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Natural Area (We like to call it our Oak Forest Arboretum) Located on the southwest corner of campus, the Arboretum at Oak Forest is an outdoor classroom where teachers take their classes, to give the students a closer look at nature. While parts of it are only a few feet away from busy Route 1960, you would never know that once you enter the gate on the north side and follow the wood-chip path in a southerly direction. Along the path are information signs that list many of the native plants and trees that are growing there. While some of these trees have been there for many years, you would never know that until a few years ago this was just part of a mowed area along the roadway. Native plants and trees have been added and today it looks much like a section of forest may have looked in this location 100 years ago. Gudrun Opperman, aided by many volunteers and the Nature Club, maintains this area. As you follow the path southward, you come to various bird feeding and watering stations. Squirrels love the area, too. During the school year the students in the Nature Club keep these stations well stocked and a variety of birds and other animals have been observed here. Back in the far southwest corner a brush pile is provided to give cover to some of the critters that make this their home. And, just before you leave the area near the southern gate, you come to the “real” outdoor classroom or learning center with benches and a podium for the teacher. Here on a nice day you may find a whole class studying nature. A wooden fence does shield this corner from the busy intersection just a few feet away. This area was funded in part by grants received by Vivian Cardoso through the Humble ISD Education Foundation and also grants from ExxonMobil. The grants have paid for the irrigation system, the outdoor learning center, the cedar fence, interpretative signs, plants, clipboards for the students and the feeding and watering stations. We think it is the only facility of its kind in the Humble Independent School District. |
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