Field Trip to Balcones Canyonlands Preserve

Green Tech Academy's 6th grade students visited Balcones Canyonlands Preserve on October 14th and 15th. They were treated to a tour of the grounds during which they practiced spotting the golden cheeked warbler and learned about how scientists track and study them. Students also assessed the quality of the local habitat for the warblers by identifying elements which they need to survive through competing in a scavenger hunt.

Finally teachers, students, and parents alike did some good old gardening work, assisting the staff of Canyonlands in preparing their new pollinator garden. After a refreshing lunch and a few  rounds of frisbee they all returned to school. 

Check out some more pictures of the trip below! 

Greenhouse Generates Greenbacks

A Blooming Success for a Growing Tradition

Pleasant weather, a new sales model, and a bountiful inventory added up to a tree-mendous fundraising event. Thanks for all our shoppers for patronizing our event. Each day grossed a little over $2,000.

Photos by Gibeaut

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C h i c k e n  C a m

Well, That Was Fast

Just yesterday we cleaned and repaired their houses.

Today they returned.

Amazing!

Be My Purple Martin Valentine

A break in the weather afforded us a chance to spruce up our martin houses. The scouts should be arriving soon, and we want them to bring back last years's colony.

Our first step was to lower the houses. When the school year ended last June, the colony was thriving. They exhibited a strong preference for the older metal houses. By the time school started in August, the houses had been abandoned.

Before cleaning, we took time to examine the old nests. Of the 24 apartments in the metal houses, 22 showed evidence of habitation. The two empty spots were missing the front walls. 

 

Only one of the gourd houses had the telltale mud and twigs of a martin nest. On two occasions last spring we discovered sparrows nesting in the polygourds. We relocated those to the nearby woods. 

We did not find a completed swallow nest which is mostly just a swirl of straw. But, almost every gourd had a few pieces of straw.

Sadly, we did find the remains of a young martin. Hannah found 4 eggs in one apartment. In another, one egg didn't hatch. We set these aside for further investigation once the houses were clean.

 

The polygourds required very little cleaning and zero maintenance. The metal houses were dirty and in pretty rough shape. They looked like they had survived a barrage of artillery. I don't understand why anyone would throw rocks at birdhouses, but over the years this has been fairly common. After scraping and brushing them out, we straightened out and replaced the floors, front walls, and railing pieces.

Once we completed the spring cleaning and raised the houses back up their poles, it was time for our "eggtopsies." The contents of two of the eggs were liquid.

The other three contained more solid masses. We detected no foul odors. The consistency of two of them looked similar to a boiled chicken egg. One seemed more like a fetus, although we could not detect and discernible body parts.

We are eagerly awaiting the return of the martins and are keeping our eyes pealed for the scouts.

Photos by Matthew and David

A Semester's Difference

Our Green Tech electives are semester long. In a mere 16 weeks students in Mr. Brooks's classes have made a huge impact on our campus.  

Chickens

Underused picnic tables were relocated to the front of the schools. This left an empty concrete pad in a protected alcove close to water and electricity. Mr. Brooks reclaimed this area and relocated the Frisby coop to offer better lodging for our layers. Next semester should see the debut of ChickenCam.

Notice the resemblance?

Vermiculture

Working with Keep Austin Beautiful students began an indoor composting station that employs red wigglers to break down food scraps and strips of discarded newsprint. Students have learned that reducing waste is not enough. We have to find ways to harvest the nutrients in the waste that we still generate.

Expansion of Food Production

Another collaborative effort doubled the capacity of our raised vegetable gardens. Students also improved the structure of the protective cold frames. Already students have munched on chard, kale, spinach, parsley, and cilantro. Modeling local organic food production is not just targeted for our students, but the community as well.

 Sheet Mulching

The former site of the chicken enclosure is being revitalizes with cardboard, leaf mold and leftover soils from this semester's projects. Students bravely battled gusting winds often chasing flatted boxes across the back courtyard. The Frisby chicken tractors are still getting a lot of use.

 Herb Spiral 

Another collaborative effort combined surplus soils with Lake Travis driftwood, cemetery stones, and leftover building materials in a coiled bed for growing herbs.

Cafeteria Composting

Mr. Brooks's student collect cafeteria waste daily. They are using several composting methods including a compost tumbler, a compost tea maker, and wooden bins made by Mr. Scott's students.

As we wind down the Fall semester, we are gearing up for plenty of  green activity in the spring.

Thanksgiving Trees Year Two

With the wind chill near freezing, Native Plants and Animals students planted it forward. They added three trees to our Small Forest. Between the six environmental science classes I teach, we are planting 18 trees on our campus. Last Friday's inch of rain made our task much easier.

Last year Small students planted a dozen trees at Westcave Preserve and thus initiated Thanksgiving Trees, a tradition we hope will adopted by others. The idea is simple. Plant a tree or few around the end of November, reflect on gratitude, and do something positive for the environment.

By 5th period it had warmed up, and we had more trees to plant. This time we added three retamas to the southern end of the Small Forest.

One prominent characteristic of retamas is the long thorns along the trunk and branches. These spikes are perfect for a sated bird to stash a tasty dragonfly for a later meal.

Towards Tree Literacy

Are you tree literate?

Ever spend time up in a tree, been in a real treehouse?
Have you ever planted a tree, taken care of it?
Are you up on your tree anatomy?
Could you explain to someone else the value of native trees?
Do you know the common names of 20 or more local trees?
Could you use a dichotomous key to figure out the names of the ones you don't?

By the time my Taste of Science students have completed the course, they should be able to answer yes to most of these questions. As far as the treehouse goes, they are on their own.