In the News
Opening of Phil Hardberger Park
Offers visitors ‘passport to nature’
Date: May 15, 2010
Contact: Kelly Irvin/207-6122
Visitors to Phil Hardberger Park during Grand Opening festivities Saturday found themselves entering a world inhabited by butterflies, birds of prey, thickets of native plants and animal life that included Holstein cattle, baby quail and wild turkeys. They learned about preservation of scarce natural resources while at the same time enjoying the new playground, dog park and trails.
"The themes of education, sustainability and ecology are in keeping with the park’s master plan," Parks and Recreation Department Director Xavier Urrutia said, "so it’s fitting that educational nature activities should be the focal point for our opening day festivities."
Activities kicked off with a formal ceremony that included remarks by Mayor Julián Castro, City Councilwoman Elisa Chan, City Manager Sheryl Sculley and former Mayor Phil Hardberger. The ceremony was followed by the release of more than 8,000 ladybugs, considered harbingers of good luck, as well as a special presentation on birds of prey by Last Chance Forever Birds of Prey Conservancy.
The first phase of the 311-acre park includes 1.5 miles of trail, parking, dog park, a large play scape, picnic facilities, and an oak savanna restoration pilot project.
Among the organizations offering nature activities during the festivities were San Antonio Audubon, Native Plant Society, Sierra Club, Bexar Audubon, Salado Creek Foundation, Texas Rainfall Catchment, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Master Naturalists, and Canyon Lake Gorge Preservation Society.
Dogs ran off-leash in the new 1.8-acre dog park featuring sections for both large and small dogs. They enjoyed an elaborate, two-story doghouse constructed by Southwest Exteriors and donated to the park by Lisa Hinson, who won it recently at the Fiesta Delta Society Pooch Parade.
Partners in the event included the City of San Antonio, the Parks and Recreation Department, Phil Hardberger Park Conservancy, H.E.B., VIA Metropolitan Transit, TramCorp, Fulcrum Property Group, North East Independent School District, Guerra DeBerry and Coody, NuStar Energy and San Antonio Water System.
The park property was purchased from the Max and Minnie Tomerlin Voelcker Fund in two acquisitions in 2006 and 2007 for a combined cost of approximately $47 million.
Hardberger Park, 13203 Blanco Road, will open for regular hours, 7:30 a.m. to sunset, beginning on Monday, May 17, and parking on-site will be available beginning that day.