PHOTO #1: City staff and Keep Victoria Beautiful board members pose with trash that was collected during the citywide Fall Sweep cleanup hosted by Keep Victoria Beautiful on Sept. 25, 2021. KVB will host another citywide cleanup April 23.
PHOTO #2: The historic Hiller house, home to the Athey Nature Sanctuary Birding Deck, was recently repainted, and new chairs were added.
PHOTO #3: Bird feeders are placed near the Athey Nature Sanctuary Birding Deck to attract wildlife.
The City of Victoria is inviting residents to celebrate their community this Earth Day weekend with a citywide Keep Victoria Beautiful cleanup followed by the grand opening of the Athey Nature Sanctuary Birding Deck hosted by the City of Victoria Convention & Visitors Bureau (Explore Victoria Texas).
The cleanup will be 7:30-9:30 a.m. April 23. Individuals and teams can sign up at www.victoriatx.gov/kvb.
Before the event, teams will be assigned to remote job sites along major roadways. The primary meeting location will be Target parking lot on Loop 463.
The Salvation Army will serve breakfast tacos in the Target parking lot immediately following the cleanup, and meals donated by Chick-Fil-A will be delivered to the remote sites.
Afterward, residents can visit the historic Hiller house, 3003 Vine St., to celebrate the grand opening of the Athey Nature Sanctuary Birding Deck. The celebration begins at 9 a.m. and ends at noon.
The City created the birding deck last year in collaboration with local birder Cheryl Johnson (the “Backyard Bird Nerd”), who provided information for the interpretive displays. The City recently repainted the deck and added more chairs and bird feeders.
Parks & Recreation, the Victoria Public Library, Explore Victoria, the Children’s Discovery Museum and the Museum of the Coastal Bend will provide nature-themed children’s activities as well as information about their services. Johnson will provide bird tours to teach attendees about local wildlife.
The Kona Ice truck will give away free snow cones sponsored by Explore Victoria. Explore Victoria will also host prize drawings throughout the event.
To learn more about fun activities in Victoria, visit www.explorevictoriatexas.com.