SACU and Texas Public Radio (TPR) joined community partners to xeriscape the entrances to Brackenridge Park, as an official event of National Public Lands Day.

More than 100 volunteers from SACU and the TPR listening audience met just after dawn to plant more than one thousand shrubs and bedding plants at Broadway at Funston. To protect the planting and help conserve water, they spread a generous layer of mulch over the beds.

SACU sponsors this project to help educate the public about xeriscape planting and leave a lasting spot of beauty in the community. There is a common misconception that "xeriscape" means using rocks and cactus. In San Antonio colorful xeric plants such as esperanza and bougainvillea thrive, once established, needing very little water to sustain them. A focus of the project was not only to make the parks beautiful but also to be good stewards of the water supply.

These projects also are done at no cost to the community using volunteer labor and donated plants from local nurseries. Community partners include San Antonio Water Systems, San Antonio Parks & Recreation and Master Gardeners, as well as local landscaping companies. This is the seventh project of its type that the partners have undertaken in recent years.

Previous year's projects include San Pedro Springs Park (2001); Woodlawn Lake Park (2002); Madison Square Park (2003); Cortez Library (2004); Comanche Peak Park/Semmes Library (2005); and OP Schnabel Park (2006).