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Community Service Project
When: Saturday, May 26th at 8:30-11:30 AM Where: Headwaters at Incarnate Word University of Incarnate Word (behind baseball field) In recognition of San Antonio's Tricentennial Celebration, we will be having a community service project that will help cleanup and restore the Headwaters Nature Sanctuary Area. Please join us to give back to our community and help protect our beautiful nature areas. Everyone is welcome to come. Bring yourself and friends! Details below. |
Where do we meet: We will meet at the spot marked "Meet Here" on the Headwaters Road Map. There is no street address; GPS coordinates are given on the map. You can park there. To drive there, from Hildebrand Ave. take the entrance ramp to Rt. 281 North; but do not get on Rt. 281! From the entrance ramp, take an immediate right turn into the University of the Incarnate Word. Next, at the stop sign, turn left and stay left until you pass the baseball fields on your right. On the left, you’ll find us at the picnic tables near our tool shed, with its “Welcome to the Headwaters” banner.
What to bring: Dress for the woods -- long sleeves, long pants, and closed toe shoes or boots. We supply gloves, equipment, and water in a 5-gallon cooler; we ask that you bring a reusable container for water that you can refill from our water cooler. We will have a release form for you to fill out when you arrive.
What will you do: We will remove invasive plants to make room for a variety of native ones, which improves ecological health. We will do this with hands, handsaws, root wrenches and chainsaws. And if you don't feel comfortable with using the equipment, don't worry. There will be plenty of other things for you to do. We will haul the cuttings into piles by the trails. We will run the cuttings through a wood chipper. We will put the wood chips on the trails. And we will pick up trash. You’ll also learn about ecological restoration, the natural and cultural heritage of the Sanctuary, and how we can all be better stewards of the Earth.
What is this place? The Headwaters Sanctuary is 53-acres of mostly urban forest, one of the last and largest forests in central San Antonio. The Sanctuary contains the historic “source” of the San Antonio River: the San Antonio Spring, more widely known as the Blue Hole (shown on map). The Sanctuary is both a federal and state protected archeological district, with evidence of human occupation going back nearly 12,000 years. There are many layers of fascinating history here. The Headwaters Sanctuary was set aside by the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word in 2008 to protect the historic land and its famous waters. They established an Earth care ministry – Headwaters at Incarnate Word, Inc. – to protect, restore, celebrate, and otherwise take care of the Sanctuary for the benefit of all. The Sanctuary is privately owned, but always open to the public for appropriate use and enjoyment.
What to bring: Dress for the woods -- long sleeves, long pants, and closed toe shoes or boots. We supply gloves, equipment, and water in a 5-gallon cooler; we ask that you bring a reusable container for water that you can refill from our water cooler. We will have a release form for you to fill out when you arrive.
What will you do: We will remove invasive plants to make room for a variety of native ones, which improves ecological health. We will do this with hands, handsaws, root wrenches and chainsaws. And if you don't feel comfortable with using the equipment, don't worry. There will be plenty of other things for you to do. We will haul the cuttings into piles by the trails. We will run the cuttings through a wood chipper. We will put the wood chips on the trails. And we will pick up trash. You’ll also learn about ecological restoration, the natural and cultural heritage of the Sanctuary, and how we can all be better stewards of the Earth.
What is this place? The Headwaters Sanctuary is 53-acres of mostly urban forest, one of the last and largest forests in central San Antonio. The Sanctuary contains the historic “source” of the San Antonio River: the San Antonio Spring, more widely known as the Blue Hole (shown on map). The Sanctuary is both a federal and state protected archeological district, with evidence of human occupation going back nearly 12,000 years. There are many layers of fascinating history here. The Headwaters Sanctuary was set aside by the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word in 2008 to protect the historic land and its famous waters. They established an Earth care ministry – Headwaters at Incarnate Word, Inc. – to protect, restore, celebrate, and otherwise take care of the Sanctuary for the benefit of all. The Sanctuary is privately owned, but always open to the public for appropriate use and enjoyment.
