Teresa Gonzales - Crosbyton, Ralls and Lorenzo Playa Festival

This was a great day! The environment in which we arrived was welcoming and very respectful. Way to go, fifth grade! We had the honor of having a special presenter for this festival, Melanie Hartman is with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and shared a Wildlife presentation with the students.. This was a large group so they were divided into three rotating groups . The three presentations were Playa Wildlife by Melanie Hartman. Playa Plants and Soils by Teresa Gonzales, and Playa Lakes, Buffers, and waterfowl was presented by Jim Steiret, an author and waterfowler. After our classroom instruction, the students loaded buses to a nearby playa. Students were excited and ready to explore their new surroundings.   Students usually enjoy the field experience most of all.  This group collected plants and shells and made observations about the earth's surface and they were amazed at the cracks and how deep they might be.  The teachers were interested in the follow-up lessons provided by Julie Hodges in her "Playa Binder." The teachers were informed that the Playa Binder was forwarded to their princiipal via email. Amy Reece, a fifth grade Ralls teacher collected the clay soil she will need to start her own "Playa Jar." She knows the soil contains over 350 types of seeds and 200 types of eggs. Her students were very pleased that they will be able to have a class project that will lend itself to all subjects easily. Her students are lucky to have her!

Teresa Gonzales - Swisher County Playa Festival

Students working together to come up with a strategy to harvest the most rainwater! 

Ninety Tulia students joined the OC Playa Festival team at the Home Mercantile in Nazareth, Texas for an exciting day of learning. This festival was enjoyed by the students, four teachers, and even the bus drivers took part in this exciting day. The festival was introduced by Darryl Birkenfeld with an overview on what to expect to learn about, specifically playas, and the importance of the world around us. Julie Hodges followed with a presentation on journal writing as a tool to gather information with text, art, and mapping. Armed with information and tools, the students were loaded up and driven out to the Playa Classroom for an experience with the outdoors as they have never seen. Rainwater Harvesting proved to be a pretty competitive project. The students(In small groups) were challenged to harvest the most amount of rainwater using sponges and non-soluable squares as the surface for the rainwater. The goal here is to position your props in such a way as to have as little run-off water as possible then measure the water in the sponges only. The interaction between the students was amazing. Social skills were put to the test! The Playa raptors presentation was very engaging (even the bus drivers were engaged). Gail Barnes does a beautiful job of explaining the facts and details about owls. Gail brings the raptors from the South Plains Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Lubbock, Texas. The birds are gorgeous to look at and students are amazed to see these creatures at such a close distance. I enjoyed the outdoor classroom where my group made some soil and macro invertebrate observations before heading out to the playa for some interaction with nature and journaling. Jim Stieret's demonstration consisted of water buffers and waterfowl. I have assisted in the buffer presentation in the past and it has to be one of the best buffer models I have seen. Thanks, Tulia, for visitng the Playa Classroom!

Teresa Gonzales - Dora Playa Festival

Mr. Bilbrey's amazing collection of Playa Jars!

Macro Invertebrates swimming in one of Mr. Bilbrey's Jars!

While I did not attend this festival due to other civic duties, I gather that I missed out on a very exciting and successful festival on 09/22/2011. This area is bringing a much needed awareness to the importance of "saving our playas" by way of educators like Mr. Bilbrey. He has embraced this opportunity to expose our students to the natural world around them by creating playa jars for each of his students to enjoy. (20+ jars!) This class project will keep students engaged as they observe and take ownership of the "life" that has been brought forth. Wow! I want to be in this class.! Students are only as excited as their teacher. I wonder if the winner of the Macro Invertebrate Jar Contest will come from Mr. Bilbrey's class next year! The real beauty of this project is that learning will be acquired in an approach that allows students to make connections with the natural world around them. Observing the jars over a period of time, keeping a journal, taking photos of the changes, and communicating with peers are all great ideas that are being applied in Dora.

Students pet a Tiger Salamander!

Joe Whitehead of the NRCS explains watersheds to the Dora Students

Students trailing out across a playa where we found Texas Horned Lizards

Every student will experience success...there are no wrong answers! I think eyes will be opened to the possibilities of the world around them because Mr. Bilbrey has modeled how important it is to learn more about it. There were about 75 students in attendance at this festival where they enjoyed an overview by Darryl Birkenfeld who explains what a playa is, how it got there and why they are a keystone ecosystem. Julie Hodges did a presentation on Journal writing (including art and mapping) followed by Bird Identification which the students always enjoy. Jim Steiert, author and waterfowler, is very successful in his presentations. His "common sense" approach to identifying birds by color and markings brings back a much needed skill...logic. I always enjoy Mr. Steiert's presentations and the knowledge he brings to the table. The group was joined by Robert Martin and Joe whitehead who assisted in making this festival a success. The support system in place in Dora, N.M. is very strong. Not only are educators excited about teaching but parents are willing to go the extra mile to make great things happen in Dora. A special thanks to Betty Williamson, a supportive mom, who secured the playa and provided lunch for the Ogallala Commons team. I look forward to meeting the students at our next festival on October 18, 2011.

Teresa Gonzales - Great Plains Water Cycle

Students examine a Macro-invertebrate jar full of spike rush and tiny creatures. The playa jars are providing us with a glimpse of what a wet playa would look like as we are working in a dry playa in a drought year.

A student attempts to see how deep a crack in the OC Playa is.

We had the pleasure of meeting approximately 70 fifth grade students from Whiteface, Hart, and Nazareth, Texas. The students appeared excited to be allowed the opportunity for an outdoor experience. I am not sure they knew the treat they were in for. Once we completed the "classroom" instruction that included a great journal writing lesson and bird identification, the students proceeded to (what I hope) will be the one field-trip they will never forget. The day included: 1. The "Raptor presentation" What a sight to see! Live owls! I wonder how many parents are superstitious! 2. Field Experience included plant Identification and my first experience with buffalo chips and scat (I had no gloves.) Also, making observations and predictions about the playa landscape was fun. 3. Buffers/waterfowl presentations were great!
Overall, this group was pleasantly surprised and learned a great deal about the world around them. The playa trunk will definitely enhance the learning of this group.

Sara Hunter's fifth grade class from Nazareth, Tx. enjoyed a morning outdoors at the Playa classroom learning about the High Plains water cycle, raptors, waterfowl, shorebirds, plus soil properties, playa plants and journal writing. Nazareth was joined by 52 students from Hart, Tx. and Whiteface, Tx.

Teresa Gonzales -- Abernathy Playa Festival

The Abernathy Playa Festival on 09/15/11 was focused on learning about High Plains water.  Fifth grade students from Abernathy Elementary and Kress Elementary attended this festival.  I had the honor of assisting Jim Stieret, author and waterfowler, in his presentation on playas.  He was very informative in explaining why playas are a keystone ecosystem and how to identify whether the indicators of a healthy playa are present.  He emphasized the importance of preserving our playas and discussed the effect of losing even one playa because they are all inter-connected.  He did a great job of explaining that playas are one of the few water sources in the world that "recharge." 

My presentation was on playa plants and soils.  Students did not observe playa plants due to the weather but observations/ field notes have been re-scheduled for next week.  Instead we discussed the frequently seen plant, "evening primrose." Consumers can buy this over-the-counter in the form of a vitamin.  They passed the bottle around to check out the ingredients and see the capsule. This activity was followed by a short powerpoint and some discussion how clay develops.  We used  T-charts, and made observations of clay and sand.
The high-light of the day was The Playa Raptors presented by Gail Barnes.  The students were very respectful of the quiet environment that is required for this presentation.  The students got a close look at how beautiful owls are and how different each type is.  I was very impressed at how quickly the students picked up the vocabulary; it was evident in their feedback .  I was also pleased to see how much of the new knowledge they were able to transfer from Julie's presentation on Bird Identification to the Raptor's Presentation by Gail.  Again, aquiring knowledge in a non-traditional way.

Teresa Gonzales -- Ascension Academy Playa Festival Amarillo, Tx

The Playa Festival at the Ascension Academy in Amarillo, Tx on 09/09/11 was a great success due to the warm administrators and staff who are dedicated to the success of their students, the parents who volunteered their time to come out to photograph activities and promote their school, and lastly the students who were visibily eager to learn and welcomed a challenge. Students were engaged with nature after an overview of what playas are and how they got here. We took rotating groups out to the playa for hands-on experience with playa plants which the students illustrated in their journals. We also observed the ever-changing landscape where we found cracks as deep as three feet. The other group observed a rainwater harvesting demonstration by Jason and Julie Hodges and were divided into groups to compete against each other for which group could harvest the most water. The afternoon schedule consisted of three rotating groups which participated in Bird Identification, Plant Identification, and I assisted in Soil Identification. My favorite part of the experience was facilitating the students with Julie's challenge to engage them with nature thru creative writing. The students were engaged with making good observations and illustrations but poem writing proved to be where students wanted to spend more time and thought. These students acquired knowledge and were left to ponder the world around them and how we can best conserve our playas. I was extremely impressed with the positive attitude of the staff and students.

Tierra Blanca Students feast on Fesitval of Playa Learning

In a groundbreaking first for the Hereford school system, 50-plus fifth grade students and teachers from Tierra Blanca Primary--and even their principal--immersed themselves in a one-day Playa Festival April 19. The Festival, held at the Home Mercantile and a nearby Playa Classroom facility just south of Nazareth, provided an educational experience centered on the perfect outdoor learning lab provided by playas. The seasonal wetlands dot the Southern High Plains of Texas in their greatest concentration in the world.

The Tierra Blanca Soil and Water Conservation District marked a new experience right along with students from the same namesake school. Thanks to the foresight of its board, TBSWCD served as a Playa Festival sponsor for the first time. District board members who approved the sponsorship include Jerry Homfeld, chairman, Chris Urbanczyk, vice chairman, David Wagner, secretary, Danny Frerich, and Nathan Betzen.

"The board feels that getting kids outdoors and participating in Playa Festivals is a good thing. Festivals teach them about life outside of the home and the classroom. So many youngsters live in town now and they really don’t know about things outdoors. People don’t realize how important playas are, and we’re glad somebody is teaching them about the importance of playas in the water cycle," said Jerry Homfeld of the TBSWCD’s sponsorship role.

Playa Festivals are staged by professionals and individuals well-versed in playa flora and fauna, creative writing, journaling, and playa history. They work through Ogallala Commons, a nonprofit resource development network offering education and leadership in the eight state High Plains Ogallala Aquifer region.

Interdisciplinary Playa Festivals fit the school day and can be one, two, or three day events. Students and teachers learn about playa ecology and the water cycle through Science, History, Biology, Art, and Creative Writing.

Playa Festivals were inspired by the book "Playas: Jewels of the Plains" by Jim Steiert and Wyman Meinzer, and also utilize "Common Flora of Playa Lakes" by Dr. Dave Haukos and Dr. Loren M. Smith as the go-to reference for plant identification in playas. Dr. Haukos is also a frequent presenter on playa ecology and plant life at Festivals.

Prior to the Tierra Blanca Festival, students viewed and touched some of the amphibians and reptiles associated with playas. Robert Martin of The Nature Conservancy brought live amphibians and reptiles into the Science classroom at Tierra Blanca. Students also received a vocabulary list pertaining to playas.

At their Festival, TB students viewed live raptors displayed and discussed by wildlife rehabilitator Gail Barnes of Lubbock. They compared playa soil with upland soil, and learned about macroinvertebrates and playa plants from Dr. Darryl Birkenfeld, a playa landowner and director of Ogallala Commons, and Julie Hodges, Ogallala Commons education coordinator. Julie, who is not related to TB Principal Sharon Hodges, also conducted sessions on journaling, bird anatomy and identification, and helped students to look and listen on their playa field trip.

Students explored a playa basin, noting plant and bird life and got a pointer on sketching waterfowl. A wrap-up session included a demonstration on soil erosion, playa siltation, and the role of native grass buffers in protecting playas. Pupils saw life-size models of wading birds, shorebirds, and puddle ducks that utilize playas, and heard a demonstration of the calls of some of the puddle ducks.

Students were instructed in journaling techniques, and had the opportunity to make written observations and sketches on what they learned and experienced.

The Playa Festival drew rave reviews from D’Lisa Pohnert, fifth grade Science teacher at Tierra Blanca, and Principal, Sharon Hodges, who were also assisted on the field trip by Carol Ruiz, a Reading teacher at Tierra Blanca and Shari Ellis, a Math teacher at the campus.

"Kids got a hands-on outdoor experience with material that ties in with the TAKS test. They learned about bird characteristics, how the birds get food, special adaptations of bird beaks for eating fruit, prodding for insects, sifting seeds and macroinvertebrates from water and mud, or devouring prey. Students learned about differences in the feet of birds. We got in-person lessons on the food chain, and natural camouflage.

"Learning about journaling was important--standards have changed for Science and every student from Kindergarten up now has to have a Science journal. We got pointers on how to have a really good one.

"The Festival reinforced what we talk about in class, but got kids out of the classroom and into the outdoors--enhancing their learning experience. The kids enjoyed simply walking, looking, and finding stuff in a playa. The live raptors and the waterfowl call demonstrations were really popular. The Festival experience brought Science to life," she said.

Principal Sharon Hodges felt the field trip proved highly worthwhile.

"The Playa Festival was one of the most rewarding academic experiences for both students and teachers alike. We are blessed to have an outdoor classroom that allows students the opportunity to encounter our area’s natural habitats, birds, and vegetation, and to learn the importance and value of protecting our playa ecosystems. It was a wonderful experience," she said.

Jim Steiert, author of this blog post, is an award winning member of the Texas Outdoor Writers Association and a Certified Texas Master Naturalist.