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Conservation Insider - April 2025
Hello {{Constituent First Name}},
Now that's how I celebrate Earth Month! The past 30 days have been an absolute whirlwind, and I have to start by thanking each and every one of you who helped celebrate and raise awareness of the natural systems that make Comal County so wonderful.
This month we had Earth Day proclamations at City Hall (New Braunfels) and the County Courthouse. We also celebrated Earth Day with our partners and co sponsors at Landa Park. With our partners we launched the new Texas Children in Nature: Hill Country Regional Collaborative which will help connect kids all over our county with the great outdoors. We cohosted a wildly well attended Community Program on the Management of Canyon Lake, during which our presenters from Texas Water Company, The Army Corps of Engineers, and GBRA all provided important information for our community members. Needless to say it was a wonderfully productive Earth Month.
Tomorrow I hope you will join us during our Line Up Release Party at Guadalupe Brewing Company from (5:00pm - 8:00pm). Special thanks go out to our sponsors Davidek Law Firm, House Hunters NB Real Estate, Toddcoe Aviation, and NB Par-Tee Haus who are providing drink tickets to the first 100 attendees. We also have a wonderful program now rescheduled for May 20, 2025 entitled Building Right in the Hill Country. During this program developers Banks Chisum and Garrett Mechler will highlight their projects Onera - Wimberley and Veramendi. They will also discuss the low impact development techniques they are using and how conservation plays a role in their work. It is going to be on heck of a presentation.
Now more than ever the natural systems of Comal County need your support. You can make a difference today. Consider volunteering, make a donation, speak up about the environmental issues you care about and explore the wonderful natural resources Comal County has to offer. Thank you for everything you do. I am grateful
Ryan Spencer Executive Director
Join the Comal Conservation Champions Today! By supporting Comal Conservation monthly, you provide sustaining revenue that helps us focus on conservation impact in Comal County.
Our easy peel stickers are available, for a donation, at our events and in the office. Online store coming soon. Stay tuned!
COMAL CONSERVATION EVENTS
Comal Conservation's Keep It Country Music Jam 2024 was a smashing success, and we have started our planning for the 2025 edition.
This May 1st social is going to be our talent unveiling party for the 2025 concert which is scheduled for October 25, 2025. Local artist Trevor Underwood will be performing for us this evening at Guadalupe Brewing Co. to help kick off our live music series and our reveal of the lineup for the event in October.
You can find Guadalupe Brewing Company at: 1586 Wald Rd, New Braunfels, TX 78132
Come mingle with others who have a passion for helping to preserve land, water, and wildlife in Comal County.
We hope to see you there!
Our Comal Conservation Presents series is becoming more popular and we are really enjoying seeing each and every one of you in person. Getting to know you is a pleasure. Come by, say hello, and stay for the knowledge share!
Volunteers Needed! Help Preserve Land, Water, and Wildlife Today!
Comal Conservation is a grassroots volunteer driven nonprofit and we need your help now more than ever. If you're interested in supporting our community programs, spreading the word during outreach events, helping to update our website, or keeping up with our social media accounts we would love your help. Learn more about our work at www.comalconservation.org and sign up to be a volunteer below:
We are so grateful to our partners, the League of Women Voters of the Comal Area, and the Tye Preston Memorial Library for helping bring this together. Thank you to our panelists, GBRA, Fort Worth District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and The Texas Water Company for sharing their knowledge. However, the real kudos goes to the hundreds of Comal County, Texas residents who showed up in support of Canyon Lake and the Guadalupe River. For those of you who didn’t make it into the event please check out this recording. We will be going through the question cards that we received and post answers ASAP.
Comal Conservation has moved in and made it front door official.
We are located inside the McKenna Center, currently available by appointment, love to see a friendly face and shake a good hand.
Comal Conservation
801 West San Antonio St.
New Braunfels, Tx 78130
ryan@comalconservation.org
brandi@comalconservation.org
Combating 'nature-deficit disorder'
By Frank Dietz (Comal Conservation Board Member)
Good conversations have been prompted from last month’s column. It and the presentation at the McKenna Center discussion of children and youth finding opportunities to learn and discover in our natural world have been notable.
The facilitator of our Texas Children in Nature Network, Sarah Coles, spent the evening helping us appreciate the vast benefits when we address Richard Louv’s alarms about our growing “nature-deficit disorder” among our young, and, not so young. Both Sarah and our Comal Conservation Executive Director, Ryan Spencer, point to the evident positive impacts for physical and mental health among our youngsters. Similarly, local resident and columnist Dennis Patrick Slattery added to the discussion as he reflected on “nature, wildness and the human spirit.” Several readers who reached out to me indicated, “This topic is spot on!” Some asked, “How can we capture the interest of our local officials and voters?”
We are smack-dab in the middle of spring, a season when nature is most productive. It is a time when we are most encouraged to make our yards look the best they can. There is just enough rain to make the bluebonnets and Indian paintbrush grace the sides of the road but not enough to sustainably maintain the “ideal” lawn. Fortunately, landscaping includes much more than turf, and there are ways we can rejuvenate our yards while keeping water usage to a minimum. Xeriscaping, permaculture, and hugelkultur are a few terms that have been floating around the gardening community, and all are water-wise, drought-mindful, and sustainable practices that we can incorporate into our landscaping.
While a relatively new practice compared to the others, xeriscaping was born from a period of water shortages in Denver, Colorado. To deal with a lack of water, homeowners who wanted to maintain their yards turned to native vegetation that was appropriate for the climate. Although xeriscaping is associated with desert-like landscapes, it is appropriate for any climate. The main idea is to only use drought-tolerant, native plants in your yard and rely on mulch to retain moisture.
Similar to xeriscaping, permaculture relies on native plants with low water requirements. Permaculture is the practice of working with one’s natural landscape to live more ecologically and sustainably. When incorporating permaculture into your lawn, the goal is to emulate natural ecosystems to minimize environmental impact and promote a resilient landscape. Using native plants, permaculture attracts native pollinators and insects that are beneficial to our ecoregion.
As a method of gardening that can be incorporated into xeriscapes and permaculture, hugelkultur is the practice of layering a garden bed to promote self-watering and self-fertilizing. A hugelkultur mound’s bottom layer is comprised of tree stumps, trunks, and large branches; followed by smaller branches, twigs, leaves, and garden debris; with a middle layer of manure, compost, and soil; topped with more compost, topsoil, and mulch. The bottom layers act as a sponge, absorbing water and wicking it to the roots planted in the hugelkultur mound.
Together, these three practices allow for low-maintenace, productive, sustainable, self-sufficient landscapes. The common thread is to plant native. Planting native promotes biodiversity and cuts the cost of conventional lawns because you decrease fertilizer runoff, maintenance emissions, and heat absorption. If you are unsure what plants to use in your landscape, use the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center’s plant database. This database gives information on whether a plant is native and provides details on growing conditions, benefits, and plant characteristics. Native plants of Comal County that have low water requirements include esperanza, flame acanthus, lantana, living rock cactus, red yucca, and agave. If or when you decide to plant, invest in amended soil. Soil rich in organic matter can store water while also draining at the same time. To water, use drips and soaker hoses that water the base of the plants directly and prevent water evaporation.
It is important that we work with nature while being mindful of our resources. Despite the ongoing drought, it is possible to create a beautiful, water-wise yard that people and pollinators enjoy. You can take even a small area and turn it into an oasis for butterflies, bees, and yourself. There is no better time than the present to revitalize our yards and do so in a mindful manner.
COMAL CONSERVATION IN THE NEWS
Texas Children in Nature Network launches Hill Country chapter By Amira Van Leeuwen
Ryan Spencer, executive director of Comal Conservation, speaks during the launch of Hill Country Texas Children in Nature Network Collaborative on April 7. (Amira Van Leeuwen/Community Impact)
Closed boat ramps, watering restrictions and low water levels are all signs of the ongoing drought conditions in Comal County that are drawing concerns over economic, environmental and real human impacts within the community.
Perhaps the most staggering evidence of the county’s drought are historically-low levels at Canyon Lake, which have led to despair from locals who grew up with fond memories of the lake.
Donated land will be turned into a Hill Country nature sanctuary By Liz Teitz
The red pin shows the location of the future Clora Edna Haier Nature Sanctuary on the north side of Canyon Lake. The Haier family donated about 39 acres to Comal County to create the sanctuary.
Google Earth
Comal County plans to open a new public nature sanctuary on the north side of Canyon Lake, using land donated to the county this week.
Commissioners voted unanimously Thursday to approve a gift agreement with Christchurch Texas L.P. to accept the 39.3 acres on Hancock Road, south of FM 306 near Canyon Lake Airport. Bobby Haier, the principal of Christchurch Texas L.P., reached out to the county about the donation a few months ago, county staff said.
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Comal Conservation PO Box 2804 Canyon Lake, TX 78133
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