Austin’s ‘Plant Community’ transforms school campuses into outdoor oasis

AUSTIN (KXAN) — An Austin organization is helping to bring the great outdoors to student schoolyards, one campus revamp at a time.

Plant Community launched last year after founders saw a need for more parkland and robust greenspace at Austin Independent School District schools. With Austin ISD as one of the largest landowners in the city , nonprofit leaders thought they were a critical component in converting acreage into usable space for children to better access nature.

“We started this because we saw this need at our public schools,” said Charlotte Harrigan, director of development at Plant Community. “A lot of the land which they have is unusable. It’s either kind of muddy fields or mowed weeds, and it’s too hot to play on. And we just saw this as a missed opportunity.”

The beautification process began organically, with the organization helping revitalize different campuses bit by bit. So far, Plant Community has assisted in redesigning Gullett Elementary and Davis Elementary, with work at Davis completed during the 2023-24 school year.

Those transformations include the additions of trails, play structures, stumps, boulders and wildflower meadows. Plant Community also offers maintenance of the park until it’s established, to help preserve the integrity of it and minimize maintenance work from staff.

Following the success at those two campuses, Harrigan added design work underway for improvements at Dawson Elementary.

“We started with Gullett Elementary and then Davis, and then we realized, ‘oh, we can really do this. Let’s do more — let’s do every school,'” Harrigan said. “And so when we approach a school, we also reach out to AISD and we tell them our plan or design and get approval. And we’re excited to continue the conversation with them.”

Part of that commitment to aiding every school is covering the funding for projects at Title 1 schools, with those schools having large campuses with many students coming from lower-income backgrounds. Accessing nature and outdoor recreation is often a privilege, Harrigan said; her hope is that by Plant Community covering the costs of those campus beautifications, students can develop an appreciate for nature right on campus.

“Our access to nature has really become a privilege. You have to have a car, especially in Austin, and the time to go to the wildflower center, to go camping,” she said. “And not every family has that. So what we’re so passionate about is bringing this to where kids spend half their lives.”

Harrigan added the benefits extend beyond having greater access to nature. Studies have shown that time spent outside can help lower cortisol levels and leave kids feeling less anxious and more confident.

Not only that, but with students living in a hyper-digital age and school environment, she said it’s easy for them to become overstimulated by all that screen time. With trails, woodlands and other recreation sites available outdoors, Harrigan said that can help center them and quiet their brains.

Plant Community is in talks with Austin ISD about additional projects at other campuses, while continually advancing design work on Dawson’s upgrades. The dream, Harrigan said, is to transform all of Austin ISD’s schools — but who says Plant Community has to stop there?

“Maybe it doesn’t just mean schools. Maybe it means shared areas in public housing or areas in the city,” she said. “We want this to be everywhere, and we want everyone to be able to access it.”

More details about Plant Community are available online and on Instagram .

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