Horseshoe Bay Nature Park gets grant for educational signs

Lower Colorado River Authority and Pedernales Electric Cooperative representatives on Dec. 7 presented a community grant check to the Horseshoe Bay Nature Park board to be used on educational signs. Pictured are park board Secretary Vicki Adcock (left), park board Treasurer Andy Thurman, PEC Community Outreach specialist Celeste Mikeska, LCRA board member Margaret Voelter, park board member Kyle Womack, LCRA board member Michael Allen, park board Vice President Johnny White, LCRA board member Carol Freeman, park board President Steve Jordan, and LCRA Regional Affairs representative Susan Patten. Courtesy photo

A $17,571 grant from the Lower Colorado River Authority and Pedernales Electric Cooperative will help fund educational signs at Horseshoe Bay Nature Park.

The Community Development Partnership Program grant, along with roughly $13,500 in matching funds from the park, will pave the way for 15 signs explaining wildlife, geology, water conservation, trees, and plants along a half-mile stretch of walking trail. 

The money was presented on Dec. 7.

“We are very proud of our Horseshoe Bay Nature Park,” said park board President Steve Jordan. “We had the grand opening in December (2021) and have received very complimentary remarks and support. This grant is not only timely, but will also allow us to add what will be the crowning feature of the nature park.”

The community grant is one of 46 recently awarded through LCRA’s Community Development Partnership Program, which helps volunteer fire departments, local governments, emergency responders, and nonprofit organizations fund capital improvement projects in LCRA’s wholesale electric, water, and transmission service areas. PEC is one of LCRA’s wholesale electric customers and a partner in the program.

Applications for the next round of grants will be accepted in January. More information is available online.

Local experts from the Highland Lakes Master Naturalists, Native Plant Society, and Highland Lakes Birding and Wildflower Society will help develop information for the signs.

Covering 11 acres, Horseshoe Bay Nature Park is designed to attract wildlife and birds and is home to hundreds of species of plants. Park features include a walking trail, a bird blind, an observation deck, rainfall harvesting tanks, and benches where visitors can observe the park’s natural aesthetic. (Stroll through Horseshoe Bay Nature Park.)

Jordan estimates about 2,500 people visited the park in its first year.

“We have not only received support from the local schools but also organizations such as the Boys and Girls Club, Boy Scouts, and the Phoenix Center, who are eager to have their field trips there once the interpretive signage has been installed,” he said.

nathan@thepicayune.com