Landscape-O-Rama: Discovery Hill Outdoor Learning Center

The Native Plant Society of Texas held their 2015 symposium this year in Austin, and as part of that they offered various tours, including one of an outdoor learning garden that was commissioned by the Austin Independent School District (AISD). It is located in south Austin behind their Science and Health Resource Center and serves as a resource for the entire school district. Busloads of elementary, middle and high school students show up weekly to work on curriculum focused around the garden.

Environmental Survey Consulting (ESC) was hired by AISD to design and install the garden which was opened in 2013. This construction included a vegetated swale, an information kiosk, planting terraces, planting beds, etc. Most of the labor was done by volunteers led by a project manager from ESC. With this in mind, the construction details were kept intentionally simple and rustic to allow for future replacement by volunteers with readily available materials and minimum carpentry skills. This mainly included cedar logs, limestone blocks, and treaded wood posts. The irrigation was the one element that was professionally installed because of the more specific knowledge needed for that work.

Cedar Log Fence

Limestone Seat Block & Cedar Log Planting Bed Edge

The Science and Health Resource Center sits at the top of a slope and forms the north boundary for the garden. Water pours off the roof directly into the landscape, so a gravel strip of river rock was added as a splash dissipator and a perforated pipe under the rock conveys the water to the vegetated swale on the east side of the garden. The slope is terraced with cedar log retaining walls, and cedar and decomposed granite steps provide three routes through the terraced beds. At the bottom of the slope is a DG path running east to west which is separated from a second such path by a string of garden beds.

Drainage River Rock at Top of Slope

Cedar Log Terraces with Decomposed Granite Steps

Garden Decomposed Granite Pathway

Path & Pond

One of the most popular features of the garden is a small pond in a galvanized water tank. Teachers have seen this and replicated it at several different schools. The aquatic plants in the tank were planted in plastic containers that where embedded in a slump of concrete. Refill of the pond is manually done, so there's no auto-fill or any other mechanical components like that. Vandalism of the pond was a big problem, but the school installed a motion sensor light and a security still capture camera, and these deterrents have really helped.

Stock Tank Pond

Aquatic Plant Pot with Concrete Slump

A main educational feature of the garden is its showcase of native habitat areas. The original planting plan featured palettes for Short Grass Meadow, Woodland Edge, Riparian Edge, etc. The garden is a "Certified Schoolyard Habitats Site" as designated by the National Wildlife Federation. Many plants were in full bloom when I was there, such as Engelmann's Daisy (Engelmannia peristenia) and Fall Aster (Symphyotrichum oblongifolium). The Inland Sea Oats (Chasmanthium latifolium) plants were also heavily laden with seed heads. While we toured there garden you could hear mockingbirds singing, and we saw a lot of birds flying in and out in general. It's great that AISD has this garden as a resource for children to learn about the local habitat and also get some general exposure to nature.