PASADENA, Texas In the heart of Pasadena’s Sam Rayburn High School is a botanical oasis, formerly known as the atrium. Just a little more than a year ago, it was a series concrete sidewalks and dried dirt that served as a pass -through from one side of campus to the other.
Mariel Sturm, a 2004 graduate, knew the atrium could be much more. She envisioned a transformation that would serve as a learning environment, as well as a student retreat.
Recently, volunteers and students celebrated the newly created Sam Rayburn Ecology Center by planting wild flowers indigenous to the Texas Gulf Coast.
When Sturm began the project during her senior year, she and Assistant Principal Charlie Riggs sought help Chris LaChance, coordinator for Texas Cooperative Extension’s WaterSmart Landscape Program and Texas Master Naturalists. Master Naturalists are volunteers trained by Extension on the habitats and ecological systems of the Gulf Coast.
She also benefitted from the vision of landscape designer Mark Fox who specializes in landscapes that positively impact the environment.
Students groups and other volunteers helped with the shoveling, weed pulling and planting during installation. These groups included the Ecology Club, Honor Society, football and basketball teams, ROTC, parents, teachers, city of Pasadena volunteers and other students.
Extension’s WaterSmart Landscape program was the basis for the landscape design. Sturm and Fox created a landscape that demonstrates the water-filtering ability of plants.
“This allows students to understand local ecology and how native prairies and wetlands function,” LaChance said. “Then they begin to realize the importance of preserving these valuable ecosystems.”
The Ecology Center is an outdoor classroom where students connect with nature and learn the importance of protecting delicate coastal habitats and the natural resources in them. Another feature of the landscape is the “eco-turf,” which replaced the St. Augustine and Bermuda grasses with low-growing perennials, bunch grasses and mulches. These ground coverings require less water and no chemical pesticides or fertilizers.
The center is used for more than science classes. Math, language arts, visuals arts and wood shop classes all take advantage of the green space.
“The Ecology Center actually benefits the entire Pasadena community because it serves as an focal point for demonstrated practices in environmentally sound landscaping,” LaChance said.
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