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Conservation Insider - August 2024
Hello {{Constituent First Name}},
What an honor it has been to be able to partake in Comal Conservation's mission of protecting land, water, and wildlife since joining as the Administrative Coordinator earlier this summer. It has been nothing but inspiring to see so many people coming together and sharing their passion for protecting the natural places we love in Comal County. This was evident at the last board meeting where the board voted in favor of a disbursement from the Comal Land Conservation Fund to Green Space Alliance in support of a conservation easement on 3.5 acres of land adjacent to Landa Park. In addition to protecting critical recharge areas for the Comal Springs, the easement will also protect one of the oldest homesites in New Braunfels.
It is exciting to see so many community events focused around the nature of the Texas Hill Country. Some upcoming events that I am particularly excited for are the Comal County Fair Parade and our Community Program, both in September. If I haven't gotten the chance to meet you yet, I would love to meet you at one of the upcoming events or at our booth in the NB Farmer's Market this Saturday. If you are interested in volunteering, there will be multiple opportunities for our upcoming events, namely the Keep It Country Music Jam on Oct. 26th, so if you are interested, please email info@comalconservatrion.org and I would be happy to get you plugged in!
Sincerely,
Shayna Ferullo Administrative Coordinator
Looking for a way to help protect Comal County's rivers and springs?
Preserving Comal County's natural beauty and rural character is a job for the whole community. Want to join the effort? Comal Conservation is looking for volunteers to help advance the conservation work in Comal County in some of the following areas:
Photography
Website Management in WordPress
Volunteering for the Keep it Country Music Jam, Oct. 26th
Help us celebrate during our first annual fundraiser, The Keep It Country Music Jam! Join us as we celebrate conservation heroes in our community, listen to some incredible local music, and raise money to preserve land, water, and wildlife in Comal County. This event at Old Tavern in the Gruene will take place on October 26th, 2024, and you won't want to miss it. Registration is live so get your tickets while you can! Learn about sponsorships Here.
Comal Conservation will be participating in the Big Give 2024, from September 18th at 6PM CST until September 19th 6PM CST!
What is the Big Give?
The Big Give is 24 hour online giving day that benefits non-profits in South Central Texas. During certain time periods throughout the 24 hours, organizations have agreed to match donations that are made to us. This means that if you make a gift to Comal Conservation under certain conditions it can be matched up to 100%
What makes Comal Conservation's approach to BIG GIVE different?
At Comal Conservation, we use all funds raised from the Big Give to go directly into our Comal Land Conservation Fund. This means that every dollar you give will go directly to support on the ground conservation easements in Comal County. Over the last year our board of directors have made two disbursements from this fund. The first was to Hill Country Conservancy in support of a conservation easement at John Knox Ranch a 300 acre faith camp in North Comal County. The second disbursement was to Green Spaces Alliance in support of a 3.5 acre easement adjacent to Landa Park.
Your support of the Comal Land Conservation Fund directly contributes to the preservation of the natural systems that make Comal County such a unique and wonderful place to live.
Favorite our Big Give Profile on your browser so when the day comes you know where to go! We will be sending out more information on how to make the most of your contribution over the next several weeks.
Community Program September 10th 2024 - 6:00pm-7:30pm The McKenna Events Center
Comal County Fair 2024
Hi Friends,
This year Comal Conservation will have an outreach booth and a parade float in the County Fair. Our volunteer crew will be out at the fairgrounds on during the Comal County Fair School Days on September 25th, 26th, and 27th
Our parade crew will begin decorating our float at 6:30am on September 27th 2024.
Come out to visit our hardworking volunteers during the Fair School Days, and if your interested in participating in the parade please reach out to Ryan Spencer at ryan@comalconservation.org
New Website and Vignette Coming Soon
The Comal Conservation Website Committee has been hard at work developing a new online merchandise portal for our efforts. The task was daunting but our crew just kept pushing and our new website should go live in early September. Huge kudos go out to our committee members: Heather, Leesa, Kim, Dirk and our chair Roxanna!
Check out this sneak peak of our new home page below!
Comal Conservation and Texas Master Naturalists Become Partners!
Over the years Comal Conservation and the the Lindheimer Chapter of the Texas Master Naturalists have developed a close working relationship. This month we can officially recognize them as partners in the work to preserve land, water, and wildlife in Comal County. We are so grateful for their efforts in Comal County and look forward to partnering with them more in the future!
The Texas Master Naturalist Program’s mission is to develop a corps of well-informed volunteers to provide education, outreach, and service dedicated to the beneficial management of natural resources and natural areas within their communities for the State of Texas.
Applications Underway for City Boards and Commissions with Fall Appointments
Applications are now being accepted for City of New Braunfels boards and commissions that have Fall appointments. Applications are due by September 30th, 2024, and appointments reaching expiration under the Fall term will end November 30th each year, with the new appointment beginning on December 1st.
Here are the committees pertaining to natural resources that are currently accepting applications:
River Advisory Committee
Parks and Recreation Advisory Board
See more details on the New Braunfels City website.
Success Story: Using Nature to Clean Storm Water
Our friends at the Headwaters at the Comal are celebrating the completion of their Phase 1 design which also came with some added benefits of decreasing the amount of pollution that enters the springs. This can be seen as result of using buffer zones, increasing the detention time of runoff, as well as increasing the distance from the nonpoint source of pollution to the springs.
The original article can be found here.
COMMUNITY EVENTS
FREE: Water Wonks Lecture Series: Prioritization of Riparian Conservation Opportunities in the Upper Guadalupe River Basin
More Event Information can be found on their website.
More information and registration can be found on their website.
New Braunfels Farmers Market
Come say hi or check out our donation incentives, such as our bandanas, stickers and totes at the NB Farmers Market this Saturday, 8/24/2024 from 9am-1pm.
Thank you for being a FRIEND OF COMAL CONSERVATION!
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