Green Academy Weekly Newsletter - April 29

Plant of the Week: Black-Eyed Susan

The Black-Eyed Susan is a plant native to many parts of North America that is characterized by its yellow flowers that bloom from June through August. The plant grows up to 36 inches tall and is great for attracting pollinators, making it a popular addition to many gardens. Black-Eyed Susans are also pioneer plants, meaning they grow back first in an area damaged by something such as a fire or flood. The plant also has a history as a Native American medicinal cure. 

What’s Happening This Week in the Green Academy?

Our chickens are now six weeks old and have been spending more and more time outside in the facilities that Green Academy classes custom-made for them, like the chicken tractor. We’ve also worked with our three bee colonies on campus and have plans to potentially add up to three more hives. There are also plans to sell eggs produced by our chickens, which should happen next school year. We’re also working to keep our gardens healthy and dig trenches in the area of land adjacent to the soccer field and near the highway where we hope to create a water system.

Green Academy Weekly Newsletter - May 6

 

Plant of the Week: Purple Coneflower

The purple coneflower is a flowering plant that blooms from June to August with beautiful pink and purple flowers. The plant has a history in herbal medicine and attracts pollinators such as bees and butterflies as well as hummingbirds. It’s best to plant purple coneflowers in areas that get at  least six to eight hours of full sunlight each day. The plant grows about 2-4’ tall.

What’s Happening in the Green Academy This Week?

Big news! Our baby chicks have recently moved into their new forever home - built to accommodate them as they grow and start producing eggs. We are currently in the process of training these chicks to explore the fields near their coop to eat plants, and to come back to their coops at the end of the day for ‘dinner.’ The more these chicks are being carefully picked up and handled by humans, the more comfortable they are becoming with being around us. Most of our major projects are now complete as the school year is coming to an end, and our last major project is to continue working on a woodshop in the old sheep cage. Our habitat field is progressing nicely and some of the seeds have begin to sprout with wildflowers and native grasses appearing. 

 

Plant of the Week: Possumhaw Holly

Possumhaw is a species of holly native to parts of the United States and is characterized by the many small, red berries that grow on the plant as well as its twig-like branches. The plant has many benefits; it makes for a good ornamental plant, attracts songbirds, mammals, and insects to eat the fruit, and provides a bird nesting area. 

Weekly Update: What’s Happening in the Green Academy?

This week in the Green Academy, we’re working to finish our chicken coop, and are focused on working on the roof. Recently, the baby chicks spent time outside for the first time!

Our gardens have started to show fruits and vegetables. Weeding and watering is a priority as these gardens continue to grow and produce tasty and nutritious food for us.

Green Academy Update 4/15

 

Plant of the Week: Gayfeather/Blazing Star

The gayfeather, also called the blazing star or liatris spicata is a plant native to parts of the United States including parts of Texas. The plant lives for about two years and has beautiful purple-colored, feather-like flowers (hence the name). The plant is edible and some native people used the plants’ roots for healing powers. 

What’s Happening in the Green Academy This Week?

This week in the Green Academy, we’ve been continuing to work on watering our plants and taking care of our ecosystem in preparation for summer vacation. We’ve been making sure to water frequently and are making efforts to ensure that our animals are properly cared for. We are very excited with the arrival of dozens of baby chicks which will begin producing eggs in August, and there are talks of selling these free-range eggs.

 Two Weeks old!!

Native Plant of the Week- American Beautyberry

The American beautyberry is an open-habitat, native shrub of the Southern United States that is often grown as an ornamental in gardens and yards. American beautyberries produce large clusters of purple berries, which birds and deer eat.

 Plant of the Week: Texas Mountain Laurel

(Sophora secundiflora)

Texas Mountain Laurel is a native tree/shrub that grows clusters of 

beautiful lavender-colored flowers. These plants are prevalent throughout thre Texas hill country

and are popular for their bright and beautiful colors. They are drought-tolerant plants and do best in rocky limestone soil. 

Weekly Update: What’s Happening This Week?

This week in the Green Academy, we're working to create new shelters for the goats and sheep in the Golden Triangle. These brand-new structures will create a better environment for the animals on campus and allow us to better care for them in the harsh weather conditions. In other news, students have been working to plant and care for hundreds of native seeds in the greenhouse. We are working to ensure the healthy growth of these seeds, and are excited to see them sprout!

Sixth-grade classes have been working to strip turf to create their new vegetable gardens in recent days. These vegetable gardens will teach students how to properly care for gardens of their own, and will hopefully produce fresh, healthy, and delicious foods!  - Dean Pelaez

 Our native plant of the week is Turk's cap. 

Turk's cap grows here at Small, it is native to Texas, and does great in our warm conditions. It is a straightforward plant for beginner gardeners to grow and a fun fact about Turk's cap is that it is completely edible, except for the stem.

 

Green Academy Weekly Update: What’s New This Week?

In recent days, the Green Academy has installed vent fans and blowers in our greenhouse to improve ventilation and temperature control. Shelving in the greenhouse (with repurposed materials) took a while, but is now installed as well. And lookie here! There be light in the tan shed. All the years of groping blindly in the dark are finally behind us!

We’re also breaking new ground to expand our gardens in a half-acre field we recently acquired.

The wildflower seeds are now sown in our habitat area, so its a waiting game. Rain, please, do your thing.

We're also in the process of creating a covered workshop for woodwork and construction.

Of course, this is all very exciting news; and we will continue to help the environment of our school. 

 Our greenhouse is getting total makeover!

We've replaced the roof, added venting fans, and we're working on overhead storage racks and heat.

This has been a long time coming, with, as you know, very little funding.

The new grounds have rekindled an excitement for Green Academy, and with new shirts and a working greenhouse, we have big plans for the future!

 Texas Sage is an evergreen shrub in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae, native to the U.S. state of Texas, where it is the official "State Native Shrub of Texas", and to the states of Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas in northern Mexico.