Driftwood Community Church Natural Area
Photos by Melinda Seib and Venita Fuller
A photo collage of the natural area around the Driftwood Community Church. The top left photo is of a young Ashe Juniper, also known as the Cedar tree. The top right is a photo of a field of wildflowers. The bottom photo shows native plants, grasses, and wildflowers thriving.
In keeping with the Driftwood slogan, “Home of Natural Sights and Starry nights,” the Driftwood Community Church has graciously agreed to allow the Driftwood Historical Conservation Society (DHCS) and the Hays County Master Naturalists to create and maintain a natural area showcase for the benefit of the entire community on 10.5 acres in the heart of Driftwood. This is a long-term project, and the entire community is invited to participate in bringing the natural area to life.
The ultimate goal is to create a natural area that includes presentations of native plants and wildflowers, plantings of Texas state symbols (tree-pecan; grass-side oats grama; flower-bluebonnet; shrub-Texas sage; plant-prickly pear cactus), a Monarch butterfly waystation, construction of a bird viewing area and bee hotels, and educational programs. When you visit, you will find many species of native plants, grasses, sedges, trees, and dozens of insects emerging from the pasture.
Location
15064 FM 150, Driftwood, TX 78619
The entrance to the Natural Area is located on FM 150 in Driftwood, just south of the FM 150 and Elder Hill Road intersection. The parking area is near the pavilion.
Butterflies
Learn more about the amazing Monarch butterfly
Your New Friend – the Ashe Juniper (Cedar)
Read about the benefits of Ashe Juniper trees (not a cedar!) here:
TEKS Connection
Science:
2nd Grade
2.2 Scientific investigation and reasoning. The student develops abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry in classroom and outdoor investigations.
2.2(D) record and organize data using pictures, numbers, and words
2.7 Earth and space. The student knows that the natural world includes earth materials.
2.7(C) distinguish between natural and manmade resources
2.9 Organisms and environments. The student knows that living organisms have basic needs that must be met for them to survive within their environment.
2.9(A) identify the basic needs of plants and animals
2.9(B) identify factors in the environment, including temperature and precipitation, that affect growth and behavior such as migration, hibernation, and dormancy of living things
2.9(C) compare the ways living organisms depend on each other and on their environments such as through food chains
2.10 Organisms and environments. The student knows that organisms resemble their parents and have structures and processes that help them survive within their environments.
2.10(A) observe, record, and compare how the physical characteristics and behaviors of animals help them meet their basic needs
3rd Grade
3.2 Scientific investigation and reasoning. The student uses scientific practices during laboratory and outdoor investigations.
3.2(F) communicate valid conclusions supported by data in writing, by drawing pictures, and through verbal discussion
3.9 Organisms and environments. The student knows and can describe patterns, cycles, systems, and relationships within the environments.
3.9(A)* observe and describe the physical characteristics of environments and how they support populations and communities of plants and animals within an ecosystem
3.9(B) identify and describe the flow of energy in a food chain and predict how changes in a food chain affect the ecosystem such as removal of frogs from a pond or bees from a field
3.10 Organisms and environments. The student knows that organisms undergo similar life processes and have structures that help them survive within their environments.
3.10(A) explore how structures and functions of plants and animals allow them to survive in a particular environment
3.10(B)* investigate and compare how animals and plants undergo a series of orderly changes in their diverse life cycles such as tomato plants, frogs, and lady beetles
4th Grade
4.2 Scientific investigation and reasoning. The student uses scientific practices during laboratory and outdoor investigations.
4.2(F) communicate valid oral and written results supported by data
4.9 Organisms and environments. The student knows and understands that living organisms within an ecosystem interact with one another and with their environment.
4.9(A) investigate that most producers need sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide to make their own food, while consumers are dependent on other organisms for food
4.9(B) describe the flow of energy through food webs, beginning with the Sun, and predict how changes in the ecosystem affect the food web
4.10 Organisms and environments. The student knows that organisms undergo similar life processes and have structures and behaviors that help them survive within their environments.
4.10(A) explore how structures and functions enable organisms to survive in their environment
4.10(B) explore and describe examples of traits that are inherited from parents to offspring such as eye color and shapes of leaves and behaviors that are learned such as reading a book and a wolf pack teaching their pups to hunt effectively
4.10(C) explore, illustrate, and compare life cycles in living organisms such as beetles, crickets, radishes, or lima beans
Social Studies:
2nd Grade
2.5 Geography. The student understands how humans use and modify the physical environment.
2.5(A) identify ways in which people have modified the physical environment such as clearing land, building roads, using land for agriculture, and drilling for oil
2.5(B) identify consequences of human modification of the physical environment
3rd Grade
3.3 Geography. The student understands how humans adapt to and/or modify the physical environment.
3.3(B) identify and compare how people in different communities adapt to or modify the physical environment in which they live such as deserts, mountains, wetlands, and plains
3.3(C) describe the effects of human processes such as building new homes, conservation, and pollution in shaping the landscape
3.15 Social Studies skills. The student communicates in written, oral, and visual forms.
3.15(E) create written and visual material such as stories, pictures, maps, and graphic organizers to express ideas
4th Grade
4.8 Geography. The student understands how people adapt to and modify their environment.
4.8(A) describe ways people have adapted to and modified their environment in Texas, past and present, such as timber clearing, agricultural production, wetlands drainage, energy production, and construction of dams
4.8(B) explain reasons why people have adapted to and modified their environment in Texas, past and present, such as the use of natural resources to meet basic needs, facilitate transportation, and enhance recreational activities
4.8(C) compare the positive and negative consequences of human modification of the environment in Texas, past and present
English Language Arts & Reading:
2nd Grade
2.7 Response skills: listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking using multiple texts. The student responds to an increasingly challenging variety of sources that are read, heard, or viewed.
2.7(E) interact with sources in meaningful ways such as illustrating or writing
2.9 Genres. The student recognizes and analyzes genre‐specific characteristics, structures, and purposes within and across increasingly complex traditional, contemporary, classical, and diverse texts.
2.9(D) recognize characteristics and structures of informational text, including: (ii) features and graphics to locate and gain information
3rd Grade
3.7 Response skills: listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking using multiple texts. The student responds to an increasingly challenging variety of sources that are read, heard, or viewed.
3.7(E) interact with sources in meaningful ways such as notetaking, annotating, freewriting, or illustrating
3.9 Genres. The student recognizes and analyzes genre‐specific characteristics, structures, and purposes within and across increasingly complex traditional, contemporary, classical, and diverse texts.
3.9(D) recognize characteristics and structures of informational text, including: (ii) features such as sections, tables, graphs, timelines, bullets, numbers, and bold and italicized font to support understanding
4th Grade
4.7 Response skills: listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking using multiple texts. The student responds to an increasingly challenging variety of sources that are read, heard, or viewed.
4.7(E) interact with sources in meaningful ways such as notetaking, annotating, freewriting, or illustrating
4.9 Genres. The student recognizes and analyzes genre-specific characteristics, structures, and purposes within and across increasingly complex traditional, contemporary, classical, and diverse texts.
4.9(D) recognize characteristics and structures of informational text, including: (ii) features such as pronunciation guides and diagrams to support understanding
Source: Lead4Ward
