Sustainability Lab

The schoolyard habitat is an ongoing restoration project that doubles as a beautiful nature study site for students. This approximately 2 acre area features a shaded outdoor learning lab, tree-stump seating, nature trails, and owl/bat boxes.  It is composed of two wildlife habitats rarely found in this area: the wetland and coastal sage scrub ecosystems. The wetland features a seasonal stream and the coastal sage scrub serves as a catalyst for the delicate interactions between local plants and animals. The area provides the opportunity to participate in outdoor education such as citizen science, watershed education, wildlife observation, Native American studies, art in nature, and a variety of other activities. 

Casita's front yard is a 10,000 sq. ft. organic botanical garden and certified wildlife habitat. Permanent planting areas include California native plants from different climatic zones, a beautiful California sycamore, and a fruit tree border.  Twenty-one redwood garden beds offer planting opportunities for students both in the EnvironmentalScience Lab and with their classroom teachers. Redwood benches serve as a place to sit and read or to observe our ecosystem. There are two outdoor classroom areas, one with theater-style benches and another with tree-stump seating. 

Casita has partnered with the Sage Garden Project to hire a garden consultant to further enhance the garden ecosystem. To build rich, living soil, students are using the design process to design a permanent, custom-made composting system. Students learn about  the science behind composting including changes of matter, cycling of nutrients, and the invertebrates and microbes that create the compost. Students are also designing experiments to test how compost affects the growth of plants. The garden is seen as an ecosystem, and is based on the permaculture concept that if you take organic material out of the garden, put it back into the garden.