The Native Plant Society of Texas selected Judy Walther and David Mahler to receive the 2021 Charles Leonard Weddle Memorial Award. The award commemorates a lifetime of achievement in the...
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Stan Wilson, ESC General Manager and Certified Ecological Restoration Practitioner (CERP), has been working to restore the riparian landscape along the Comal and Guadalupe rivers and their tributaries since 2019. This work is coordinated by the Edwards Aquifer Habitat Conservation Plan (EAHCP), which is funded by municipal water customers in the major counties within the Edwards Aquifer contributing, recharge, and artesian zones. Recently, EAHCP profiled our restoration work at Landa…
Did you know that August is Water Quality Month? The work the we do at ESC is entirely in service to our natural resources, including water! Our services include green storm water infrastructure, as well as native landscape design and installation that reduces or even eliminates the need for irrigation, supplemental feeding, and herbicide, all of which can negatively affect our shared waterways. In addition to our regular work, our…
Green Infrastructure for Your Yard With increasing pressure to better handle flood events and improve water quality, many municipalities (including the City of Austin) are implementing measures to slow down, retain, and treat stormwater on-site, allowing it to permeate into the groundwater while carrying less runoff pollution. The methods for accomplishing this are collectively known as green infrastructure. While cities are funding these projects with public money and installing them…
Zilker Botanical Gardens Stream Restoration Project – Evolution of a Stream This photo essay illustrates ESC’s process for restoring the stream below the Taniguchi Gardens in the Zilker Botanical Garden.
ESC Completes Two Year Program Daylighting and Restoring Urban Creek at Oak Springs In late 2016, ESC completed the restoration of a creek that had been previously capped off and channeled underground. Existing vegetation was limited to exotic turfgrass and other quick-cover species. ESC’s restoration work was performed in conjunction with the City of Austin Watershed Protection Department. The site, at the corner of Tillery St. and Oak Springs Dr.,…
ESC will be well-represented at this year’s “Urban Riparian Symposium: Balancing the Challenges of Healthy Urban Streams,” being held in Houston, Texas, February 15-17 at Rice University. Presentations include: David Mahler — Giant Ragweed (Ambrosia trifida): Why This Native Annual Becomes a Problem in Urban Riparian Corridors.” David will discuss his findings on why giant ragweed is not a problem at the Spicewood Ranch, but is a problem in urban…
ESC Leading Numerous Water Quality Projects in Austin’s Urban Core Over the past three years Environmental Survey Consulting (ESC) has engaged in numerous projects along Lady Bird Lake and contributing creeks, all of which serve to stabilize vulnerable riparian slopes, catch and treat runoff from impervious cover, and slow down and dissipate storm flows to reduce flood severity. By using the principles of ecological restoration on these projects, ESC is…