PUTTING THE US IN AUSTIN

How Local Organizations are Making Austin a Better Place to Live

By Henna Wittsche

Ingram and Wittsche working together on the new mural. (Photo by Matthew Guthrie)

As you sit in the grass, wind billows through your hair and clouds float gently above your head. The air is clean, and the birds are chirping. The trees provide just enough shade to be comfortable. The whole park is artfully organized, with fresh soil surrounding each tree, and brush cleared away. Children laugh as they run around the nearby playground, which has been repainted recently. A rainbow train toots cheerfully as it races along the tracks, completely powered by electricity. Colorful murals decorate the bland walls separating this magical slice of nature from the rest of the city. All of this was made possible by the dedicated, hard working people at the local environmental organizations.

In January, 2022, renovations were completed for the newest iteration of the beloved Zilker Train, a staple in Austin’s community. The project, commissioned by the Austin Parks Foundation, includes a new electric train, clean rails and a brand new mural experience. The mural was painted by a pair of artists, who won the public prompt with a revolutionary idea. Instead of painting a single wall, they decided to incorporate the whole bridge into their piece.

The process has been a long one, starting nearly two years ago, when the Austin Parks Foundation took over operation. Ladye Anne Wofford, the former Chief Mission Officer at APF, was largely involved in the starting process, including the business plan and most of the legal work.

“I had to do a ton of research on trains and train operations, because I didn’t previously have any experience with [them],” Wofford said. “But that’s sometimes the nature of work when you’re working at Austin Parks Foundation, every project we do [is] a little bit different.”

The Austin Parks Foundation is a live organization, constantly changing its goals to reflect current Austin needs.

Wofford is also excited about the train’s new feature, the mural. The mural depicts a rainbow when approached by the train, but as you move along the tracks, the illusion breaks and the viewer notices that it’s actually drawn along the entire tunnel, even along curved surfaces and pillars. When coming back along the tracks, the experience is completely different. Every available space is colored gold.

The nearly completed zilker train. (Photo courtesy of the Zilker Eagle Instagram page)

“It was so cool, when we were thinking about what are the different ways that we can make this experience keep that magic and tradition of the Zilker Zephyr but also add to it and make it new,” Wofford said. “And one of the most important aspects of that was the mural.” What makes this project unique is that it is one of the only ventures the APF has taken that doesn’t directly relate to parks and park cleanup and restoration. Instead, the funds from buying tickets will go to the parks.

“So when you pay for your train ticket, a portion of the proceeds go back to the parks,” Wofford said. “That’s the nice part about it being tied to a nonprofit, so you feel good about riding the train, because you know it’s going to a good cause.”

The APF has never done something like this before, and some of the members may seem out of their depth, but so far, the project is coming along without too many problems. Because it was such a big project, there were many different organizations involved. Mural artist Ian Ingram comments on the variety of people he had to meet with during the process.

“Everything had to be approved by about five or six different groups and that meant extra time,” Ingram

Ladye Anne Wofford, Former Chief Mission Officer at the Austin Parks Foundation. Photo courtesy of the Austin Parks Foundation Website.

said.

“Everybody had to sign off and say yes or no, and everybody had an opinion about what kind of paint could be used, what time of day we could do it, [and] how we were going to clean up our mess.”

The artists also had to revise their original design because the bridge they were painting on is a historical monument. Wofford explains how complicated the whole process can be. Not only did the artists have to work with tons of external parties, but the organization itself had to work overtime trying to get many different people on board.

“They have all of these policies and procedures that you have to go through in order to put a mural on public property,” Wofford said. “You can’t just go out and do your whole thing without going through that process. We had to work [to] make sure that [painting the bridge] was okay, because it was [quite] a historic bridge, and they had to check what kind of paint the artists were going to use, because it’s an ecologically sensitive area.”

The artists had originally planned for a rainbow archway, with pieces of wood glued to the underside of the bridge. This turned out to be against regulations, so they had to paint the stripes directly on the bridge for a slightly lesser effect. Additionally, they had to catch any paint spills to avoid leaking into the water.

“They said no spray paint because the fumes would go down and settle on the waterways and potentially hurt the fish,” Ingram said. “We had to have tarps in place in case we spilled anything.” The whole process was done very carefully.

Austin

Bonny Edwards, cleaning the top of a grotto at the Wildflower Center. (Photo courtesy of Bonny Edwards)

and Environmental Organizations:

Austin is unique and beloved by its people for its conservation of natural spaces. There is a network of environmental movements in Austin that work together to clean and beautify our city. The Austin Parks Foundation is one of such organizations, as well as the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower center. Bonny Edwards, a former seasonal gardener at the WIldflower Center, explains the goal and motivation behind the establishment. While the APF focuses mainly on community and inclusion, the Wildflower Center’s goal is primarily education.

“Education, because the goal of the center is to educate people about the benefits of choosing natural or native plants,” Edwards said. “Education, because people can tour the gardens, they can look at the different beds, photograph the beds, and think about how they could bring that into their landscape [and] their own home gardens.”

Although the Wildflower Center is different from many other environmental organizations in that it seeks to entertain and educate more than make new trails and parks, it still contributes to the environmental culture of Austin. Edwards speaks about the impact the center has had on Austin.

“[The center] is continuously trying to provide an experience to Austinites that’s unique and special. That’s in line with the creativity that you find in Austin,” Edwards said. “I believe that the rotating events and exhibitions that they have is a unique thing.”

One of the amazing things about working in the Austin environment is how positive everyone working there is. Edwards and Ingram have both noticed that the combination of people being outdoors, working together, and doing what they are passionate about leads to a happy, healthy mood overall.

“Everybody that’s there wants to be there,” Edwards said. “And I think especially now with technology and people maybe being inside more than they should, the benefit that you get from being outdoors and getting your hands and dirt and just working with the environment is life changing and certainly mood lifting.”

Ingram adds, “It was wonderful to meet all the people and really through meeting them and getting to talk with each other. You see how dedicated each one is to their position and they all seem pretty happy.”

The parks in Austin are continually kept up with by the APF and other foundations, as well as by the city. To see how you can help Austin’s environment stay green, visit the Austin Parks Website, or think about volunteering at the local “It’s My Park Day” celebration. The Wildflower Center is open and welcomes everyone to enjoy the amazing experience they offer, as well as offers job opportunities. Wofford also suggests enrolling in AmeriCorps, Peace Corps, or the Texas Conservation Corps if you want to service the environment beyond Austin.