The AWU Center for Environmental Research at the Hornsby Bend Biosolids Management Plant is a partnership formed in 1989 with the University of Texas and Texas A&M University to support urban ecology and sustainability studies for Austin. Numerous Texas universities along with federal and state agencies now work through the CER to utilize the Hornsby Bend site for education and research on biosolids, soil ecology, biodiversity, riparian ecology, and more. The CER auditorium and classrooms are used by a wide range of academic institutions, government agencies, and non-profit organizations for workshops, classes, and meetings.

Hornsby Bend is nationally known as a biodiversity research site and as an ecotourism destination.

The biodiversity is present both because the sewage treatment plant is managed to encourage wildlife and because of the diversity of habitats at the site stretching along 3.5 miles of the Colorado River. One measure of this biodiversity is that Hornsby Bend is nationally known as one of the best birding sites in Texas – harboring over 370 species of birds and an abundance of other wildlife which is monitored through the CER’s citizen science programs and university researchers. The site is, also, a destination on the TPWD Heart of Texas Wildlife tourism trail.

Click here for a map to the Hornsby Bend site and CER.

CER Monthly Events December 2011
Check out what is happening at Hornsby Bend this month.

CER Lunchtime Lectures
Wednesday AT NOON AT Waller Center, 625 East 10th Street - between I-35 and Red River
Lectures are FREE and open to the public. Bring a lunch and learn.

Wednesday, December 7 - CER Monthly Lunchtime Lecture - by Kevin Anderson

Encounters with Nature in the City: Urban Nature and Literature
Over the last three months, I have discussed a range of perspectives on nature in the city, including urban ecology, urban planning, restoration ecology, political ecology, and more. We will wrap up in December by assessing encounters with urban nature as revealed by urban nature writers. There is an ever growing catalogue of books about "nature in the city" whose authors seek out redemptive encounters with "nature" in the urban landscape. These authors typically struggle with the seeming "chaos" of urban ecosystems that can look like "a bunch of weeds and exotics mixed up with human junk" or ignore the whole system and focus on a part, like nesting red tailed hawks in New York. Join me for a discussion of this urban nature writing and an assessment of conclusions about urban ecology based on the last three talks.

Hornsby Bend Site
The 1200-acre Hornsby Bend site presents a unique opportunity for research and education about issues of urban ecology. All of Austin's sewage and yard trimmings are recycled at Hornsby Bend, which represents over 15% of all the solid waste produced by the City. Moreover, what is waste for us is the beginnings of a high nutrient food chain that provides nourishment to wildlife while recycling these "wastes" in an ecologically sound and sustainable manner. This biodiversity is present both because of the bio-treatment processes used by the facility and because of the diversity of habitats at the site stretching along 3.5 miles of the Colorado River. One measure of this biodiversity is that Hornsby Bend is nationally known as one of the best birding sites in Texas--harboring over 370 species of birds and an abundance of other wildlife, which is monitored through citizen science programs and university researchers.

Click here for CER Programs and Partnerships.