NewsDrop-Winter-2021

Photo: Front desk at the EOC.

This Harvest Season Has Been Fruitful We have materialized the vision of the Education Outreach Center and are now looking forward to energizing our efforts with the support from our community

Photo: The EAA Education Outreach Center.

In November, a group of H-E-B volunteers helped to prepare the EOC for winter wildlife. Almost 20 volunteers came out to the EOC to build a Wildlife Viewing Area. A decorative metal screen was installed for visitors to hide behind. On the other side of the screen several bird feeders and a solar powered bird bath was installed to provide birds and other animals with food and water to get them through the winter. Hummingbird feeders were hung on the eaves of the building and some bird houses were constructed to hang in the trees nearby. Volunteers also helped to stain the fence around the garden and to put a few more plants in the ground. A thin layer of mulch was put in place to hold moisture in, and a compost bin was built for food scraps. Two raised beds were built to place along the front of the building for accessible lessons on soil sustainability and gardening. As the outside of the building was prepared to shelter visitors of the furry and feathered types, the inside of the building is preparing to receive aquatic residents in the aquarium.

The walls of the building are alive with stories collected this year and exhibits planned and purposed. We are setting roots here for the next generation of the EAA and inching ever closer to opening the doors in the spring. Teeming with networks of contractors, sister organizations and our busy communications and development team, the center has seen some great updates and recognition. In September the Texas Water Development Board awarded the EOC with the Rain Catcher Award, recognizing the Rain Harvesting System installed on the building. The System supplies a drip irrigation system that automatically waters the over 100 native plants that adorn the Education Outreach Center.

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