Pease Park Conservancy works in partnership with the City of Austin to set the standard for world-class park management – emphasizing environmental excellence – to improve and care for this treasured green space for the enjoyment of all.

Our Mission

Pease Park Conservancy celebrates the diverse ecology and history that make Austin’s first public park valuable and unique. The Conservancy works to restore, enhance and maintain this 84-acre public green space for the sustainable use and enjoyment of all.

OUR VISION

Pease Park will be known as an accessible urban green space for all, where land stewardship, environmental innovation and inclusive programming embrace the community's history and inspire its future.

the conservancy’s priorities in pease park

Pease Park Conservancy and the City of Austin have worked closely together to sustain and enhance the 74 acres of Pease Park beginning with the development of the Pease Park Vision Plan in 2014.

In accordance with the first phase of the Vision Plan, the Conservancy fundraised for and invested $10 million in the renovation of Kingsbury Commons, the southernmost 7 acres of the park. Upon completion of that project, Pease Park Conservancy is now responsible for Operations, Maintenance, and Programming within Kingsbury Commons according to the signed Park Operations and Maintenance Agreement (POMA).

Since the Vision Plan was created, priorities for future projects in Pease Park have changed based on community feedback. The community appreciates the exceptional standard of care shown by the Conservancy in Kingsbury Commons and would value that same level of daily operations and maintenance throughout the entire park. The Conservancy is now working with the City of Austin on a plan to expand its work to all of the contiguous 74-acres of Pease Park. In addition to the Conservancy’s daily presence in Kingsbury Commons, future work and projects for all of Pease Park could include:

  • Removing invasive plants and planting native species

  • Horticulture care throughout the park

  • Emptying the 18 trash bins throughout the park and picking up litter

  • Implementing recycling north of Live Oak Meadow

  • Improving the 2 miles of trails along Shoal Creek to 31st Street

  • Installing hydration stations for park visitors and dogs north of Kingsbury Commons

  • Improving access points for park visitors crossing Shoal Creek

  • Reducing mowed areas and replacing with native landscaping

What We’ve Achieved

  • Planted more than 4500 trees throughout Pease Park

  • Leveraged more than $15M to enhance this public green space

  • Oversee ~1500 volunteers per year to restore and maintain the park’s ecological well-being

  • Completed the award-winning, unanimously-approved Pease Park Vision Plan in 2014

  • Brought art installations to the park through Pease Park Conservancy’s Art in the Park initiatives, including internationally-acclaimed artist Patrick Dougherty’s Stickwork and Pease Park’s very own Thomas Dambo Troll

  • Added 3 miles of mulch trails that wind through the forested hillside

  • Established Kingsbury Commons as a Monarch Waystation

  • Restored the historic New Deal-era picnic tables, Janet Fish wall, & 1920s Tudor Cottage

  • Managed the spread of ecologically harmful plant species throughout Pease Park

  • Planted hundreds of native plants that will thrive in Central Texas, helping to prevent erosion and supporting the local ecology

  • Created programming around 4 essential pillars (Art, Wellness, Learning, Conservation) which engage over 12,000 community members in free programs annually

  • Launched the educational program, Peasecology, and facilitated field trips with over 19 different schools

Our Impact in 2022

Awards & Recognition

The Kingsbury Commons renovation project was awarded Gold under the Sustainable SITES Initiative rating system.

The Conservancy received a Preservation Austin Merit Award for the rehabilitation of the Tudor Cottage.

Ten Eyck Landscape Architects and Pease Park Conservancy were awarded an Honor Award in recognition of outstanding professional achievement from American Society of Landscape Architects in April of 2022.

Clayton Korte was awarded the 2022 Design Award of Merit by AIA Austin for their work on the Tudor Cottage & Terrace, restroom building, and volunteer hub in Kingsbury Commons.

Mell Lawrence Architects was awarded the 2022 Design Award of Excellence by AIA Austin for his work on the Pease Park Treehouse.

The Pease Park Treehouse was named Best of Austin: Kids & Family Wildcard in The Austin Chronicle in 2022.

Pease Park received the Texas Travel Award at the Statewide level for best park in 2023

Clayton Korte won an AIA 2023 Small Project Award for their design work at Kingsbury Commons.

 

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