A Green Mountain Energy® Sun Club Project

Garden Oaks Elementary                                     

Garden-Oaks-Elementary
Garden-Oaks-Elementary
Garden-Oaks-Elementary
Category

Education

Location

Houston, TX

Dedication Date

July 3, 2013

Donation Type

Solar Lighting

Size
Claim to Fame

TX Winner of Sun Club's 2012 Vote Solar for Good Facebook Challenge

Project Overview


Garden Oaks Elementary School in Houston received $1,500 worth of solar ground lights from the Sun Club to help illuminate the schools beautiful wildlife habitat park. In the Fall of 2012 we asked our Facebook fans to vote for a Texas non-profit to receive a solar donation from the Sun Club and Garden Oaks won overwhelmingly!

The wildlife habitat at Garden Oaks Montessori Magnet is designed to be an outdoor classroom for the kids.  The area includes a butterfly garden, a pond and a solar shaded observation deck, including an ornithology platform for bird viewing and participating in the Cornel School of Ornithology Bird Sleuth Curriculum. Native Texas plants provide young botanists a unique area for study and allow them to participate in citizen science experiments with Project BudBurst. A 650 gallon rainwater collection tank allows students to fill the pond in an environmentally-friendly way and a six-foot bioswale demonstrates how silt and contaminates are removed from the ecosystem.

Solar lighting donated by the Sun Club allows unique viewing for night time studies. Thanks to all those who voted, and of course our generous Sun Club members, for spreading some sunshine to this worthy Montessori school.

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