Latest News

New Pollinator Garden at Interpretive Center Made Possible by

Native Plant Society of Texas, Monarch Sanctuary Project & FRRCP

A custom-designed Pollinator Garden outside the Interpretive Center at River Ranch County Park is not only attracting butterflies but is also drawing the attention of park visitors. Several organizations collaborated with the Friends group this February to create this beautiful educational addition to park amenities.

The Native Plant Society of Texas (NPSOT), one of the original founders of the Friends group, recently selected FRRCP to receive a grant available through their “Bring Back the Monarchs to Texas” campaign. The Friends group had contacted the Monarch Sanctuary Project (MSP) in January for guidance in preparing our grant proposal and both Executive Director Sonia Koschoreck and MSP Board Member Allison Wilcoxen generously donated their time, energy and expertise by designing a native pollinator garden specifically for River Ranch County Park. Our proposal successfully met the grant guidelines and FRRCP was awarded $600 for the purchase of native plants.

Sonia and Allison then chose appropriate native plants and finalized the layout of the landscape bed. Visit Native Muse Gardens to learn how Sonia and Allison played such a key role in bringing our project to fruition. FRRCP Board Member and Good Water Master Naturalist John Kendall coordinated the project for the Friends group.

FRRCP supported the project by providing funds for Corten steel edging for the bed. River Ranch park staff provided landscaping materials (crushed granite and mulch), flagstone, decorative limestone rocks and irrigation lines. During three work sessions in February and March, volunteers prepared the landscape bed, installed edging, added rocks and planted a variety of carefully selected native plants and flowers.

FRRCP is indeed grateful to the NPSOT and Good Water Master Naturalist (GWMN) volunteers who joined Friends and the Monarch Sanctuary Project in this hands-on effort to beautify the park and educate its visitors, while further advancing our shared goal: “Bring Back the Monarchs to Texas!” If you love native plants, consider participating in on-going volunteer days to maintain and improve the garden.