TEXAS — More than half of the vegetation along the Guadalupe River was destroyed in last July’s flood. The Hill Country Alliance is leading the charge to restore the greenery in the area.
“We’ve been working with landowners literally since July Fourth,” said Daniel Oppenheimer, Hill Country Alliance’s program director. “It’s not only about healing ourselves, healing our communities, but healing the river, and we think those processes can and should and do go hand in hand.”
To continue healing the riverbanks, the Hill Country Alliance identified 230 locals with flood-impacted land. The group then gave them plants to revive naked spaces near the water.
“Native grasses and sedges that they’re going to take home to plant on their riverbanks,” said Oppenheimer, “to help stabilize the banks and protect the river and help with flood recovery.”
Oppenheimer said this is the first of many plant giveaways aimed at improving the health of the river, which is an important step in flood recovery.
“We’ve got what’s called a white-top sedge, which has a beautiful white flower,” Oppenheimer said. “Some bushy blue-stem grasses.”
“These are going to get to be significant size just in 60 days, so don’t laugh at them,” said retired wildlife biologist Steve Nelle.
The chosen landowners are learning how to enhance the riparian zone along the river’s edge.
“They will need to be planted directly at the water’s edge to be able to keep them in contact with the water,” said Ryan McGillicuddy with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
With support from partners like the Community Foundation, San Antonio Botanical Garden and Texas Parks and Wildlife, the plants came at no cost to residents.
“In the next year, these things should really help stabilize the banks and also start to germinate, spread seed down river and really help with the overall flood recovery,” Oppenheimer said.