Headwaters Sanctuary<\/a> was unveiled Thursday, aimed at enhancing the visitor experience while protecting the natural beauty of the 53-acre nature preserve. The sanctuary is home to the historic Blue Hole spring, the source of the San Antonio River.<\/p>\nThe big announcement came during the third annual Headwaters Sanctuary Fundraiser, emceed by Fox SA anchor Ashley Paredez.<\/p>\n
The event honored the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, who established the sanctuary in 2005. Among those recognized were the late Sister Alice Marie Holden for her service and generous donation and Sister Yolanda Tarango for a decade of leadership. HEB was also recognized for funding the master plan, along with longtime volunteer Jay Collins.<\/p>\n
A new vision for the Headwaters Sanctuary<\/p>\n
The only nature sanctuary in downtown San Antonio has offered a peaceful escape from the city growing around it for more than two decades. Now, the goal is to expand its reach, bringing more people to experience the natural beauty and rich history of the hidden treasure.<\/p>\n
The new 10-year master plan lays the groundwork to make that happen. It addresses everything from conservation and preservation to educational programming and making the sanctuary more accessible to visitors.<\/p>\n
“As the city grows, this becomes more essential,” Headwaters Executive Director Pamela Ball said. “We have pedestrian trails, that is it. One must come on foot. One must take a moment and be immersed in nature, quiet, aware of your surroundings.”<\/p>\n
Urban Alchemy Collective was brought on last year to develop the master plan, working alongside a steering committee to identify the sanctuary’s needs and priorities.<\/p>\n
“We want people to be aware of it,” said Colt Yorek, director of landscape architecture at Urban Alchemy Collective. “A lot of people just don’t know that it’s here, and so a big part of that was the branding and identity.”<\/p>\n
One of the first priorities is creating a dedicated entrance to help visitors find their way into the sanctuary. The proposed entrance would be along East Olmos Drive from Highway 281.<\/p>\n
“We don’t have a sign out there to the public letting them know we exist,” Ball said. “And we want to share this blessing with the community.”<\/p>\n
But with new improvements comes the need to protect what makes the sanctuary special. All 53 acres are protected under a conservation agreement, meaning new construction would be confined to a small portion of the property while the rest remains in natural state. Among the proposed additions is a visitor center.<\/p>\n
Ball described it as “a welcoming site that is the starting point for a personal adventure into the sanctuary.”<\/p>\n
From there, five existing trails would lead visitors through newly created, distinct zones.<\/p>\n
“We have the Cathedral of Trees,” Yorek said. “It’s a really beautiful place where you have a trail, you have really tall tree canopy, and you have a different experience than you would against another zone that’s along the creek.”<\/p>\n
Plans also include educational signs highlighting the sanctuary’s history and natural features.<\/p>\n
The master plan also addresses another challenge: erosion. Heavy rains can send water rushing into the sanctuary, both from runoff and releases from Olmos Dam.<\/p>\n
Ball said planners are looking at “where we need to adjust our trails for the long term, for the safe passage of pedestrians and our volunteers and to protect areas that are under pressure.”<\/p>\n
The next step is turning the vision into reality. That will take fundraising and the continued dedication of volunteers who help care for the land – from building trails to removing invasive plants.<\/p>\n
“I’m really excited about just to see the younger generations that are able to partake and kind of start leaving their mark and contributing towards the history in the making,” said Mark Maldonado, CEO of Urban Alchemy Collective.<\/p>\n
The hope is that more people will soon discover the hidden treasure for themselves.<\/p>\n
“For some individuals, it’ll be their first visit, and they will need a map and maybe a little more guidance,” Ball said. “For those who have been before, an opportunity to go on an adventure of their own making.”<\/p>\n
If you’d like to volunteer<\/a> at the Headwaters Sanctuary, volunteer sessions are held Wednesday, Friday and Saturday mornings for three hours.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SAN ANTONIO \u2014 A hidden gem in the heart of San Antonio has a new vision for the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":460908,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[82,84,83],"class_list":["post-460907","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-antonio","tag-san-antonio","tag-san-antonio-headlines","tag-san-antonio-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/460907","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=460907"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/460907\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/460908"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=460907"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=460907"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=460907"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}