Community

LCRA and PEC award $17,571 grant to Horseshoe Bay Nature Park

New interpretive signs will help educate visitors about the park’s wildlife, plants and more

12.07.22

The following story is courtesy of the Lower Colorado River Authority.

Horseshoe Bay Nature Park soon will install educational signs along a walking trail thanks to a $17,571 grant from the Lower Colorado River Authority and Pedernales Electric Cooperative.

 

PEC and LCRA present the grant check to Horseshoe Bay Nature Park.
LCRA and Pedernales Electric Cooperative representatives present a $17,571 grant to Horseshoe Bay Nature Park for educational signs. The grant is part of LCRA’s Community Development Partnership Program. Pictured, from left to right, are: Vicki Adcock, park board secretary; Andy Thurman, park board treasurer; Celeste Mikeska, PEC community outreach specialist; Margaret D. “Meg” Voelter, LCRA Board member; Kyle Womack, park board member; Michael L. “Mike” Allen, LCRA Board member; Johnny White, park board vice president; Carol Freeman, LCRA Board member; Steve Jordan, park board president; and Susan Patten, LCRA Regional Affairs representative.

The Community Development Partnership Program grant, along with almost $13,500 in matching contributions from the park, will allow for the addition of 15 interpretive signs to explain wildlife, geology, water conservation, trees and plants along a half-mile walking trail within the park. The signs also will include a QR code for more in-depth information.

“We are very proud of our Horseshoe Bay Nature Park,” said Steve Jordan, president of the nature park board of directors. “We had the grand opening in December of last year and have received very complimentary remarks and support. This grant is not only timely but will also allow us to add what will be the crowning feature of the nature park.”

Local subject matter experts, including the Highland Lakes Master Naturalists, Native Plant Society, and Highland Lakes Birding and Wildflower Society, will develop information for the new signs.

The nature park covers 11 acres and is designed to attract wildlife and birds and includes hundreds of species of plants. In addition to the walking trail, the park has a bird blind, observation deck, rainfall harvesting tanks and benches where visitors can sit and observe the park’s natural habitat. Jordan estimates about 2,500 people will visit the park each year.

“We have not only received support from the local schools, but also organizations such as the Boys & Girls Club, Boy Scouts and the Phoenix Center, who are eager to have their field trips there once the interpretive signage has been installed,” Jordan said.

The community grant is one of 46 grants awarded recently through LCRA’s Community Development Partnership Program, which helps volunteer fire departments, local governments, emergency responders and nonprofit organizations fund capital improvement projects in LCRA’s wholesale electric, water and transmission service areas. The program is part of LCRA’s effort to give back to the communities it serves. PEC is one of LCRA’s wholesale electric customers and is a partner in the grant program.

Applications for the next round of grants will be accepted in January. More information is available at lcra.org/cdpp.