its considerable fundraising accomplishments, including an especially generous donation from the Moody Foundation which helped meet its fundraising goals for the project. A big congratulations to BSC and endless thank yous for your ongoing efforts on this project!
Call for Board Members
The FBSP Board has openings available for members who want to take their participation with the pool up a notch. Members interested in getting more involved should contact me at president@friendsofbartonspringspool.org to chat more about how you can help take us into the future.
On a personal note, I have started my daily sunrise swim at the pool and hope to maintain that ritual throughout the summer. I enter from the south gate and hang out near the diving board so if you have the will to get up and see the sun rise over the pool, come join me and a few others as we start the day with a cool refreshing dip in the pool…:)
See you at the pool,
Steve Barnick, FBSP President