AUSTIN, Texas — Summer may technically be over, but even in December people will head to Barton Springs Pool and likely pass by the bathhouse.
- Proposed date of completion August 2022
- Splash! exhibit will also be renovated
- Endangered salamanders rely on Barton Springs
The 72-year-old facility is due for a major upgrade. Staff at Austin’s Parks and Recreation Department is moving forward with the Barton Springs Bathhouse Rehabilitation project, which includes efforts to revitalize the space to educate the next generation of visitors to Barton Springs.
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While 1 million people visit the pool each year, there are about 70,000 who will go inside the Sheffield Education Center, which also houses the Splash! exhibit. City staff see an opportunity here and plan to move the main entrance to Barton Springs Pool from the side of the building to center rotunda.
“It’ll really be a really nice opportunity for everybody who visits the springs, particularly those who don't visit on a regular basis, to learn about the springs to learn about the importance of it, and to learn about its history, to learn about what makes this place so special. It’s really a nice opportunity for that entrance to really be connected to the exhibit space, as well,” Amanda Ross, the parks department’s division manager for natural sources, said.
The Splash! exhibit itself will also be renovated, but how exactly is yet to be determined. Parks officials are seeking input from the community about the significance of the exhibit and ways to improve it.
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Wednesday afternoon, fifth grade students from Wooten Elementary took part in an Earth Camp program at the Sheffield Education Center. They explored a simulated limestone cave that has multimedia displays, interactive exhibits, and games to teach visitors about Barton Springs and the Edwards Aquifer. The goal is to foster stewardship.
On this day, 10-year-old Analiya Gonzalez learned among the different plants and wildlife that rely on the springs, are two different species of salamanders. The Barton Springs salamanders and the Austin blind salamanders are endangered species.
“If endangered species are already endangered, they will get extinct. These animals don't deserve to be extinct,” Gonzalez said. “They need more attention.”
Biologist Nathan Bendik calls the salamanders the “original Austinites.” The senior environmental scientist for the Watershed Protection Department works to manage the population in the springs by gathering more information about the species to better understand ways to protect it. Efforts include habitat restoration and recreation, as well as maintaining a captive breeding facility, which is essentially a backup population.
“The fate of the salamanders is really tied to the fate of the aquifer and this ecosystem and Barton Springs,” Bendik said. “All of these things the salamander depends on, but so do people so do the swimmers, the people who use the Barton Springs segment of the aquifer as drinking water. In that way, the salamander and all of these other issues are tied together.”
Parks officials said in the next two years, they will gather input, develop and design an exhibit plan, and begin construction. The proposed date of completion is August 2022.
“We're looking at what the space can be. So how can it engage people's emotional and mental appreciation for this spring so that they leave with an understanding of not only how they can do it, but also want to do it and really feel a connection to the springs? We will be looking at redoing the entire space and what that is right now, it’s kind of up in the air. We're hoping to hear from people,” Ross said.
Parks officials are inviting the public to attend a community meeting Thursday, December 5 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Barton Springs Bathhouse. For more information visit here.