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