Many thanks to the 20 volunteers, including four youngsters, who took time out of their busy Saturday to help clean up Plaza Saltillo last weekend. Thanks to their efforts we collected nine bags of recyclable items, one bag of trash and 604 cigarette butts! The hardest work included lots of weed pulling and pruning plants and trees.

Capital Metro hosted a Plaza Saltillo beautification day as a part of this year’s Keep Austin Beautiful Clean Sweep. The KAB Clean Sweep is always a fun event and this year there were about 150 clean up sites all over town with more than 5,000 volunteers.

Plaza Saltillo has come a long way in just a few years. Back in September 2009, Capital Metro received a neighborhood beautification grant from KAB to replace the landscaping at the plaza. The revitalization project started with 40 volunteers digging out the beds, removing tree stumps and dead bushes to make way for some landscaping. A month later, more volunteers came out to install new beds with native trees, shrubs and plants. And since then, there have been other work days to help maintain the beautiful landscaping.

Keep Austin Beautiful, the Austin Parks and Recreation Department, the Austin/Saltillo Sister Cities Association and nearby neighbors and businesses have all played a part in helping transform Saltillo into the beautiful plaza that it is today.