Written by Teresa Shumaker on . Posted in News, Park Notices
The PHP West Dog Park on the NW Military Hwy Side will be closed from 10 a.m. to Noon this Saturday for mulching.
Join us at Canine Capers from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. in the open field on the NW Military Hwy side, or check out the PHP East Dog Park on the Blanco Rd side of the park.
Or... wait to visit the PHP West Dog Park at noon and have fresh mulch to roll around in!
Written on
Members get access to insider news, special events and recognition. As well as the satisfaction of helping your park grow.
We need your support to help us improve the park today and into the future.
Written on
Thanks to supporters like you, the Conservancy raised $187,911, plus a matching donation of $10,000 through Birdies for Charity® an exciting fundraising program linked to the Valero Texas Open, the 3rdoldest tournament on the PGA TOUR schedule.
Written on
The community gathered on October 6 to celebrate the start of construction on the Robert L.B. Tobin Land Bridge at Phil Hardberger Park.
Written on
Mayor Ron Nirenberg announced San Antonio’s renewed commitment to the National Wildlife Federation Mayor’s Monarch Butterfly Pledge at a press conference Monday.
Written on
Being active in nature makes kids happier,” says the National Environmental Education Foundation. Nature’s Garden Summer Camp was first offered at Phil Hardberger Park in 2014…
Written on
The Phil Hardberger Park Children’s Vegetable Garden was awarded First Place by the Texas Master Gardener Association 2016 Search for Excellence Awards. The Bexar County Master Gardener Assoc. received the award.
Written on
The three donors, each giving $1 million, are Phil and Linda Hardberger, the Klesse Foundation (Bill and Margie Klesse), and the Voelcker Fund. Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff announced that he is working to secure $1 million in County funds for the bridge.
Written on
The final recommendations from the bond committees include $13 million for the Land Bridge. Your help is still needed.
Written on
Phil Hardberger Park Conservancy won $7,500 in prize money for Most Donors in the Community Improvement, Environment, and Parks category during Big Give 2016.
Written on
On May 3, from midnight to midnight, you can be part of this great event. San Antonio will come together for 24 hours of nonprofit giving during The Big Give S.A., and Phil Hardberger Park is taking part! It is San Antonio’s third annual giving day.
Written on
Phil Hardberger Park Conservancy is a 501(c)3 nonprofit that supports Phil Hardberger Park. Which begs the question – why does a city park need its own nonprofit? Bottom line – the city can only do so much.
Written on
Thank you to our sponsors and the many friends who attended the Phil Hardberger Park Conservancy's gala in October.
Written on
Thanks to your generosity, the Phil Hardberger Park Conservancy raised $26,101 through The Big Give S.A. on May 5, 2015.
Written on
Two years ago San Antonio Natural Area Education Coordinator Peggy Spring had a dream of starting an educational program where toddlers love and experience nature in the first years of life. From this grew the Starting Out Wild (SOW) concept.
Written on
Meet Atticus—the first PAWS for the Park member of the Phil Hardberger Park Conservancy.
Written on
$22,946 was raised through TheBigGiveSA, including 3 prizes totaling $4000 awarded to the Phil Hardberger Park Conservancy.
Written on
Readers of the San Antonio Current recently voted in the magazine's "Best of San Antonio" poll.
Written on
The Alamo Area Council of Governments recently recognized the Phil Hardberger Park Conservancy with its Air Quality Stewardship Award in the Nonprofit Organization Category.
Written on
Watch this welcome video of Phil Hardberger Park…
Written on
In the Best-of-the-City issue San Antonio Magazine declared Phil Hardberger Park the best city park! Here is what they had to say...
Written on
On Nov. 16, 2013, members of the Alamo Chapter Wild Turkey Federation presented Wild Turkeys in Texas at Phil Hardberger Park. The Alamo Area Master Naturalists sponsored the program. Here are highlights of the presentation.
Written on
Like many of Anne Wallace’s public commissions, Golden Age, addresses life growing up in a Texas ranching family, Wallace sought to engage the natural and agricultural history of the land that has become Phil Hardberger Park.
Written on
The crowd Saturday grew to hundreds — from teenage snake handlers to the grand opening of the newest showpiece in the city's park system.
Written on
The kids of Hardberger Park learned how to bait a hook, cast a line and handle a fish—and they did it on dry land!
Written on
The restoration of the Voelcker dairy barn was celebrated April 13, 2013. The 1500 square foot dairy barn went through a major transformation.
Written on
With health benefits linked to a positive demeanor, brighten your mood at one of San Antonio’s cheery check-ins.
Written on
Hardberger Park will get a half-million-dollar shot in the arm from donors attending the “Connect to Nature” gala Thursday night at the acreage.
Written on
Written on
Our city’s much-deserved gift to our wonderful pets, the Hardberger Park has a dog-size safe haven for pups to pick on someone their own size.
Written on
Betty Sutherland, executive director of the Phil Hardberger Park Conservancy, won the San Antonio Business Journal's Going Green Award for Land Conservation.
Written on
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 at 4:30 p.m., the Phil Hardberger Park Conservancy accepted a check presented by G. Douglas Edwards of Henrietta Partners.
Written on
Please make sure to vote yes for the City of San Antonio 2012-2017 Bond Program on May 12th.
Written on
If you’ve noticed more people leaving the home or office behind to get some work done in the park that’s because Phil Hardberger Park recently became the first park in the city to offer free wireless service to visitors.
Written on
The birding community was buzzing over spring break at the sighting of a Golden-cheeked Warbler at Phil Hardberger Park.
Written on
The Salado Classroom / Restroom Building, Salado Creek Overlook and east dog park trail are now open on the east side of the park.
Written on
They began in February, a small dedicated team of NuStar employees with a passion for Phil Hardberger Park and a desire to help.
Written on
The new year will usher in the third phase of the five-phase development of Phil Hardberger Park.
Written on
On October 22, 2011, Nyta Brown of Texas Parks & Wildlife Old Tunnel Wildlife Management Area, led our education program on bats.
Written on
The construction at the north end of the parking lot on the east side of Phil Hardberger Park is nearing completion as the long-awaited Salado Classroom Building is expected to open to the public in November.
Written on
Also scheduled to open in November is the new Salado Creek Overlook.
Written on
When New York City entered a period of economic and social upheaval in the 1970s and Central Park suffered years of neglect, San Antonio native Elizabeth Barlow Rogers came to the rescue.
Written on
The towering figures, which stand up to 17-feet tall and weigh more than 1,000 pounds each, spent the last two years on city-owned property near Mission San Juan de Capistrano.
Written on
The Shavano Park Women's Club came to Phil Hardberger Park for a walk and talk about native plants and future plans for Hardberger Park and the Salado Creek Greenway.
Written on
NuStar Energy has adopted Phil Hardberger Park and the adjacent Salado Creek Greenway as part of the City of San Antonio’s Adopt-a-Park program.
Written on
Volunteers with the Associated General Contractors’ Construction Leadership Forum (CLF) will begin tomorrow, Saturday, March 19 a two-year-long community service project to restore the nineteenth century dairy barn at Phil Hardberger Park.
Written on
For February 2011, FIDOFriendly.com polled readers on top Dog Friendly Destinations. No surprise to us, Phil Hardberger Park is included with selected parks that rate as “…Paradise for pooches and people who like the great outdoors.”
Written on
The May 15 grand opening of Phil Hardberger Park, including the mile and a half of hiking trails, playscape and the city's largest dog park, was just the beginning of the former dairy farm's transformation into a world-class park.
Written on
In keeping with the park’s master plan, the City of San Antonio’s Parks and Recreation Department is restoring grasslands in the park. While the 311-acre property features many native trees, there are virtually no native grasses — less than 1 percent, according to a plant survey conducted as part of the master plan.
Written on
Thanks to the Lackland Air Force Base dog trainers who brought police dogs to demonstrate what they are trained to do.
Written on
The best measure of the May 15 grand opening of Phil Hardberger Park may have been a question overheard from a little boy as his family was leaving the playground. “Mom, can we come back next week?” the boy asked his mother.
Written on
More than a few Conservancy board members commented on the seemingly miraculous work of Xavier Urrutia’s Parks and Recreation Department staff to prepare the park for the grand opening despite the torrential rain the day before. More than 100 city employees worked in the rain all day Friday preparing the park for the big weekend.
Written on
Stroller Strides of North San Antonio is using the park for a full body exercise for mothers with their children in strollers. The classes consist of intervals of power walking and muscle strengthening exercises using resistance tubing.
Written on
Standing in front of the new Hardberger Park sign on Blanco Road, Phil and Linda Hardberger presented a $100,000 check from the Phil and Linda Hardberger Foundation.
Written on
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission has awarded $1 million for Phil Hardberger Park and $750,000 for Mission County Park.
Written on
Groundbreaking ceremony at Phil Hardberger Park - City officials and residents who have long worked to create a public urban park out of the former Voelcker dairy farm in North Central San Antonio will soon see the fruits of their labor at last.
Written on
Two San Antonio Parks and Recreation Department development projects will receive awards today for outstanding planning.
Written on
With the first phase of development of Phil Hardberger Park nearing completion, city officials and consultants have unveiled plans for the second round of improvements.
Written on
Mayor Phil Hardberger doesn't waste words, but he can become downright loquacious when describing the 300 acres of oak savannah known as Phil Hardberger Park.
Written on
White Mountain Apache group, looks to the sky during the Phil Hardberger Park open house.
Written on
Grassland restoration is included; work on the North Side site could start in January.
Written on
Experts say grassland ecosystem's revival at Phil Hardberger Park would benefit the environment.
Written on
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission awarded the city of San Antonio a $1 million matching grant Thursday to develop the new 311-acre Phil Hardberger Park in the north-central part of the city.
Written on
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission awarded the city of San Antonio a $1 million matching grant Thursday to develop the new 311-acre Phil Hardberger Park in the north-central part of the city.
Written on
Conservation to be weighed by City Council this summer. A city panel has gone forward with plans to protect a dozen historic structures dating as far back as the late 1700s, including a house built by an early Texas settler a few years after the battle of the Alamo.
Written on
Phil Hardberger Park's caretaker hopes to stay long after it opens to public.
Written on
City Council approves master plan and funds for first phase of design. Phil Hardberger Park already looks like the land suburban development forgot. Now it should remain that way a wooded oasis bisected by busy streets and surrounded by neighborhoods.
Written on
City officials, led by Mayor Phil Hardberger, are charging hard to buy the 311 acres and turn it into one of the city's largest parks. A stroll through Max and Minnie Voelcker's old dairy farm is like a glimpse into San Antonio's past.
Written on
A venture headed by former Dallas Mayor Robert Folsom has been the envy of area developers for 25 years.
Written on
A 175-foot-wide bridge designed so deer can safely cross Wurzbach Parkway could be the crown jewel of what the city is billing as a world-class urban park.
Written on
The "Dog Tails on Voelcker Trails" event encourages citizens to bring their pets for free microchipping, a service the city of San Antonio's Animal Care Services is now requiring for all its new pet adoptions.
Written on
In order to preserve the natural landscape of the park, we can only allow recreational bicycling into the park. However off-road mountain biking enthusiasts are encouraged on the Salado Creekway program.
Written on
The team of consultants tapped to create a master plan for Phil Hardberger Park on the North Side will unveil a conceptual design Monday for the 311-acre former dairy farm.
Written on
The solution is obvious. Phil Hardberger Park should become a double-decker. The lower level can remain forever in its "pristine" prairie-and-woodlands condition. The upper level can be filled with all the amenities of an active urban park.
Written on
San Antonio Utilizes National Design Competition Process — For parks and recreation professionals it is the opportunity of a lifetime - to save 311 acres of pristine land in the heart of a heavily developed metropolitan area from becoming a concrete jungle by turning it into an urban park.
Written on
City officials have long touted Voelcker Ranch as a destination park — a spectacular landscape with centuries-old oak trees that will draw people from all over town, much as Brackenridge Park does.
Written on
Four companies vying for a contract to design the proposed Phil Hardberger Park Reserve
Written on
Bird enthusiasts, hikers and ordinary folks turn out to enjoy new trail at Phil Hardberger Park's second open house.
Written on
Mayor Phil Hardberger pitched the purchase of the 311-acre North Side property for a new city park.
Written on
"Try buying tract from developer", "Land is a North Side treasure", "Better than thousands of homes".
Written on
Park plan could be a chance to turn things around for green urban space on the North Side.
Written on
City Council is expected to authorize negotiations to purchase 311 acres of parkland on the North Side
Written on
San Antonio Mayor Phil Hardberger said Thursday that the city has finalized the purchase of the first two tracts of Voelcker Ranch land in North San Antonio.
Written on
But a Dallas investor has first right to 311-acre Voelcker property; city condemnation an option.
Written on
City officials want to acquire a new 311-acre park on the North Side.
Written on . Posted in Life At The Park, Ask a Park Naturalist
You may have noticed plastic tarps on the ground in the West side of the park in the grassy drainage channel near the parking lots. These have been put down as part of a project that aims to control invasive grass species in and around the park’s native grasslands.
Written on . Posted in Life At The Park, Ask a Park Naturalist
Have you ever noticed these blue-purple berries on cedar trees (also known as Ashe junipers) around the park? Although small, they play a huge role in the park’s ecosystem and greater surrounding area.
Written on . Posted in Life At The Park
The Birds of Bexar County Seasonal Field Checklist has 31 species of native sparrows in the Emberizidae family. Of those, nine species are listed as being “common” in Bexar County in the winter.
Written on . Posted in Life At The Park
In south Texas most of us take advantage of the longer mornings and evenings for our outdoor activities. When you are out there, there are a few critters that should be avoided.
Written on . Posted in Life At The Park
In 2009, a massive savanna restoration project began. The vision: to create a unique ecosystem, in the heart of San Antonio.
Written on . Posted in Ask a Park Naturalist
Kidneywood trees (Eysenhardtia texana) are small trees species that prefer to grow in full sun to light shade. Due to their palatability, this makes them highly susceptible to being over-broused by deer, and…
Written on . Posted in Life At The Park
While there is a positive movement towards the use of adapted and low-water use plants in our San Antonio landscapes, there are even more benefits to planting natives.
Written on . Posted in Ask a Park Naturalist
There are not burrowing owls within Hardberger Park, because the park lacks the right habitat. Burrowing owls like more open land with short grasses…
Written on . Posted in Ask a Park Naturalist
The unfortunate truth is sometimes even when you build it, they don’t come. We witnessed this at Eisenhower Park, where there have been blue bird boxes for years but still no blue birds...
Written on . Posted in Ask a Park Naturalist
You were lucky to see Frostweed (Verbesina Virginica) in its “frosty” state.
Written on . Posted in Ask a Park Naturalist
Snout Butterflies migrated through San Antonio recently.
Written on . Posted in Conversations
The Resource Guide is a useful tool for identifying the plants and wildlife seen in Hardberger Park. It also tells the history of the land and how it has been transformed from a dairy farm to an urban wilderness.
Read the Resource Guide at the Alamo Master Naturalist website
Written on . Posted in Life At The Park
Avid birdwatcher, Lora Reynolds, shares the common and rare bird-sightings she's experienced at Hardberger Park.
Written on . Posted in Life At The Park
The month of May brought about a rare and wonderful sight at Hardberger Park--a terrestrial orchid, the crested coralroot (Hexalectris spicata).
Written on . Posted in Ask a Park Naturalist
The round reflective objects in the park are part of Golden Age, an art installation commissioned for Phil Hardberger Park's savanna. Read more about Golden Age.
Written on . Posted in Life At The Park
Molly Keck, Texas AgriLife's board certified entomologist, gives us a glimpse into the wonderful world of South Texas insects!
Written on . Posted in Ask a Park Naturalist
Both sides of Hardberger Park (on NW Military and Blanco) have plenty of live oak, juniper, hackberry, mesquite, and cedar elms. However, the Texas red oaks (Quercus buckleyi) are confined to the Salado Creek area (on the Blanco side). This is due primarily to soil type.
Written on . Posted in Ask a Park Naturalist
The black stuff all over the ground and sidewalks on the NW Military side of the park is the fruit from the Texas persimmon.
Written on . Posted in Ask a Park Naturalist
The rules of Phil Hardberger Park prohibit feeding deer or any other wild animals in the park. More importantly, feeding wild animals is not a good idea. It causes animals to lose their natural fear of humans, which can put the animal’s life and well-being in danger.
Written on . Posted in Ask a Park Naturalist
The answer to the question relates to soil types, depth, moisture, and soil disturbance.
Written on . Posted in Life At The Park
Walking around Phil Hardberger Park and the Geology Trail located within it, an interesting juxtaposition of geologic time can be noticed. Read more about it here!
Written on . Posted in Ask a Park Naturalist
Most park naturalists in general are tasked with developing and conducting interpretive programs for either local, state, or national parks.
Written on . Posted in Life At The Park
Getting back into the groove of everyday life (and your pants) can get a little tough after the holidays. Phil Hardberger Park’s trails offer an easy, free alternative to joining a gym.
Written on . Posted in Ask a Park Naturalist
It is the Park Naturalist job to make sure that native plant communities are maintained and not compromised by exotic invasive plants and that any wildlife issues are dealt with in a timely, humane manner.
Written on . Posted in Kid's Corner
Wendy Drezek of the Sierra Club shares fun, informative materials for kids and teachers.
Written on . Posted in Ask a Park Naturalist
Hardberger Park is an important stop for migratory birds. We have seen some unusual migrants in the park…
Written on . Posted in Life At The Park
This fall has brought a steady wave of beautiful butterflies to Hardberger Park. Everything from the brilliant zebra heliconian to the ubiquitous common mestra and the ever faithful monarch can be seen at the park.
Written on . Posted in Ask a Park Naturalist
The most unusual thing I have found in the park was the golden-cheeked warbler in spring 2012.
Written by Brad DiBaggio on . Posted in Life At The Park
The ecological restoration of Phil Hardberger Park presents a remarkable opportunity to recreate and preserve a representative sample of our natural heritage.
Donations are used to develop and improve the park to better serve the community.
Become a member and help us improve our park today and in the future. We need your support.
Let us know where you would like to help and we will put you to work with other volunteers.