Join us for the 2nd annual Roots & Wings Festival at Dottie Jordan Park! Lots of local organizations will be on hand with fun activities for the entire family - Austin Public Library's Bookmobile, Storytime, Live Music, Kids’ Tree Climb, Art Activities and more! Tour the community garden, find out where the birds live, and take home a free tree courtesy of TreeFolks!

Step into the embrace of Mother Nature and experience the magic of community healing at our Greater Austin YMCA's event! Join us for a soul-nourishing day amidst the serene beauty of the great outdoors, as we unite to honor the profound connection between humanity and the natural world:

Yoga Under the Trees: Find your inner tranquility as we gather under the canopy of gentle trees for a peaceful yoga session. Our experienced yoga instructor will lead you through calming poses and mindful breath, allowing you to fully embrace the serenity of the natural surroundings.

Our other free YMCA For All events happening during the Roots & Wings Festival:

Oct 21 - Guided Trail Run with Ashlee (10am)

Oct 28 - Nature Scavenger Hunt (10am)

Don't miss this incredible opportunity to be part of the Greater Austin YMCA's events celebrating the healing power of community in nature with the Roots & Wings Festival! See you there!

Stay connected at: https://www.austinymca.org/

PLEASE NOTE THE PEASE PARK PLANTING PARTY HAS BEEN RESCHEDULED AND WILL TAKE PLACE ON SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 5TH FROM 9:00-11:00 AM.

We’re excited to be hosting an official Roots & Wings Festival Event! The Roots & Wings Festival is held from Wednesday, October 18, through Saturday, November 5, and is a community-wide celebration honoring Arbor Day and Monarch Appreciation Day in Austin. Join us in celebrating the Roots & Wings Festival on November 5th at the Pease Park Planting Party: A Roots & Wings Festival Event.

Join us in Live Oak Meadow as we care for and learn about an area of the park that was once overrun by invasive bamboo. Through community efforts, this area will now be a grove of native plants for local fauna to enjoy.

Non-native and invasive species, like bamboo, make it difficult for these plant species to thrive and can limit the availability of sustenance and other resources for organisms.

On the other hand native pollinator species can play a huge positive role in our central Texas ecosystem. Not only are they enchanting, but they provide much needed food and shelter for many species in our region; all while braving the unique conditions of the region.

Over the course of the last year, with the help of volunteers and leadership from the Conservancy’s Conservation Team, Pease Park Conservancy cleared a 2254 square foot patch of invasive bamboo and has undertaken the restoration of the space into a native landscape. To further enhance the habitat, we are revitalizing the area and planting native plants that will provide for the park’s ecosystem - and we want YOU to come join us!

We will be planting pollinator plants and trees while simultaneously learning how to create pollinator habitats in our own homes.

Please park in the parking lot of Live Oak Meadow or use street parking along Parkway. Once you arrive please walk north on the trail as we will be working on the northside of the 24th street bridge.

The Roots & Wings Festival is brought to you by the City of Austin and community partners. Learn more and find additional events at www.rootsandwingsfest.com.

All ages welcome (children must have adult supervision)

A note about Pease Park Conservancy's events:
If you sign up, please make every effort to show up. Our events are free so all of our community members can attend. But we plan our events to be meaningful for the number of people who register to be there, so please make every effort to attend if you have registered. We understand things come up from time to time, but If you have registered we look forward to having you there! Thank you!

Join us for a lovely fall day at Blair Woods Nature Preserve, a 10-acre preserve in East Austin with wheelchair- and stroller-friendly trails, historic buildings, and beautiful natural features. Explore the trails and learn about the wide diversity of plant and animal life found in Central Texas, as well as the unique history of this urban green space.

We'll have guided walks to observe the fascinating worlds of fungi and insects, hear stories about the history of Blair Woods, and a walk led by Latino Outdoors focused on recharging and relaxing in nature (¡Paseo disponible en Español!). These walks are free to attend and require advance registration to reserve your spot. Visitors are encouraged to register for as many walks as they’d like. Visit Travis Audubon’s website to register here.

Travis Audubon birders will be available to discuss fall migration, including binocular tips and recommendations for the best birding spots around Austin. There will also be a kid-friendly scavenger hunt (offered in English and Spanish), and native flower seed balls.

Weather permitting, Austin Wildlife Rescue's Tortellini the tortoise will be there to greet you!

This is a public event at Mariposa to continue the contribution of their school community and install a Native Four Directions plant bed, including pollinator plants, medicinals, and edibles!

Join us for an environmental stewardship service event, supporting Roots & Wings Festival 2023! Attendees will be outside planting trees and Texas native plants to attract pollinators.

Participate, discover, and learn the importance of creating sustainable habitats for butterflies and other pollinators.

There will be an opportunity to plant TX native trees, perennials, and spread wildflower seeds. All are welcome for this life changing adventure!

Join us for a day of fun at Festival Beach Food Forest!

On Saturday, November 4th, we are hosting a special community event to celebrate our trees, plants, pollinators, fungi, and everything in between. This event is also a part of It's My Park Day from 9am-12pm.

¡Ven a pasar un día de diversión en el bosque de alimentos! 

El sábado 4 de noviembre, estamos organizando un evento especial para celebrar nuestros árboles, plantas, polinizadores, hongos y todo lo que nos rodea. Este evento también es parte del Festival Raíces y Alas (Roots & Wings Festival).

RSVP Here for this Event!

9am-12pm - Educational Work Session

Our day will begin with an introduction to regenerative stewardship and our forest.  Throughout the morning work session participants will have the opportunity to learn about tree care, pollinator planting, soil health, and fungal support.  Along with forest maintenance and care, we will be planting 100+ pollinator plants throughout the forest. If you would like to join our work session please register through IMPD Givepulse Event page here.

9pm-12pm - "It's My Park Day" Sesión de Trabajo Educativa
Nuestro día comenzará con una introducción a nuestro bosque y al concepto de gestión regenerativa. A lo largo de la sesión de trabajo de la mañana, los participantes tendrán la oportunidad de aprender sobre el cuidado de los árboles, la plantación de polinizadores, la salud del suelo y el apoyo que ofrecen los hongos. Además del mantenimiento y cuidado del bosque, plantaremos más de 100 plantas polinizadoras. Si desea asistir el Sesión de Trabajo Educativa, confirme su asistencia aquí.

 12:00pm - 2:00pm Picnic in the Pecan Circle

Then, we will celebrate our progress and planting for the day with live music, a community meal, and family friendly activities in the pecan circle. 

Activities include:

·       Make your own wildflower seed balls

·       Pollinator Plant Walks

·       Enjoy teas made with forest plants

·       Kids Nature Play Activities

12:00pm - 2:00pm - Picnic en el Círculo de las Nueces (Pecan Circle)

Luego, celebraremos nuestro progreso y la siembra del día con música en vivo, un almuerzo comunitario y actividades familiares en el círculo de nueces.

Actividades incluidas:

• Haz tus propias bolas de semillas de flores silvestres

• Paseos guiados para aprender sobre las plantas polinizadoras

• Disfruta de tés elaborados con plantas de nuestro mismo bosque

• Actividades de juego para niños en la naturaleza

Please wear light, comfortable clothing and a sun hat/sun protection; Hand tools and gloves are provided; Bring your water bottles; See you there, rain or shine!

Por favor use ropa ligera y cómoda, un sombrero y protección solar. Trae tu botella de agua. Se proporcionarán herramientas y guantes.
¡Nos vemos pronto!

You can also learn more about some of our partners:

Central Texas Mycological Society - https://www.centraltexasmycology.org

Herbal Action Project - https://www.herbalactionproject.com

Herbalists Without Borders - https://www.hwbglobal.org

Travis County Master Gardeners - https://www.tcmastergardeners.org

Wildflower School of Botanical Medicine - https://wildflowerherbschool.com

También puede obtener más información sobre algunos de nuestros socios:

• Sociedad Micológica del Centro de Texas -  https://www.centraltexasmycology.org

• Escuela de Medicina Botánica de Flores Silvestres -https://wildflowerherbschool.com

• Proyecto de Acción Herbaria:  https://www.herbalactionproject.com

• Herbolarios Sin Fronteras - https://www.hwbglobal.org

• Jardineros maestros del condado de Travis -  https://www.tcmastergardeners.org

Join us at Laguna Gloria for an evening of exploration and celebration! We are excited to be part of this year’s Roots and Wings Festival! While here, make art inspired by the rich flora and fauna of Laguna Gloria, learn more about how you can help support the pollinators in our city, and enjoy exploring all the art and nature Laguna Gloria has to offer!

Check out TheContemporaryAustin.org for more information on what the evening will hold!

We can't wait to see you!

Monarchs on Manor is back again this year more to celebrate butterflies, trees and other pollinators. It will be held on Día de los Muertos, the traditional Mexican holiday that was based around monarch migration.

There will be seed pod giveaways, a reading from the book Skydancer: Adventures of a Monarch Butterfly, and much more. Free and open to all ages.

In case of rain, this event will be held inside the Butterfly Bar or Vortex theatre.

Event hosted by Full Gallop.

Learn about the Mexican tradition of Dia de los Muertos with this fun storytelling program of flannelgraphs, shadow puppet show, La Catrina song and dance, followed by butterfly puppet and skull mask-making crafts.

THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELED.

Join the Dr. General Marshall Middle School students, staff and families for a Community Roots and Wings Bike Ride to enjoy Austin's bike-friendly trails and lanes in a supportive environment!

We will have a pre-ride ceremonial planting of herbs in one of our new raised bed gardens, then we will ride out together to Ghisallo's “Trick or Treat on the Trail” event.

Along the way we will provide native wildflower seeds to “seed bomb" our path.

Costumes representing your favorite root or wing organism is highly encouraged (fungi, pecan tree, hummingbirds, monarch, bumblebee riders unite!)

We will return back to Marshall to enjoy refreshments inspired by herbs and plants from local gardens!

Patterson Park Community Garden invites the community to a Saturday morning full of family-friendly fun!

We will have a fall plant giveaway with native flowers and vegetables to support our pollinators before they hibernate for the fall. The first 100 people will get free ice cream from a local vendor. We will have booths set up to learn about backyard honey beekeeping, the Austin Butterfly Forum, and the Austin purple martin group.

Our event will start at 10am and end around 12pm. Come out and meet fellow community garden members and explore our community garden!

Step into the embrace of Mother Nature and experience the magic of community healing at our Greater Austin YMCA's event! Join us for a soul-nourishing day amidst the serene beauty of the great outdoors, as we unite to honor the profound connection between humanity and the natural world.

Nature Scavenger Hunt for Families: Calling all families, rain or shine! Embark on a thrilling and educational scavenger hunt through the heart of nature. Assemble your teams and explore the wonders of the great outdoors, discovering hidden treasures and fascinating insights along the way. This engaging activity is perfect for fostering community, sparking curiosity, and creating memories with loved ones.

This event serves as a powerful reminder of the healing potential that blossoms when we come together as a community, embracing the richness of the natural world. Let's celebrate the bonds we form with nature and with one another, as we strengthen our collective commitment to nurturing a healthier, happier, and more sustainable planet.

Our other free YMCA For All events happening during the Roots & Wings Festival:

Oct 21 - Guided Trail Run with Ashlee (10am)

Nov 5 - Outdoor Yoga with Scott (10:30am)

Don't miss this incredible opportunity to be part of the Greater Austin YMCA's events celebrating the healing power of community in nature with the Roots & Wings Festival! See you there!

Stay connected at: https://www.austinymca.org/

Looking for a garden pick me up after a long hot summer? Look no further! Fall back in love with gardening at the Grow Green Fall Garden Party on 10/28!

Come chat with horticulture professionals that focus on creek-friendly gardening and take home a plant, a tree, a mushroom block, and more! Bring your dull & dirty tools to learn how to sharpen & clean them at our tool tent. And don’t forget your kids at home – we will have plenty of crafts & activities for all ages including a seed ball making station.

For those of you with specific plant issues, a Master Gardener will be available to answer your questions at our plant clinic. And for folks interested in attracting more pollinators to their own garden parties, we will have a “Gardening for Pollinators” presentation at 10:30am. Refreshments, snacks, & good gardening vibes will be plentiful. Costumes are always encouraged, especially plant themed. See you there!

The closest parking for attendees is in the lot at 2714 ½ Webberville Rd.

Daytime turns into night at the Caretaker’s Cottage while we explore the wide world of pollinators beyond butterflies and bees! Learn how bats, beetles, and more help make Austin the beautiful green city that it is, using a tactile matching game created by Park Rangers.

Give yourself “monarch vision" by using UV flashlights. Finally, leave the event with seed packets of night-blooming plants, and give those amazing nocturnal pollinators an excuse to visit your backyard or community garden.

Join Zilker Botanical Garden in our Roots and Wings Festival Celebration! Visit the Garden to celebrate trees, pollinators, and our community where you can learn how to maintain trees, tag butterflies for scientific research, build homes for local pollinators, and much more. This large festival features crafts, activities, and workshops throughout the day, so be sure to check our website for the day’s schedule.

Crafts and activities will be available in the Oak Grove from 10am-2pm with workshops throughout the day.

All festival events included with Admission, free for Conservancy members, and Museums for All.

Wing your way to the Southeast Branch Library for our first ever Butterfly Festival, a family event where we will be celebrating the butterfly and its connections to Dia de los Muertos. Take a look at our butterfly habitat where painted lady butterflies are growing, make butterfly crafts, and learn about the butterfly life cycle with Texas Master Naturalists. Then, enjoy a butterfly-themed Día de los Muertos performance and refreshments.

The Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas Annual Flu-a-palooza event, hosted at IDEA Bluff Springs, is proud to include a Roots and Wings Festival activity! Everyone is invited to learn about interesting trees and plants, create plantable seed paper to take home, participate in the trunk-or-treat event, and take photos with Blue Bear!

Flu and COVID vaccines are available for everyone, and children's vaccines, provided by Austin Public Health, are available to the uninsured.

Come one, come all to celebrate the Roots & Wings Festival 2023 with a Dual-Language Storytime highlighting all the great things about pollinators and our wildlife friends!

Learn about the Mexican tradition of Dia de los Muertos with this fun storytelling program of flannelgraphs, shadow puppet show, La Catrina song and dance, followed by butterfly puppet and skull mask-making crafts!

Join Families in Nature and the Monarch Sanctuary Project for our best Roots and Wings Festival collaboration yet! Enjoy an evening of free family friendly fun, while celebrating the beauty and importance of our Texas state insect, the Monarch Butterfly. Throughout the night we will explore many types of connection: To ourselves, the land, the monarchs and to each other. Come for the whole evening or swing by for your favorite program!

5-6 pm Monarch Mindfulness

Join Forest Therapy Guide, Jo, and Yoga Instructor, Sonia, for an hour of exploring our senses and relaxing our bodies through a monarch inspired forest bathing and intuitive life cycle movement workshop. Bring your own yoga mat, blanket, or borrow one of ours!

6-7:30 pm Gardening For Monarchs Workshop and Education Stations

After connecting to yourself and the nature around you, swing by our demonstration garden space near the playground to get your hands dirty during a hands on native planting workshop. Take home free native nectar and milkweed plants, pick your favorites from our seed bar, explore the world of UV with a flower craft and visit our Monarch Larvae Monitoring Project table for a free monitoring kit!

7:30-8:30 pm “Flight of the Butterflies" Showing

Wind down after a job well done and garden well planted for a showing of the inspiring documentary, “Flight of the Butterflies." Enjoy light refreshments and snacks while lounging on the lawn with comfy blankets and chairs!

This is a bilingual event, featuring Spanish speaking staff, resources and movie captions.

Rain date is Sunday, Oct. 22nd from 5-9pm.

Join us at the Milwood Branch of the Austin Public Library for a fun family event for all ages! Activities include a nature scavenger hunt, seedball crafts, plant propagation station, and plant and seed swap.

Step into the embrace of Mother Nature and experience the magic of community healing at our Greater Austin YMCA's event! Rain or shine, join us for a soul-nourishing day amidst the serene beauty of the great outdoors, as we unite to honor the profound connection between humanity and the natural world.

Guided Trail Run with Ashlee: Lace up your running shoes and set forth on an invigorating guided trail run around Lady Bird Lake. Feel the earth beneath your feet and breathe in the rejuvenating scent of nature as you bond with fellow enthusiasts along the way. Whether you're an experienced runner or a novice, this adventure promises to inspire and revitalize your spirit.

Our other free YMCA For All events happening during the Roots & Wings Festival:

Oct 28 - Nature Family Scavenger Hunt (10am)

Nov 5 - Outdoor Yoga with Scott (10:30am)

Don't miss this incredible opportunity to be part of the Greater Austin YMCA's events celebrating the healing power of community in nature with the Roots & Wings Festival! See you there!

Stay connected at: https://www.austinymca.org/

Join us at Grand Meadow Park for natural world storytelling and games with the Central Texas Cherokee Township! Win prizes playing stickball and chunkey! We will have three sisters garden seeds and lessons available for all. Kids are welcome to join activities such as making butterflies. Snacks and coffee will be available.

Rain Date: Sunday, 10/22, 10am - 1pm

Join us for a family-focused event to get kids out in nature, learning about ecological restoration, and helping to plant beneficial species to support pollinators! Hosted by Ecology Action.

Rain Date: Sat. Oct. 28, 9:30am - 12:30pm

A storytime featuring butterflies for Roots & Wings at the North Austin Community Garden with a butterfly craft and live caterpillars to raise into butterflies at home!

If rain, this event will be moved into the Little Walnut Creek Library.

Join The Trail Conservancy in spreading native wildflower seeds around Lady Bird Lake! TTC staff will train and educate volunteers on seeding techniques, the importance of pollinators, and the overall stewardship of the Hike-and-Bike Trail. All tools, gloves, and materials will be provided.

Google map to Festival Beach and Nearest Parking

For more info about volunteering, visit: Thetrailconservancy.org/support/volunteer-opportunities/

Join the City of Austin Park Rangers on a tour of the historic Caretaker's Cottage in Zilker Park! At the top of every hour, Rangers will be leading a tree walk through the Cottage grounds, teaching participants to identify, care for, and meaningfully connect with our arboreal friends. The event will finish with a seedball making activity, and participants will go home with a pollinator-friendly resource they can easily add to their own yards or community gardens.

Join us for a family friendly bioblitz and scavenger hunt to see the forest in a new light at this Roots & Wings Festival event! We will explore and document the diverse, nocturnal ecosystem of Circle Acres with UV flashlights and cameras to look for night pollinators, birds, glowing plants, fungus, lichens and more. Reserve your spot here!

This event will highlight fungi’s role in transforming a former dumpsite into a thriving urban forest. Learn how fungi is entangled in the forest helping plants gain water and nutrients, creating the pigments that give flowers their beautiful colors, to helping plants communicate with pollinators. We will have UV flashlights and ACC will have a mothing set-up so we can attract and see the diverse, nocturnal ecosystem in a new light. Guests will learn how to look for, photograph and be community scientists in adding fluorescing organisms to the iNaturalist project. 

Come early to tour and see the growth of the trees planted for the Healthy Soils, Healthy Trees research project. Learn how to build healthy soil using recycled mushroom blocks. We will also be doing demos on how to inoculate logs to grow mushrooms and also break down logs so their nutrients can be returned to the soil. 

As always, we will be giving away recycled mushroom blocks, and warm reishi mushroom tea and snacks will be available. Get creative with glowing outfits, face paint and don’t forget your camera and tripod.
Learn more here about how some plants, mushrooms, lichens and insects have evolved color patterns that are visible in the ultraviolet portion of the electromagnetic light spectrum, which humans cannot see but many insects, birds and animals can see.

RSVP required- Reserve your spot here!

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED: HELP WITH DECORATING AND BREAK-DOWN!

Park in the first lot by softball fields at Roy G. Guerrero Park, 400 Grove Blvd and walk towards ACC until you see the the Circle Acres entrance and sign.

Rain date: Monday, Oct. 30, 6-9pm

Learn how to make your natural space more inviting to butterflies by making eco-friendly crafts and choosing some butterfly friendly seeds to take home.