Tree Update!

There is an update on the tree in the Oak Hill Gazette and our program is featured! We still help raising funds. Please try and help in any way possible.

http://oakhillgazette.com/featured/2013/10/130-year-old-heritage-oak-tree-could-be-cut-down-soon/

HELP SAVE THE 130 YEAR OLD HERITAGE TREE IN OAK HILL

The Oak Hill Gazette recently published an article on the expansion of Highway 290/71 through the Y and its effect on a 130 year old heritage tree. (http://oakhillgazette.com/featured/2013/10/130-year-old-heritage-oak-tree-could-be-cut-down-soon/)

The tree is scheduled to be removed as soon as early November. According to the Austin Heritage Tree Foundation (AHTF) (http://www.austinheritagetreefoundation.com/Home.html), “We need to raise $3,000 within the next 3 weeks to do a feasibility study (hire certified arborist) to determine if the tree can be transplanted since the root crown (the base of the tree) is below grade, buried in soil and gravel, and to prune the tree before the end of October.” TxDOT is willing to transplant the tree, but the problem is funding. The AHTF has already applied for grants from the city. If they are approved for the grants, the community will have to raise about $18,000 to cover the remaining cost of transplanting the tree. We are trying to petition the City and the Heritage Foundation to consider Small Middle School Green Academy (www.insmallgardens.blogspot.com) as the new location of the tree. Michael Fossum, executive director for the AHTF, says “live oaks have historically had a high success rate when it comes to relocation…a survival rate of 98 percent. However, the health of a transplanted tree is dependent on the aftercare it receives in its new home.”

 “You have to water it and make sure it has mulch and doesn’t get diseased,” Fossum said. “You have about a five year aftercare period where you let it reestablish its roots and acclimate to its new area. After that, it should survive on its own.” With the strong support of the community and the student body, Small Middle School would be the perfect home. The Small Green Academy has over 800 students each year who are dedicated to preserving the natural habitat surrounding the school. The tree would receive tender love and care for the life of the tree. We are less than 2 miles away from the tree, and we have a similar soil composition to the current location.

We are currently in works with the district to help set up accounts to allow for us to directly fund raise for this effort. Until we are approved and the accounts are set up, please follow these directions to donate:

The Austin Parks Foundation manages the fund for the Austin Heritage Tree Foundation. Donations are tax-deductible because the Austin Parks Foundation is a 503c non-profit organization and the Austin Heritage Tree Foundation operates under their umbrella. The Austin Parks Foundation charges a 2% fee of every donation, to a maximum of $100 per donation.

Send a check to the Austin Parks Foundation, 507 Calles Street, Ste. 116, Austin, TX 78702. Please, make sure to write “Austin Heritage Tree Foundation- Taco Bell Tree” on the memo line. Please, email mfossum@austin.rr.com with the name of donor and donation amount so that we can confirm your donation.

Call the Austin Parks Foundation at 512-477-1566 ext. 1 to donate by phone. Please, make sure to specify that your donation is for the “Austin Heritage Tree Foundation- Taco Bell Tree”. Please, email mfossum@austin.rr.com with the name of donor and donation amount so that we can confirm your donation.

Donate with a credit card at this link: https://www.austinparks.org/adopter-donations.html

Make sure to click on the Austin Heritage Tree Foundation box (6th from the top). Please, email mfossum@austin.rr.com with the amount and donor’s name so that we know that the donation was for the Taco Bell tree.

We appreciate any support you can offer. Please also email Michael Fossum if you also believe Small Middle School would be the perfect home for the “Taco Bell” Tree.

2013 1st 6 Weeks Recap –by Kasi M. and Julia M.

 (Some images have been borrowed from other sites due to technical dificulties)

This year has started off great! The students have already worked on many projects to benefit our school.

A salad bar has been added to our cafeteria. Adding more healthy options in the cafeteria is always a goal of our program. Soon the food in the salad bar will hopefully all be grown in our vegetable gardens. We have expanded our beds to begin this process. Prior to Green Fest we constructed more keyhole gardens. Keyhole gardens allow one person to work a garden more efficiently by allowing them to reach the whole garden without moving. They also have compost added right into the soil, through the middle mesh tube.

Our students raise chickens each year. In previous years we have raised the chicks from only a few days old to egg laying years all in class. This year we purchased chicks from Callahan’s. Ms. Dunaway has taken care of the chicks up to this point at her home. They have recently been brought back to school to get taken care of by students and live in our chicken coup.

We have installed a new rainwater garden. This garden helps catch rain to make sure it is absorbed by the plants instead of the water becoming runoff. Runoff leads to erosion and the loss of valuable topsoil. It has held up to our "mosoonal" downpours.

The north pond that was started last year was finished this year. It has native plants like pink Turk’s cap and has a waterfall. It is also home to  mosquito fish, red eared sliders, and a plethora of insects.

The gardens that were built three years ago using a National Wildlife Foundation grant always need maintenance. This year our benches were beginning to look like they needed some help. We replaced some boards. and we have them a new coat of  green ­­ and purple paint. Go Cougars and Green Tech!

Green Fest was a great success! This festival raised money for upcoming projects by selling native plants, t-shirts, entry fees for all of our awesome activites, and from donations from vendors.  We are going to sell the remaining plants throughout this week ending this Friday, 10/18, at our school.

We are also still selling mulch and Green Fest shirts. Mulch is $4 a yard. Shirts are $10. You can also contact Mr. Rosenberg, nate.rosenberg@austinisd.org, if you would like to come out any purchase any items throughout the week.

Some of the plants we still have are:

·         Esperanza (yellow Bells)

·         Mexican Feather grass (wire grass)

·         Bulbine

·         Red Shrimp Plant

·         Mexican Plum

·         Conoclinium Gregg (small, grey)

·         Black Foot Daisy

·         Palm Lady Tree

·         4 Nerve Daisy

·         Mexican Bush sage (purple)

·         Desert Willow

·         Star Tree Ivy

·         Fall Aster

·         American Beauty Berry

·         Mexican Beauty Berry

·         Mountain Laurel

·         Oxford Pink Salvia

·         Salvia greggi

·         Turks Cap

·         Texas Rock Rose

The very first graduating class from the Green Academy.  These students presented their semester projects to a jury of peers, parents, teachers and community members.  Projects included plans for on-campus beekeeping, a green roof, aquaponics, integrated pest control, goat keeping and biodiverse methods for growing commodity crops like cotton.  Congratulations!

Year Wrap Up: Bird Savior, Class Pets, New Habitats

The year and this semester seemed to fly by. Students got a chance to experience species first hand, we developed new habitat, we've expanded our classes and our storage.

To start off, an amazing experience happened just today. One of my previous students Jayden (boy), who is also a current student of Mr. Brooks, greeted me at my classroom door this morning. He had a shoe box which contained an unidentified bird. He told me that he and his family had discovered this bird being attacked in an ant pile. He decided to rescue the bird, clean it of the ants, and bring it into class. His brother had rescued a squirrel 2 years earlier and had brought that into class. Mr. Matthews and other students helped nurture that squirrel to eventually release it back outdoors. Mr. Matthews had this wonder phrase: Novices think I am an Expert, and Experts know that I am a Novice. When I saw Jayden's bird I knew what to do, but I getting started was the problem. I didn't know what the bird's condition was, and did not want to do anything to worsen it. We attempted to identify the bird, but had difficulties not knowing where to look due to the limited information we had about the bird. We ended up contacting Austin Wildlife Rescue (http://austinwildliferescue.org/). I left a message describing what had happened and waited for a response. Luckily they called back and recommmended I bring in the bird due to its ant bites. Normally with a fledling, you would leave it where it was found because the bird is learning to walk and fly with help from its parents. When Wildlife Rescue's Madeline examined the bird, she said it would do fine. Jayden's quick reaction saved a bird from a very painful death. The bird actually turned out to be a fledgling dove. I spoke with Madeline for a while to find out what would be next for our bird. It was going to spend some time in an incubator being fed. Once the dove is able to eat, walk, and fly on its own, it would be removed to a flight cage. Where it will get more experience flying. Once ready it will be released back into the wild. Way to go JAYDEN!

We have had great opportunities for the kids to get up close with some native and non-native species.We have the corn snake, Kaleidoscope/Sasha, that Mr. Brooks showed in his previous post. When she got out we got another corn snake, Klein. Sadly she got sick and wouldn't eat, but the kids loved holding her while we had her.

In preparation for the Plant Sale we had to organize near the greenhouse. While doing this we were able to find a few spiny lizards living under a pile of wood.

Having this spiny lizard in our class allowed us to experience our nature trail in a completely different way. We became cricket hunters. In the process we saw a lot of cool things outside we may have never seen.

The crickets were hiding underneath different flat heavy objects. We check under wood logs and found a plethora of invertebrates. Here we found a walking stick.

We found so many scorpions! Under every rock in a handmade staircase there were at least two.

We got up close with a cardinal nest. The mother kept flying off as I was trying to get close to get a shot. In the process we noticed that there was a bird singing every time we got close to the nest. It turns out that the male was sitting on a telephone wire above us warning the female we were near. Each time we looked at him he flew off. We went back and forth watching the male and female interacing in this way. It was truly a behavior that we had not been able to observe especially for such a long period of time.

In our Taste of Science class we are continuing the tradition of monitoring our purple martin houses. We have two metal houses and two plastic gourd towers. We monitor the building of the purple matin nests. There are other invasive species that like to interfere with the purple martins, their young, and their nests. We are supposed to control these invasive species. The main species we deal with is the house sparrow. There is a big difference between a purple martin nest and a house sparrow nest.

Purple Martin Nest with eggs

Purple Martin Fledgling

A purple martin nest is loose fitting. It mostly contains sticks and oak leaves. A house sparrow nest completely fills the gourd or nest box and contains mostly grasses.



ABOVE: House Sparrow nest in gourd, LOWER: House sparrow nest on ground



When you are aware of the invasive species, you can control their impact on the purple martins. Whether it is owls or raptors eating the martins. Or the house sparrows moving into martin nests, destroying eggs, and making martins raise the house sparrow young. Sadly sometimes when removing house sparrow nests you also have to remove their young as well. To prevent this catching and releasing sparrows is recommended, or you will have to constantly remove nests.

Luckily we also get to experience watching the cycle of life. We have watched nest building, egg laying, and now purple martins growing and getting ready for a new life on their own. We currently have over 40 eggs, hatchlings, or fledlings.



My last photos are extras of our pond and tool shed projects. They have been the big projects this semester in my classes

. The tool shed is done. Here are some of the stages. The last one was just before we did the white trim.



The pond is almost done! This has been a project that has taken a whole year to complete. Within the next few weeks we will have power. Once power is installed, we need to finish our waterfall and basin. This will allow us to have a second ecosystem to study. It is really exciting.

The year and semester has blown by. All we can hope for is that next year will go as well.

Updates!Our snake, Kaleidoscope, was lost for weeks, but now she's back.

Giving new meaning to "Going Green." After weeks of work, Mr. Rosenberg finished our new shed.  We have been told that it is visible from the highway.

An aerial shot of the finished labyrinth.

Earth Day tree planting at Clint Small Middle School.  Students not only dug, planted, mulched and watered the trees, they donated the money to buy them.

Mr. Brooks' "What's on Your Plate?" class visited the Whole Foods store on William Cannon today.  Manager Richard Gabaree welcomed the students and gave them a brief tour of the store before they started their scavenger hunt. 
The Scavenger Hunt

How much does  a 55 gallon rain barrel cost?

Which green vegetable has the highest ANDI rating?

Which non-green vegetable has the highest ANDI rating?

What does ANDI stand for?

Where are Kitchen Pride mushrooms grown?

How much does the organic Bokchoy cost and where is it grown?

Which popular nut is actually a bean?

Which “Dirty Dozen” red fruit is popular on Valentine’s Day?

Why are some vegetables and fruits waxed?

What does certified “Whole Trade” mean?

How many grams of protein are in 1 cup of sprouted almonds?

How much is the fresh organic peanut butter per pound?

Which “Clean 15” vegetable contains good fat?

How many grams of saturated fat are in 1 cup of organic pecans?

How long should you cook quinoa?

Which grains contain gluten?

How many grams of fiber are in ¼ cup of green lentils?

What percentage of your daily allowance of Vitamin A would you get in a serving of dried Goji berries?

What part of the cow does brisket come from?

Which type of meat gets the highest animal welfare rating?

Which fish gets the highest Blue Ocean Institute rating?

Which fish is farmed sustainably?

Which fish has color added?

What is the display on the aisle cap across from Tom’s shoes?

What is the country of origin for Manchego?

What is the main ingredient in Parmagiano-Reggiano?

What is the country of origin for Kalamata olives?

Which brand of kombucha is brewed locally?

What does Vital Farms produce?

How much does bulk ground nutmeg cost per pound?

What is the name of the local honey supplier?

Which chocolate bar has the highest cacao content?

What is the main ingredient in Quorn Chik’n patties?

Which energy bar has the fewest ingredients?

Where did Seventh Generation company get its name?

What is a low fat alternative to dairy milk?

What is the main ingredient in hummus?

Which packaged breakfast cereal has the most fiber?

Which canned fish is considered best for your health and for the environment?

Which of the following oils has the least saturated fat: canola, olive, coconut?

What is nori?

What are “Preserve” razor handles made from?

What are the ingredients in J. R. Liggett’s shampoo?

What is the main ingredient in vegan chocolate pudding?

What is a demi-baguette?

What is in a Rainbow Roll?

What is Capicola?  How much is it per pound?

What are the green bins in Whole Foods for?

How much is the re-usable bag discount?

At Whole Foods there are special parking spaces for handicapped drivers, carpoolers and ________?

Last week students from the UT School of Civil Engineering visited Mr. Brooks' Independent Study class to present their designs for a proposed raingarden on the CSMS campus.  The UT program is partnering with the City of Austin and selected AISD schools. Mr. Brooks' students have been working on similar projects throughout the Spring semester and will be making their design presentations in early May.

April Obersteller visited Mr. Brooks' Independent Study class recently to share information about the business model of Sierra Sage Productions. 

The students also learned about the medicinal properties of many common herbs and flowers used in the line of salves and balms made by Sierra Sage. Everybody scored a sample of one of the lip balm varieties or the multi-purpose "Green Goo."       

Plant Sale, Pond Progress, and Toolshed

The Clint Small Green Academy Plant Sale is going to be held on April 11 and 12. It will be on Thursday and Friday in the greenhouse from 9a-5p.We spread the days out and extended the hours to try and accomodate everyone give all of you enough time to buy plants. And since it is at the end of the week there is time to get them in the ground over the weekend! Our address is 4801 Monterey Oaks Blvd. 78749. The plants are natives grown by students or donated by Emerald Gardens Nursery. All funds go to support our programs. There are no district funds directly allocated for our elective classes. Here are some of our star student advertisers work.

We are also in the process of expanding or storage space for our growing tool collection as well as our spaces for studying native species on campus. Our new toolshed currently only needs the roof, shingles, paint and sealer. Here are some of the stages the shed has gone through. We constructed a pad for the shed, and truly made it a student project with numerous teachable moments and pieces needing to be "reworked".

 

All of the supplies have been purchased for our pond. We will soon have a working pump, and multiple aquatic species flourishing. We just need to find a power source. Thanks to Emerald Gardens Nursery and PONDS for all of their support.