Spring Time

Spring time is here and the plants on campus are starting to bloom! Texas plants are known to love the heat, and now that the cold is seceding, gardeners are on easy street. 

But we know how our weather is, one day it’s a breezy 65, and the next it’s a high of 90, so make sure you’re prepared for the heat waves we’ll surely be getting! 

We asked the gardeners what they are going to do to keep the plants safe when the extreme hot weather comes.  

The gardeners said: Watering extra at night and in the morning and harvesting them before the heat comes.

   Happy spring!!!

 Garden Growth!

The gardeners have some very big progress to report in their gardens. Some new plants have sprouted, which is very exciting news for us. 

Onions+beets     Lettuce     More Lettuce!

If you’re more interested in the bigger growth, 

Asa’s Kale Garden is going very well!

We’re very proud of our gardeners, especially with the recent colder nights they’re still going strong!

 Chicken update:

So far the bantam chickens have grown so much. They grew in height, length, and personality. Right now we have many different chickens with a variety of sizes, colors, and textures. 

 With so much chicken diversity in the pen, there’s a lot of room for favorites. Here are the top 4 most loved chicks we have.  

Burnt Chicken Nugget  -     Alpaca       - Texture Powder  - Rooster (the rooster)

Fun fact! We have a lot of different chickens with similar traits as Burnt Chicken Nugget, and they’re each named different variants of nuggets. (e.g, uncooked chicken nugget)

 Animals Update: 

So far on our campus we have a large variety of animals. We have chickens, baby chicks, ducks, mini goats, a mini cow, a mini longhorn, and sheep. They are all very amazing and the sheep’s wool we sell. Another thing we have is the foxes and skunks and rats that hunt for food in our garden.

Here are some pictures of our larger animals

 Lately the gardeners have been creating a new garden, which is involving new plants and new soil. 

Question of the day: What are you growing?

Gardener 🗣️ 

Liam: Long Day Onions, Sweet bell peppers, Scallion Onion, Mild Chili Pepper, and Dill

Another thing is that everyone who wants to have a garden has to build their own garden and make sure it's healthy. 

Fact of the Day: Onions block bugs

Joke of the Day: What did the mushroom say to the tree?

🗣️What?

I’m a fungi!

 The Outdoor Classroom

There’s been a new installation at CSMS, and it’s a big one! 

This is an all new outdoor classroom, containing a shipping container, an overhead roof, and many metal tables for students to work on while outside. This also provides shade from the sun that protects the students as they work in different classes. It has metal tables for different things. Another thing is that the whole thing is made out of metal so it won’t wear or break easily.

  Chicken Coop

We got 30 chicks in October. The construction group built a coop for them, they also made a fence to keep them inside the area.  

Inside the coop they have a perch that they can  sleep on. Also in the area they have a walkway that they can walk across and stand on. 

Social outreach is painting the coop pink. They also are going to make a sign for the chicken area.

 Cows

Howdy Howdy is a mini longhorn. He has some orange spots and white spots. He is social but more shy than Johnny. He also eats hay. The mini longhorns live up to 25 years but only with good care.

Johnny  

Johnny is a mini highland cow. He has dark orange fur. Mini highland cows are more gentle then the regular highland cows. They eat hay and they live up to 20  years. 

With the recent weather events Austin has been getting particularly cold which has set up for all the chickens in the Ducks to get all cozy up in their coops.

This winter has been very cold and even snowed. Some of the plants have been injured or died from the  cold. 

We do not have enough space for all of the people in our class to plant, so the manual labor group has begun to expand the garden, and grow winter plants.

Every student will be growing something in our garden this semester.

Here are some of what we will grow.

broccoli, kale, spinach, lettuce, cabbage, cauliflower, arugula, tomato, cucumber, squash, zucchini, melons, peppers, etc.

This will be our first opportunity to grow fruit.

Clint Small Middle School's Green Tech Program is paving the way for environmental studies and technology innovation!

Proudly a National “Green Ribbon” school and the first in Texas to earn the Eco-Schools USA Green Flag Award from the National Wildlife Federation. 

Learn more and "Find Your Seat" at Austin ISD : https://www.austinisd.org/enroll

#AISDFindYourSeat #GreenTech #EcoSchoolsUSA #EnvironmentalEducation 

 ¡El programa de Tecnología Verde de la Escuela Secundaria Clint Small está abriendo el camino para los estudios ambientales y la innovación tecnológica! 

Orgullosa de ser una escuela "Listón verde" nacional y la primera de Texas en obtener el premio Eco-Schools USA Green Flag de la Federación Nacional de Vida Silvestre. 

Obtenga más información y "Encuentre su lugar" en el Austin ISD : https://www.austinisd.org/enroll

#AISDFindYourSeat #GreenTech #EcoSchoolsUSA #EnvironmentalEducation 

 Interview Manual Labor

With ryan 

Manual labor workers: Ryan, Alex W, Cyrus, Nick, Sam, Emaunel, Miles,  James.

Interview with Ryan 

Why did you pick manual labor?

I like to do manual labor.

What do you want to learn?

Manual labor.

What do you think will be the most challenging?

Manual labor.

What are you most looking forward to?

Manual labor.

Do you think you will stick with manual labor all year?

Yes.

 Garden

We are turning the old soccer fields into a garden! Here is what we have been doing and our plan:

First we used safety scyths to cut away all the tall grass. 

Second we used shovels to outline the area and flip over the ground.

Third we used hand tillers and shovels to mix up the ground.

Fourth Mr Jeannsone used the rototiller to finish mixing up the dirt. 

Now we are mixing in sand, dirt, and mulch to make loam (loam is a mix of the three kinds of soil: clay, silt and sand which is the best for plants to grow).

Then we will run hoses out to the field to water and plant.

                        - Your friendly Social Outreach Team

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