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Recognition

GCAA Cat. 3 Winner: Bastrop

By August 8, 2017No Comments

Each year, the Governor’s Community Achievement Awards (GCAA) celebrate ten Texas communities for their achievements in litter prevention, beautification, public awareness, and other focus areas. Categorized by population, these ten cities share a prize of $2 million in landscaping projects.

Bastrop is a resilient city. In 2011, the largest wildfire in Texas history wreaked extensive damage and ravaged the area’s unique Lost Pines habitat. Six years later, Bastrop now looks to the future with great anticipation. One of the most notable accomplishments of its recovery is receiving the 2017 Governor’s Community Achievement Award (GCAA). The GCAA highlights Bastrop’s ability to rebuild, engage its residents in community service and raise awareness of community improvement efforts. As leaders and residents continue to rebuild, Bastrop is filled with a new sense of community that has been key to its revitalization and community improvement.

In 2016, volunteers in Bastrop continued restoration work from the fires at Lost Pines Nature Trails Park[SK1] . The 28.5-acre park had experienced a spate of illegal dumping, but Keep Bastrop County Beautiful (KBCB) cleanups have decreased incidents and contributed to the area’s restoration. Local organizations, including TreeFolks and KBCB, organized more than 400 volunteers to plant 22,417 seedlings at Lost Pines. After a spate of flooding, Bastrop volunteers focused their cleanup efforts in 2016 on the Colorado River. As part of the Bastrop River Rally, 133 volunteers removed more than 1,500 pounds of trash from the water and cleaned more than six miles of waterway.

Recycling rates rose from 20% to 65%, and efforts to deter illegal dumping have increased. According to city leaders, “The seeds we planted have produced fruit. We have rallied together after fires and floods, showing our ongoing commitment to our neighbors and our environment.” Winning the GCAA will allow Bastrop to strengthen its partnership between citizens, businesses and local organizations, which reminds the residents of Bastrop of their dedication to one another and to their community.

[SK1]Is this accurate?I googled and looks like it’s Lost Pines Nature Trail which is part of Ray Roberts Lake State Park? Or the Lost Pines Trail which is part of Bastrop State Park?