WELCOME BACK - August 2023
2023 - 2024 SCHOOL YEAR - Outdoor Classroom & GCCP
Dear Educators,
If your campus is interested please email: Lindsay.Reeves@gpisd.org
GCCP Kick-Off @Crosswinds Accelerated High School
Thursday, Sep 7, 2023, 06:00 PM
Crosswinds High School, North Carrier Parkway, Grand Prairie, TX, USA
What You Will Find
- Nature Center Updates
- Campus Support
- Outdoor Classroom Maintenance
- Upcoming Events & Opportunities
Who's returning? - CTE Interns!
- Dubiski - Engineering & Architect
- South Grand Prairie - Education & Vet Tech
- Grand Prairie - Education & Construction
NSEC Field Trips
- 4th Grade - August 28 - September 29
- 1st Grade - October 10 - November 3
- 5th Grade - November 13 - January 19
- 3rd Grade - January 29 - February 29
- 2nd Grade - March 18 - April 12
- Pre-Kindergarten - April 17 - April 26
- Kindergarten - May 1 - May 22
NSEC - Nature Summer Camp 2022
Field Trip to the Dallas Zoo
NSEC - Nature Summer Camp 2023
Students and Staff
Summer Camp '23
Summer Camp 2024 - Coming soon June 3-6
Upcoming events - NATURE CENTER FIELD TRIP INFORMATION
We are excited that our 4th grade field trips are starting August 28th! Team Leads - please check your email to choose your field trip date.
Staff Development Register in Edugence!
NSEC - Nature Center - 3303 Corn Valley Rd.
- 4th Grade - August 22nd: 4:30 - 6:30 PM
- 1st Grade - October 3rd: 4:30 - 6:30 PM
- 5th Grade - November 7th: 4:30 - 6:30 PM
- 3rd Grade - January 23rd: 4:30 - 6:30 PM
- 2nd Grade - March 5th: 4:30 - 6:30 PM
- Pre-Kindergarten - April 16th: 4:30 - 6:30 PM
- Kindergarten - April 30th: 4:30 - 6:30 PM
GPISD CTE programs of study student interns are returning August 28th!
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.
City of Grand Prairie Information on Upcoming Awards/Events
- Star Recycling Environmental Leadership Awards, closes August 28th : 2022 Texas Environmental Leadership Awards (recyclingstar.org); 2023 Texas Environmental Leadership Awards (recyclingstar.org)
- Project Funding, opens September 5th and closes September 20th: https://forms.gle/wgHJoJbBC7sE3zvVA
- Keep America Beautiful Awards, usually October: KEEP AMERICA BEAUTIFUL ANNOUNCES RECIPIENTS OF 2022 NATIONAL AWARDS - Keep America Beautiful (kab.org)
- Keep Texas Beautiful Beautify Texas Awards, usually mid-February: Beautify Texas Awards - Keep Texas Beautiful (ktb.org)
- Keep Grand Prairie Beautiful Awards, opens January and closes March 28, 2024: Awards City of Grand Prairie (gptx.org)
- Keep Grand Prairie Beautiful Scholarship, opens September 1st and closes March 28th: KGPB Scholarship City of Grand Prairie (gptx.org)
- Volunteer Opportunities: http://bttr.im/i2cc2
OUTDOOR CLASSROOM MAINTENANCE
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 - Early FALL
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
https://learn.eartheasy.com/guides/composting/
https://thedallasgarden.com/north-texas-garden-calendar/
Email: lindsay.reeves@gpisd.org
Phone: 972.522.2539
CLASSROOM SPOTLIGHT
If you would like for us to Spotlight your Outdoor Classroom or Garden in a future newsletter, please reach out to Lindsay Reeves (lindsay.reeves@gpisd.org
Ms. Davila holding Penny
Ms. Miller writing samples
Student example
Campus recycling
Keep Grand Prairie Beautiful (KGPB) will no longer require scheduled recycling pick-ups. All GPISD recycling containers now accept plastic.
Please contact Amanda Maron (amaron@gptx.org) with KGPB for additional options if your campus plans a recycling drive.
Email: amaron@gptx.org
In need of gardening tools?
GPISD Natural Science Education Center - NSEC S'more ❤️ 🐝
NSEC Facilitator
Email: lindsay.reeves@gpisd.org
Website: www.gpisd.org/nsec
Location: Kirby Creek Park, 3303 Corn Valley Road, Grand Prairie, TX, USA
Phone: 972.522.2539
Facebook: facebook.com/naturalscienceeducationcenter
Twitter: @GPISD_nature
City of Grand Prairie - Solid Waste & Recycling Department
Keep Grand Prairie Beautiful Coordinator
Email: amaron@gptx.org
Website: gptx.org/kgpb
Location: Grand Prairie City Landfill, Macarthur Boulevard, Grand Prairie, TX, USA
Phone: 972-237-4546
City of Grand Prairie - Environmental Quality
Environmental Outreach Coordinator
Email: kwieden@gptx.org
Location: 300 West Main Street, Grand Prairie, TX, USA
Phone: 972-237-8229
GPISD - STEM Director
Director of STEM
Email: kasie.roden@gpisd.org
Location: 2602 South Belt Line Road, Grand Prairie, TX, USA
Phone: 972-237-4010
Facebook: facebook.com/GrandPrairieISDSTEM
Twitter: @gpisdstem