Bunton Branch Restoration

Last October, Mary and I volunteered at one of our Chapter's projects, the Bunton Branch Restoration.

The project is located on 35 acres of City of Kyle parkland. The park property was acquired in 2008 when the developer of the Seton Hospital and retail stores surrounding it presented the City a concept plan. The Kyle Parks Committee and City Council accepted the parkland dedication shortly after that. Bunton Branch Creek was realigned due to the construction of the Dacy Lane bridge. The project involves restoring the land to its natural state and helping with the maintenance of the parkland.

The project’s main objectives are:

• Restore the portion of Bunton Branch Impacted by Construction
• Plant native vegetation
• Harvest saplings and other desirable vegetation from undisturbed areas of the creek and  replant in the area affected by construction
• Solicit donations from local nurseries for native trees and vegetation

• Help The City of Kyle to Maintain Parkland
• Trash removal
• Identify and remove invasive plant species
• Recruit help from experts on plant identification
• Begin erosion control plan
• Remove creek obstructions

• Help The City of Kyle with their vision for the Park
• Plan garden space and water system and help to build it
• Plan nature trail to an outdoor classroom and help with building it
• Tag, identify and map trees
• GPS trees, log tree type and create a map for future parkland planning

We joined project leader Kimberly Pankratz as well as fellow Master Naturalists Tom Watson, Linda Land, and Dick and Judy McBride. The group worked to identify, tag and record the GPS coordinates of trees, and trash pickup.

Examining an invasive Chinese Lantern.

It was nice to see a bit of water in the creek and several of us observed how different the soil and plants are east of I-35. The most common tree along the creek was the Bois D’Arc (Maclura pomifera) and many still had fruit on them. The Bois D’Arc are relatively rare in the rockier soils of western Hays County. Also common were cedar elms (Ulmus crassifolia). 

Kimberly also gave the group a tour and overview of the park and the work ahead.