Austin Trip – Zilker Park
Austin’s Zilker Botanical Garden Tour
The second week while I was in Austin, my grandparents returned home, so I went on excursions with my grandma. Our first planned stop was Zilker Botanical Garden (ZBG)in Austin’s Zilker Park!
My grandma took my adopted cousin there a few weeks beforehand to see the Woodland Faerie Trail, a seasonal feature built by residents and children along some of the garden paths, so grandma didn’t get to see the entire garden grounds and was excited to go with another one of her grandkids!
Below is a picture of the main offices, event space and visitor’s center for the garden grounds.
Austin Tour – CMPBS
Center for Maximum Potential Building Systems Site
I was really looking forward to visiting the Center for Maximum Potential Building Systems (CMPBS) after I met Pliny Fisk III a couple of years ago at the CMPBS booth during EarthX Expo 2017 in Dallas, Texas!
“The Center for Maximum Potential Building Systems, established in 1975, is a non-profit education, research, and demonstration organization specializing in life cycle planning and design. We undertake projects based on their potential contribution to site, regional and global sustainability and human health, and actively pursue collaborations with associate organizations, businesses and professional firms.
Projects emphasize regional contexts as bases for responsible resource use relative to materials, energy, water, waste, food, and meaningful employment. Our expertise is accessible through green planning and design services, conference presentations, public lectures, and published papers.” — CMPBS Webpage
Austin Trip – Agua Dulce
Agua Dulce Tour
I started my day at Agua Dulce Farm in Austin, Texas, to check out what a fully-functional aquaponics farm looks like and functions within a semi-urban setting.
“Agua Dulce Farm is a certified-Organic urban farm located in the heart of Austin, Texas, just 5 miles from downtown. We specialize in intensive Organic vegetable farming, using the most most sustainable and productive methods available. Part of what makes us so unique is our use of aquaponics.” — Agua Dulce Farms Webpage
Agua Dulce Farm serves a number of fine restaurants and vendors in Austin and beyond!
Austin Tour – Farmshare Austin
Farmshare Austin Tour
My second stop of the day was at Farmshare Austin, an educational farm teaching new farmers and food supplier for local farmers’ markets and under-served communities.
“At Farmshare Austin, our mission is to grow a healthy local food community by increasing food access, teaching new farmers and preserving farmland. We envision a future of resilient local food economies that provide farmers with livable incomes, value the resources needed to farm and ensure organic food access. Farmshare Austin builds bridges between the produce grown on our 10-acre certified organic farm in Eastern Travis County and food access programs reaching food insecure communities in Central Texas.” — Farmshare Austin Webpage
Austin Trip – Community Gardens
Community Gardens – Aquaponics 101
The Community Gardens in Bastrop, Texas, really caught me off-guard because it was cooler than I expected, and that was even before I went through the free Aquaponics 101 class with Tyagaraja Welchthe (a.k.a Tyaga), resident permaculture and aquaponics practitioner, and owner of Sustainable Humane Earth in this business complex.
“At Community Gardens we have partnered with local business to provide quality local products and services to the community! We are an indoor/outdoor market place. We have a plant nursery, boutique, sustainable living systems such as aquaponics and a chicken coop. We also have a custom pool company, Landscape and custom home professionals to help with all your indoor and outdoor home needs! We want Community Gardens to be a unique and hands on experience for the entire family. We will be hosting many classes and events that will engage everyone from the smallest to the oldest and everyone in between. We look forward to serving you the next time you come by.” — Community Gardens Webpage
Austin Trip – Texas A&M Landscape Architecture
Texas A&M Landscape Architecture & Urban Planning
Since I stepped back from the marketing field and stepped into the world of communal living, sustainability and permaculture – I’ve considered going back to school for a higher education related to these topics so I can better share them with others (while making a living).
So I contacted Shannon S. Van Zandt at the department of Landscape Architecture & Urban Planning within the College of Architecture at Texas A&M University, and we scheduled a day to meet with faculty members, Eric Bardenhagen and Galen D. Newman, so I could learn more about the programs and which would be best for me! (Many, many thanks to everyone!)
