February eNewsletter

Living the RVi Purpose at Community First! Village

BY JARED PYKA

When RVi team member Peter Dufrene and I set out on a cold January day to volunteer with The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Austin Branch at The Community First! Village, we were prepared to roll up our sleeves and pull some weeds. Our mission was accomplished, but by day’s end, we recognized that something far greater than pulling weeds had transpired.

Parks Board Approves RVi Vision Plan for Beverly S. Sheffield NW District Park

BY DREW CARMAN

Earlier this month, the Beverly S. Sheffield Northwest District Park Vision Plan was recommended for approval by Austin’s Park Board! Located in the Allandale neighborhood of Austin, Texas, Beverly S. Sheffield Park has major improvements in store. The 31-acre park currently features baseball fields, basketball and tennis courts, swimming pool, duck pond, passive and active greenspaces, and a hiking trail along Shoal Creek. The Vision Plan curates community requests to update the space, improve the trail system, rehabilitate the pond, and overall update the park’s infrastructure.

RVi worked closely with the City of Austin Parks and Recreation Department (PARD) to facilitate a robust community engagement program, including a multitude of community workshops, virtual meetings and online surveys, pop-up park meetings, and small group meetings featuring neighbors and neighborhood association groups.

Eye Sore No More! Traffic Boxes Become Canvases for Public Art

BY SARA ALTIERI

Last fall, the City of Chandler, Arizona, posted a call for artists to design artwork for the city’s traffic control boxes. I knew I wanted to participate for a few reasons: I love turning every day, mundane objects into art; it was a chance to collaborate with two high school art students on their capstone project; and it also opened another opportunity to contribute to the world of public art, which is becoming increasingly recognized for its innumerable contributions to our communities.

In Other News

The RVi team has been excited to hit the career fair circuit hard this month. So far we've attended events at West Virginia University, Texas A&M University, Clemson University, Iowa State University, and the University of Georgia!