CommUnity Day Success: One generation plants the trees; another gets the shade. (Chinese Proverb)

30 + tools from Keep Austin Beautiful's Took Shack
21 Adult Volunteers
7 9th Grade KIPP Austin Collegiate Students
1 Vision to Uplift our school



Last semester, with the help of a landscape professional, 9th graders designed this project to beautify and uplift their campus for generations to come. The rainy winter prevented the projected from being completed on schedule creating a very real-world experience for these future green leaders.



Committed to excellence, our students did not give up.
Two more Community Volunteer Days were scheduled for 2010 and on Saturday, February 20, 30 people showed up to lend a helping hand. In four hours, students were finally able to see their project completed! (Below are the before an after pictures.)










For information on how to get involved in our CommUnity Days, please contact Jen at jen@upliftaustin.org.

UpLift Austin is looking for volunteers!

We've got a CommUnity Volunteer Day coming up at KIPP Austin Collegiate - please come help the students implement the landscaping project they designed to improve their campus!

When: Saturday, February 20, 10:30am - 3:00pm
Volunteers are welcome to come in any time frame that suits your schedule!

Location: KIPP Austin Collegiate - 8509 FM 969, Building 676 Map to KIPP

Type of labor: LandscapingSuitable for: Seeking adults and children over 13 who enjoy digging and physical labor. These landscaping missions are not for the little ones. Not to worry, we'll have more opportunities for the whole family in the coming months.

Materials: If you have your own gardening tools, please feel free to bring 'em! (If you don't, no worries!) Water and light snacks will be provided.

Please RSVP to Assistant Program Coordinator, Jen Karydas, jen@upliftaustin.org

KIPP Austin: Campus-Wide Recycling is Live!

On Monday, February 1 at KIPP Austin Collegiate (KAC), four 9th grade students stood before 100 peers, teachers, and faculty members and presented the new campus-wide recylcying and composting program. "80% of what schools throw away is paper, and that can be recycled," shared Edgar A. and Guillermo F. KAC will not only recycle paper, but plastic, glass, and cans.

In the fall semester, four Uplift Austin health classes learned about Waste Management, Air Quality, Energy, Water Resources and Healthy Agriculture and then synthesized their knowledge to design and implement a campus wide program that would promote the health of students, staff and the planet. 4th period was charged with the task of designing and implementing the recylcing and composting program which rolled out earlier this week.

How does it work? Each class now has recycle bins and advisory classes will rotate recycling pick up duty each Thursday during advisory period, making it a true campus-wide collaboration. Ecology Action picks up the recyclables each week.

As a final touch to the promotion of the new recycling program, students worked with a professional videographer and created a recycling awareness video that debuted at the assembly.

Next Post: How Composting Works at KAC!