Author

Rachel Cywinski

Rachel Cywinski has been a resident of the Highland Park neighborhood on San Antonio’s Southside for over 20 years. Shortly after moving there, she went to Highland Park Neighborhood Association to ask permission to apply for a tree grant and was immediately drafted to become its secretary. The following year she was elected president of HPNA, and has since become a community advocate around the rights and needs of elders and people with disabilities. Rachel is pleased to live in a neighborhood as diverse as San Antonio itself.

Rachel's Latest Articles

End of SAWS WaterSaver Rewards Program Prompts Disappointment, Reflection

By Rachel Cywinski ● San Antonio ● January 15, 2025

As climate drought intensifies, San Antonio Water System’s 2025 termination of a conservation program popular among local eco-yard proponents highlights tensions between conservation and accessibility in the utility’s struggles for future water security.

Our Homes–and Bodies–Weren’t Built to Survive this Heat

By Rachel Cywinski ● Community Voices ● October 1, 2024

As the heat index drops below advisory levels in South Texas, my brain finally has energy to reflect back on how my dogs and I survived–and didn’t—the increasingly deadly heat of these past two summers.