scroll down to content

Having trouble viewing this eNewsletter? Please click here to view the Web version.

eNews Splash

October 1, 2007

Austinville Ponds for Kids

Our most recent Ponds for Kids project took place on Tuesday, August 28th, at Austinville Elementary School in Decatur, AL. This is the second Ponds for Kids (PFK) project Vought Water Gardens has completed in Decatur with the first being at Eastwood Elementary School.

The students, teachers, staff and administration at Austinville are thrilled with their pond. They should be because it turned out to be a beautiful project. Each of them worked very hard all day long. And from what we could tell, (even though the heat index was well above 100 degrees), they had a great time. Students and classes bonded together as they worked side by side and helped dig, carry rocks, dump wheelbarrow load, after load, after load, of gravel, dirt or mulch.

There are already many stories coming from Austinville's PFK, too. They include: teachers allowing their students to put their feet in it during class; a teacher opening her windows to hear the sounds of the waterfalls from the pond and then noticing that her class becomes calm and quiet; teachers rolling up their pants and wading in the pond (without kids); a staff member sitting by the pond and holding an umbrella while she dangled her feet in the pond; and "rumors" that the teachers and administrators are going to have a slumber party one night by the pond.

This Ponds for Kids project was a great success because of the many hardworking volunteers from General Electric. GE sent a committed group of volunteers who worked constantly from the beginning of the build until the end. Our hats are off to all those great employees from GE who came and worked so hard on this Ponds for Kids project.

For Vought Water Gardens this PFK project was very fulfilling. Many of the children who go to Austinville Elementary have never experienced anything like this in their lives. Most of the children do not have a backyard to come home to where they can play, swing or even sit by a pond. That is why Vought Water Gardens was thrilled to sponsor Austinville with their PFK project and do so under the Alabama Wildlife Federation’s (AWF) Outdoor Classroom . Besides the pond, Austinville will be working with the AWF to create a sustainable Outdoor Classroom. There are many hands-on educational opportunities for the teachers at Austinville since the addition of this pond and the rest of their Outdoor Classroom. Who knows, these students from Austinville may be inspired to become future environmental leaders of the future because of these projects.

© 2007 Vought Water Gardens, P.O. Box 184, Decatur, AL 35602