Arboretum San Antonio

Yesterday, we had the honor of taking U.S. Congressman Henry Cuellar and a few of his staff members on a site tour along with our Founder, Henry Cisneros, and our Board Chair, Evangelina Flores. We are so grateful for their time and excitement for what is to come for our community. After the tour, we discussed funding opportunities to support our continued growth and development. The future is bright for YOUR Arboretum! ?? ?? ?? ??

?? Thank you for your voice and invaluable feedback! You have helped shape our future arboretum. This past fall, we presented our community with three design concepts in October 2024: 1) Community Crossroads, 2) Wild San Antonio, and 3) Testing Grounds. Wild San Antonio received the majority of votes at 49%. As promised, we took themes and favorite components from all concepts to create our final concept, which we will reveal later this Spring.? The overarching themes from your feedback guiding our final concept are: Cultural & Environmental Education, Environmental Stewardship, Restoration, Climate Adaptation, Diverse Recreation Opportunities, Tree Research, Low Impact Design, Indigenous Knowledge, and Balance of Community & Nature. Stay tuned! The future is bright for our arboretum! ?? ?? ?? ??

Your voice and invaluable feedback have helped shape our future arboretum this past year. "My family will be able to enjoy this in every stage of life. There is something for everyone and a great place to play, learn, and get out of the city." We can't wait to share our final plans with you late this spring. Stay Tuned! ??????

There is nothing better than a walk in nature with gorgeous weather alongside our partner, the San Antonio River Authority. We hosted their environmental science and engineering team, who walked our site as we discussed our future work together in restoring our precious Salado Creek watershed and habitat. Thank you for joining us as we work together for a more sustainable future! ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? Oscar Williams, Photographing the USA

Acquiring these additional 18.5 acres is a huge milestone in our journey! We look forward to this being finalized and boasting over ??200 acres ?? of nature's beauty to share with YOU. This will help us accelerate a phased opening approach for our community. Funding to acquire this addition is not new funding we are requesting; rather, we are asking to use the remaining allocated funds from Bexar County's original $7 million to finalize this purchase. Since June, it has been our mission to listen and take in as much community feedback as possible, and we cannot wait to share with you our plans later this Spring that will include phases and more final, estimated costs. The future is bright for our vision and mission! ??????

It’s winter at Arboretum San Antonio. Our dear photographer friend, Oscar Williams, is also a poet. Enjoy his winter-inspired poem and photos of our beautiful arboretum in honor of a chilly winter day. ??Photographing the USA, Oscar Williams ---- The trees have lost their leaves, plants are dormant, birds are quiet, it’s a season of reflection and hope. Yet below the magic of rebirth is brewing, as trees stand their ground against the season waiting for spring with its cycle of new life. This winter season, a time of potential and dreams, nature at rest before blossoming with growth, soon to welcome the chrysalis of evolution. Arboretum San Antonio resting at birth of its future, one with creation and transformation beginning.

??2024 was a year of community engagement and input as we listened to all you had to offer for our vision! We are forever grateful to our community for showing up in a big way last year. 2025 will be filled with exciting, big milestones. We are not slowing down! ??Download our full community engagement report - https://lnkd.in/gqqPca-D - as we celebrate and remember all that YOU did last year.

This morning, we hosted a donor tour to offer a sneak peek at our site. We are so grateful for all who have invested in our vision and look forward to many more donor tours to come. Thank you to this great group for your passion and commitment to bringing Arboretum San Antonio to life. ??????

?? It was our first snow at the Arboretum! This moment from yesterday reminds us how special our site is—a place where our community will be able to witness nature's most extraordinary moments together. Though the snow quickly melted under our Texas sun, these magical memories of our first snow will last forever. ?? Oscar & Liz Williams, Photographing the USA

????We hope you are staying warm, San Antonio! These dedicated volunteers spent the past Saturday mulching and wrapping our young trees to shield them from the upcoming freeze. It's incredible how a simple layer of protection can help these tender trees survive the harsh weather we just experienced. A huge thank you to Erik Guerra, Palo Alto College, and his crew.