We are a quarter of the way through 2026, and the River Authority’s River Warriors are not stopping in their work! Apple snail season is in full swing, and litter cleanups are bigger than ever. Plus, with the upcoming City Nature Challenge, our River Warriors have had their hands full! Read on to see how you can get involved with volunteer efforts.
4,000 Pounds Lighter: River Warriors Take on the Mission Reach
So far in 2026, the River Warriors have been busy cleaning up a portion of the Mission Reach just south of Mission Concepcion. Over the course of six cleanups plus the annual Basura Bash, volunteers were able to remove over 4,000 lbs. of litter from this area of the San Antonio River.
We welcomed partners from Toyota, JMT, and others to the 31st annual Basura Bash, which was held on the Mission Reach of the San Antonio River. 63 volunteers joined in to collect almost 2,000 lbs. of trash! Basura Bash is a city-wide service event that invites the community to come out and remove litter from our San Antonio waterways. This year, over 1500 volunteers across San Antonio joined the effort to remove 65,334 lbs. of trash from waterways across the San Antonio River Watershed. What an amazing effort!
Training Season Begins: River Warriors and Deafinitely Green Unite Against Invasive Apple Snails
We are kicking off spring by starting our Apple Snail removal trainings for River Warriors! Apple Snails are an invasive species that are voracious grazers of our native aquatic plant species and are extremely detrimental to the San Antonio River’s ecosystem. To date, River Warriors have collected 24% of all egg clutches and adult snails pulled out of the San Antonio River. Check out the Apple Snail Dashboard for updates!
We teamed up with local organization Deafinitely Green, who lead environmental volunteer efforts with the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community, to bring our Apple Snail removal training to a new audience. Over 20 new faces joined this in-person training at the Pearl Amphitheater and became trained River Warriors who are eager to help in this cause.
Apple Snail removal is a volunteer opportunity exclusively offered to River Warriors who complete an in-person or virtual training given by one of our experienced environmental scientists. We offer trainings monthly from April to October yearly, with the snail breeding season peaking in the hot summer months. If you are interested in becoming a River Warrior and joining a training, please register via the MyImpact Volunteer Portal.
Help Us Reach #1 in the City Nature Challenge
City Nature Challenge 2026 is quickly approaching! This global Bioblitz event connects communities through citizen science. From April 24th-27th, cities around the world will be competing against each other to document biodiversity in their communities. The event is a fun, hands-on way for groups to connect with nature, contribute to community science, and inspire people of all ages to explore the outdoors.
Last year was an incredible success for the San Antonio Metro Area! We recorded over 135,000 observations, documented over 4,700 species, and welcomed many first-time participants. Our collective efforts helped the San Antonio earn 1st place in the nation for both species and observations, and 2nd place in the world for both categories! Check out the 2025 global results here. The energy and teamwork from our community made a huge impact, and we’re excited to build on that momentum again this year. This spring, the River Authority hosted multiple nature walks and iNaturalist trainings with dozens of volunteers to help the San Antonio Metro Area finally reach our goal of 1st place.
Pull out your phones and hit the parks! Join the River Authority on April 25th at Trueheart Nature Ranch Park to show off our beautiful Texan flora and fauna to the whole world.
For more City Nature Challenge events and training opportunities, visit CNC-SA.ORG
