UTPA's Indigenious Wildscape Garden
Working with a team of biologists, botanists, engineers, a landscape architect, and a grounds supervisor, I wrote a grant to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to build the first and only indigenous wildscape garden on the UTPA campus. Why? I felt it important to help create a place where people could sit and enjoy nature; where professors could hold classes in an outdoor lab. The grant was awarded $25,000 in funding. I secured another $15,000 in resources from University administrators to complete the 1.5 acre garden replete with a water feature, benches with canopies, a wheelchair accessible telescope, an archway, and engraved bricks markers.
utpa_coop_proposal_final_copy_092531_1.pdf | |
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Garden Gala
Garden Groundbreaking Event
UTPA Campus Trail
and
TxDOT Texas Transportation Enhancement Program Proposal
utpa_hike__bike_trails_2009.pdf | |
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UTPA Campus Trail and TxDOT Texas Transportation Enhancement Program - Regional Hike & Bike Trail History
written by Victor Ituarte for The Pan American newspaper
The University of Texas-Pan American is on the cusp of potentially playing host to one of two new hike and bike trails in the Rio Grande Valley. If a proposed grant is awarded by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), nearly $2 million will be made available to build an approximately 3-mile-long hike and bike trail around the UTPA campus and possibly branch off to a 9-mile-long trail that connects the cities of McAllen and Edinburg.
Chelse Benham was selected co-chair of the Wellness Taskforce sub-committee, along with Sonia Del Angel, when the idea of building a campus hike and bike trail was born in a Wellness Taskforce Committee meeting.
“At the time, there was discussion about what to do overall for the campus as an amenity that all people on campus could enjoy without expense to them. A trail was discussed and I took it seriously,” said Benham, a staff member in the Office of University Relations at UTPA. “I suggested we write for a grant.”
She discovered a grant with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD). Shortly after beginning the writing process, she started working with Travis Hughes, the interim director at UTPA’s Wellness and Recreational Sports Complex (WRSC). Benham and Hughes quickly became the forces leading the charge on the building the trail.
“At a sub-committee meeting, a grant opportunity with TPWD for trail development was discussed,” Hughes recalled. “I volunteered to work on developing a trail design and budget for the grant application. Chelse volunteered to write the grant and assemble the application packet.”
The plan was for a dual surface hike, bike, and walking trail around the perimeter of the University campus. Although the grant received high marks, it was not awarded to UTPA.
A new goal came to light when Andy Goldbloom from TPWD alerted Benham about the Texas Department of Transportation’s (TxDOT) plan to award $67 million statewide for an urban trail. Dr. John Edwards, vice president of enrollment and student services at UTPA, appointed Benham and Hughes the co-chairs of the TxDOT application committee overseeing the new project and converting their TPWD grant into a workable format for the new application.
Edwards was a strong advocate. He said he has always supported ways to improve the health and well being of the University community citing the funding provided for intramural fields earlier this decade and the recently built WRSC.
“At some point in time, our society is probably going to have to turn more and more to that type of transportation for a lot of reasons,” Edwards said. “Particularly if you don’t have more than a mile to travel, you can get on a bike and ride to the campus. I think we would all be better off. We’ll get more of our students, staff, and faculty on bikes or walking to school and reduce the traffic congestion and the parking congestion around the campus.”
The next phase of the process was a round of meetings with City of Edinburg officials to collaborate with the University on the trail. Through Edwards’ connections and efforts, UTPA began working closely with City Engineer Isael Posadas and Edinburg City Grant Writer Richard Hinojosa.
“We’re working with several entities. We’re working with the City of Edinburg, the City of McAllen, the irrigation canal district, the water drainage districts,” said Edwards. “We don’t have creeks or rivers that we can put beautiful hike and bike trails, but we do have the canals and it’ll be just another development and factor of improved living for our communities.”
Benham said they worked very closely with TxDot District Landscape Architect, Steve Walker, on creating what would become two grants to TxDOT: one addressing the construction of the city’s trail along Jackson Road and the second is the campus perimeter trail; a total of about $4 million.
Other minds that joined the discussions and planning were architect Walter Heard from Terra Design Group in San Antonio, Edinburg City Manager Ramiro Garza, and Mark Peña, the chair of the Edinburg Environment Advisory Board, who is an active participant in trying to create more bike trails in the City of Edinburg.
Benham added they received a lot of assistance and support Walker. He aided the group through the entire process to ensure they stayed in accordance with the specifications of the grant.
“He worked exceptionally close with me to help me understand the requirements of the grant. I felt responsible for conveying the application’s important information to the sub-committee, which would help the team during the architectural firm selection process,” said Benham, who added that the group chose Bob Simpson from Boultinghouse Simpson Architects in McAllen.
Two months later, Benham and Hughes had compiled a near-$2 million grant application that was given over to the City of Edinburg, to be submitted on the University’s behalf, because the University is not an eligible agency to submit to TxDOT directly.
The University in collaboration with the City of Edinburg ultimately drafted an approximately 12-mile trail that would run along Jackson Rd. and circle the UTPA campus. If both grants are awarded, Edinburg’s and UTPA’s trail would connect UTPA and Edinburg with McAllen.
Regardless of TxDOT’s decision, UTPA plans to fund a trail for the campus, but with fewer amenities. The grant is an 80-20 match, which means the University must provide 20 percent of the total cost. The amount has been promised by the Office of the President at UTPA and the WRSC reserves without an increased cost to students.
Edwards said he’s looking out for the health and well being of the citizens and UTPA community by finding a safer means of transportation.
“Another reason the University is involved is because we think it’s a wonderful opportunity to provide hike and bike trails and linkages for our faculty, staff, and students,” he stated. “It’s much safer for us to have a trail on an irrigation canal or a drainage ditch area than it is to have bikes and joggers on our streets.”
Without the TxDOT grant, the university would only be able to put forth roughly $400,000 toward a trail. The reduced price eliminates the opportunity for amenities like benches, covered seating, water fountains, landscaping, trees, light posts, and lights mounted in trees.
The committee hopes the trail impacts the quality of life for Valley residents because it’ll allow for a new means of transportation that’s safer and more enjoyable. The Edinburg trail will not only remove outdoors admirers from high-traffic roadways, but the campus trail will also remove cyclists from the interior pathways at UTPA. It is for these reasons the committee’s efforts have been met with enthusiasm by Edwards.
Now that the grant has been submitted, the committee only has to wait to learn of the state’s decision. The Pharr district office will be informed as early as October, but as late as Decemeber. However, with only 25 districts in the state, Benham is optimistic the Valley’s district will be awarded.
“There’s clearly enough money that all districts in the state will be getting some if there’s a strong application. I believe they’re trying to distribute to all districts so somebody in the Valley will be getting awarded,” she said. “Of our district, I understand there were 14 applications. We hope both of our grants get selected, UTPA’s along with the City of Edinburg’s, since they actually integrate well together.”
If and when the grant is awarded, the city is required to break ground on the trail within 12 months of being awarded. Construction could take up to another year, which means patrons will be able to enjoy it in 2012.
Chelse Benham was selected co-chair of the Wellness Taskforce sub-committee, along with Sonia Del Angel, when the idea of building a campus hike and bike trail was born in a Wellness Taskforce Committee meeting.
“At the time, there was discussion about what to do overall for the campus as an amenity that all people on campus could enjoy without expense to them. A trail was discussed and I took it seriously,” said Benham, a staff member in the Office of University Relations at UTPA. “I suggested we write for a grant.”
She discovered a grant with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD). Shortly after beginning the writing process, she started working with Travis Hughes, the interim director at UTPA’s Wellness and Recreational Sports Complex (WRSC). Benham and Hughes quickly became the forces leading the charge on the building the trail.
“At a sub-committee meeting, a grant opportunity with TPWD for trail development was discussed,” Hughes recalled. “I volunteered to work on developing a trail design and budget for the grant application. Chelse volunteered to write the grant and assemble the application packet.”
The plan was for a dual surface hike, bike, and walking trail around the perimeter of the University campus. Although the grant received high marks, it was not awarded to UTPA.
A new goal came to light when Andy Goldbloom from TPWD alerted Benham about the Texas Department of Transportation’s (TxDOT) plan to award $67 million statewide for an urban trail. Dr. John Edwards, vice president of enrollment and student services at UTPA, appointed Benham and Hughes the co-chairs of the TxDOT application committee overseeing the new project and converting their TPWD grant into a workable format for the new application.
Edwards was a strong advocate. He said he has always supported ways to improve the health and well being of the University community citing the funding provided for intramural fields earlier this decade and the recently built WRSC.
“At some point in time, our society is probably going to have to turn more and more to that type of transportation for a lot of reasons,” Edwards said. “Particularly if you don’t have more than a mile to travel, you can get on a bike and ride to the campus. I think we would all be better off. We’ll get more of our students, staff, and faculty on bikes or walking to school and reduce the traffic congestion and the parking congestion around the campus.”
The next phase of the process was a round of meetings with City of Edinburg officials to collaborate with the University on the trail. Through Edwards’ connections and efforts, UTPA began working closely with City Engineer Isael Posadas and Edinburg City Grant Writer Richard Hinojosa.
“We’re working with several entities. We’re working with the City of Edinburg, the City of McAllen, the irrigation canal district, the water drainage districts,” said Edwards. “We don’t have creeks or rivers that we can put beautiful hike and bike trails, but we do have the canals and it’ll be just another development and factor of improved living for our communities.”
Benham said they worked very closely with TxDot District Landscape Architect, Steve Walker, on creating what would become two grants to TxDOT: one addressing the construction of the city’s trail along Jackson Road and the second is the campus perimeter trail; a total of about $4 million.
Other minds that joined the discussions and planning were architect Walter Heard from Terra Design Group in San Antonio, Edinburg City Manager Ramiro Garza, and Mark Peña, the chair of the Edinburg Environment Advisory Board, who is an active participant in trying to create more bike trails in the City of Edinburg.
Benham added they received a lot of assistance and support Walker. He aided the group through the entire process to ensure they stayed in accordance with the specifications of the grant.
“He worked exceptionally close with me to help me understand the requirements of the grant. I felt responsible for conveying the application’s important information to the sub-committee, which would help the team during the architectural firm selection process,” said Benham, who added that the group chose Bob Simpson from Boultinghouse Simpson Architects in McAllen.
Two months later, Benham and Hughes had compiled a near-$2 million grant application that was given over to the City of Edinburg, to be submitted on the University’s behalf, because the University is not an eligible agency to submit to TxDOT directly.
The University in collaboration with the City of Edinburg ultimately drafted an approximately 12-mile trail that would run along Jackson Rd. and circle the UTPA campus. If both grants are awarded, Edinburg’s and UTPA’s trail would connect UTPA and Edinburg with McAllen.
Regardless of TxDOT’s decision, UTPA plans to fund a trail for the campus, but with fewer amenities. The grant is an 80-20 match, which means the University must provide 20 percent of the total cost. The amount has been promised by the Office of the President at UTPA and the WRSC reserves without an increased cost to students.
Edwards said he’s looking out for the health and well being of the citizens and UTPA community by finding a safer means of transportation.
“Another reason the University is involved is because we think it’s a wonderful opportunity to provide hike and bike trails and linkages for our faculty, staff, and students,” he stated. “It’s much safer for us to have a trail on an irrigation canal or a drainage ditch area than it is to have bikes and joggers on our streets.”
Without the TxDOT grant, the university would only be able to put forth roughly $400,000 toward a trail. The reduced price eliminates the opportunity for amenities like benches, covered seating, water fountains, landscaping, trees, light posts, and lights mounted in trees.
The committee hopes the trail impacts the quality of life for Valley residents because it’ll allow for a new means of transportation that’s safer and more enjoyable. The Edinburg trail will not only remove outdoors admirers from high-traffic roadways, but the campus trail will also remove cyclists from the interior pathways at UTPA. It is for these reasons the committee’s efforts have been met with enthusiasm by Edwards.
Now that the grant has been submitted, the committee only has to wait to learn of the state’s decision. The Pharr district office will be informed as early as October, but as late as Decemeber. However, with only 25 districts in the state, Benham is optimistic the Valley’s district will be awarded.
“There’s clearly enough money that all districts in the state will be getting some if there’s a strong application. I believe they’re trying to distribute to all districts so somebody in the Valley will be getting awarded,” she said. “Of our district, I understand there were 14 applications. We hope both of our grants get selected, UTPA’s along with the City of Edinburg’s, since they actually integrate well together.”
If and when the grant is awarded, the city is required to break ground on the trail within 12 months of being awarded. Construction could take up to another year, which means patrons will be able to enjoy it in 2012.