Field Trips
We are excited that our 4th grade field trips to the Nature Center have begun!
Remaining Schedule:
- 4th Grade - September 6 - October 6
- 1st Grade - October 18 - November 11
- 5th Grade - November 28 - January 20
- 3rd Grade - January 30 - February 24
- 2nd Grade - March 6 - April 6
- Kindergarten - April 17 - May 12
- Pre-Kindergarten - May 22 - 25
Student Interns
- We also welcome back our CTE student interns! They are coming from Dubiski, GP, and SGP.
- Not only will they assist teaching lessons, they will work on many projects and tasks to help with the upkeep and beautification of the Natural Science Education Center.
Find the Gnome
While reading this newsletter keep a look out for the gnome. He likes to hide! If you find him, click on him to register your readership.
A prize package will be awarded to the campus with the most Gnome registrations each month. Encourage your staff to read the newsletter and use it to grow your campus's Outdoor Classroom!
*For GPISD campuses only*
Weeds
What to do If your garden beds are full of weeds?!
- Use and get the weeds down to the soil. Dig out any that you can get out!
- Water the bed really well
- Cover with plastic and cook it for 6 weeks.
- After 6 weeks, discard the plastic and pull out whatever weeds you can remove. It helps if the soil is moist.
- Turn the soil, adding compost if you have it. Plant your fall crops and weed REGULARLY!
- Sometimes a FRESH START is needed! You may need to level your garden beds and start over.
How to Prepare Beds
- Harvest all the remaining produce and pull up all the plants. Compost healthy plants; discard plants that had any problems with insects or plant diseases.
- Rake the garden clean of all vegetable plant leaves, especially if plants showed signs of powdery mildew. Diseased leaves left on the vegetable bed can lead to similar problems next season
What to plant
Vegetables:
By seed outdoors: Broccoli, beets, carrots, brussel sprouts, cucumber, english peas, summer squash cabbage, cauliflower, collard greens, lettuce, kale, radish, spinach, and turnips.
By transplant: Broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, lettuce, greens
Start planting trees, shrubs, and perennials.
Cool temperatures help roots to become established before winter.
Composting
Prepare Compost:
- Collect leaves, grass and yard clippings
- Place in a heap or in a bin roughly 3'x3'x3'
- Sprinkle with water and maintain dampness.
- For quicker composting (1-3 months): alternate layers of green and brown materials, aerate the pile by turning and poking, chop materials into smaller pieces and keep the mound moist.
- For slower composting (3-6+ months): just keep adding material to your pile or bin and keep it moist.
How to Compost:
- Start your compost pile on bare earth. This allows worms and other beneficial organisms to aerate the compost and be transported to your garden beds.
- Lay twigs or straw first, a few inches deep. This aids drainage and helps aerate the pile.
- Add compost materials in layers, alternating moist and dry. Moist ingredients are food scraps, tea bags, seaweed, etc. Dry materials are straw, leaves, sawdust pellets and wood ashes. If you have wood ashes, sprinkle in thin layers, or they will clump together and be slow to break down.
- Add manure, green manure (clover, buckwheat, wheatgrass, grass clippings) or any nitrogen source. This activates the compost pile and speeds the process along.
- Keep compost moist. Water occasionally, or let rain do the job.
- Cover with anything you have – wood, plastic sheeting, carpet scraps. Covering helps retain moisture and heat, two essentials for compost. Covering also prevents the compost from being over-watered by rain. The compost should be moist, but not soaked and sodden.
- Turn. Every few weeks give the pile a quick turn with a pitchfork or shovel. This aerates the pile. Oxygen is required for the process to work, and turning “adds” oxygen. You can skip this step if you have a ready supply of coarse material like straw. Once you’ve established your compost pile, add new materials by mixing them in, rather than by adding them in layers. Mixing, or turning, the compost pile is key to aerating the composting materials and speeding the process to completion.
https://www.finegardening.com/article/prepare-fall-garden-for-spring-planting
CHS Foundation Agriculture Grant - Due By: October 1st, 2022
A great opportunity for grant funding for Agriculture programs in schools.
- To celebrate 75 years of making growth happen, the CHS Foundation is sponsoring an anniversary grant program exclusively for teachers to fund projects that will engage students in experiential agricultural education. Apply by Oct. 1, 2022.
- Up to $75,000 in grants will be awarded. Projects must have a strong tie to agriculture and clearly demonstrate how they will engage students in agriculture topics.
Deep in the Heart Film
K-12 Educational Resources Available
Access to video clips, narrated by Matthew McConaughey, for educational use to connect students to Texas’s unique environments, inspire awe in the natural beauty of our state, and lead to actions that support conservation.
- Each video includes 4 TEKS and NGSS-aligned lessons for K-12 teachers and students.
- Lessons include directions for the teacher, student documents in English and Spanish, and English and Spanish PowerPoint files.
- Learning Resources: deepintheheartwildlife.com/pages/learn
KGPB Events and Volunteer Opportunities
Clean Prairie Fall Sweep - Saturday, September 24th, 8 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Help us make a #LitterFreeGP!
Early registration through Sept. 5th. Regular registration Sept. 6th through 15th.
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Compost 101 - Saturday, October 1st, 2pm - 3pm
Betty Warmack Library, 760 Bardin Rd
Register with: jrudd@gptx.org
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Shade Makers Class 1 of 2 - Saturday, October 29th, 10am - 2pm
Kirby Creek Nature Center, 3303 Corn Valley Rd
Register with: amaron@gptx.org
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Shade Makers Class 2 of 2 - Saturday, November 5th, 10am - 2pm
Kirby Creek Nature Center, 3303 Corn Valley Rd
Register with: amaron@gptx.org
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Tree Care 101 - Saturday, November 5th, 2pm - 3pm
Betty Warmack Library, 760 Bardin Rd
Register with: jrudd@gptx.org
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Save the Date to Swap the Seeds - Saturday, December 3rd, 1 p.m. – 3 p.m.
Grand Prairie’s First Seed Swap!
Keep Grand Prairie Beautiful (KGPB) will no longer require scheduled plastic recycling pick-ups. All GPISD recycling containers now accept plastic.
However, please contact Amanda Maron (amaron@gptx.org) with KGPB for additional options if your campus plans a recycling drive.
If you are needing to borrow some tools, please complete the Clean Prairie Beautification Kit Application at the link below.
