NPA Plants New Grove at Bailey

In late 2025, Bailey Middle School's Native Plants and Animals program was awarded the Urban Forest Grant by the City of Austin to plant a new grove of trees in front of the school. Our NPA Booster Club applied for this grant as part of our "Cool the Campus" campaign to make the school grounds shadier for both students and wildlife.

Our campus has a very low canopy cover, and most sidewalks are exposed to full sun throughout the day. By strategically planting new trees on our campus, we can provide relief from the direct sunlight and the Urban Heat Island effect (UHI). This project will (eventually) demonstrate how the higher temperatures we feel within our neighborhood can be mitigated by planting trees to achieve a tree canopy cover of 40%, or more, in a 60-90 m radii area.

The Planting

After the last freeze in January 2026, NPA contracted with Tree Amigos to plant 37 Texas native saplings along a 270 square foot section in front of the school’s campus (near the bus pickup zone). Tree Amigos planted the saplings using Groasis Waterboxxes, which are ingenius "plant cocoons" that naturally collect and store water from atmospheric condensation to provide saplings with a self-contained irrigation system.

We also wrapped GrowSafe Telescoprotexxes (a yellow plastic tube) around the saplings to protect them against deer and mowers. Between these two pieces of equipment, our new grove is completely protected and irrigated with minimal maintenace requirements!

Student Involvement

As the saplings grow, our NPA students are taking an active role in their establishment. Each class will care for these trees at their sapling stage by monitoring and documenting their health, providing supplemental water, and making Waterboxx adjustments.

Below are photos from our inaugural "tree survival study" session with our Spring 2026 students. Our NPA Booster nursery manager, Stephanie Simmons, is a certified arborist who created an online survey that students filled out to document their observations about the health of the saplings and equipment. Metrics included:

• Overall sapling health

• Leaf color and conditions

• Tube protector condition

• Waterboxx condition

• Water level

Every student was assigned a specific Waterboxx, and they were responsible for reporting on their unique Sapling A and Sapling B, as well as making any necessary adjustments to the Waterboxxes (e.g., topping off water, straightening / tightening components, etc.). In addition to observing the health of their saplings, they go to learn about their specific native tree species, which include Cedar Elm, Texas Persimmon, Burk Oak, Monterrey Oak, Escarpment Live Oak, and Desert Willow.

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Community Involvement

Community members are also welcome to participate in our tree survival study! Help us gather important information about the growth and health of our trees by accessing this Google Form and filling it out about one (or more!) of our numbered Waterboxxes.

What's Next?

Once the saplings are established and able to thrive on their own (in about a year or so), we will remove the protective tubes and Waterboxxes. At this point, we will prune the "weaker" of the two saplings that were planted together so that the stronger sapling can continue to grow into a larger tree. The roots of the pruned sapling will provide the standing sapling with a strong network to collect water and nutrients, allowing it to grow even larger and healthier.

Sstudents will also continue their monitoring, as well add mulch and larger tree cages to protect the saplings from mowers and mammals. If this project is successful, we can reuse the Waterboxxes and protective tubes to begin a new grove in another section of Bailey's campus!

We are so excited by this opportunity to plant more native trees on campus and to demonstrate how trees create a natural cooling effect in urban areas. Interested in learning more about how these "green corridors" combat the heat index? Read this BBC article about how Medellin, Columbia is doing it on a citywide scale!

Questions about Bailey's new grove, or about Groasis Waterboxxes? Email us at baileymsnpa@gmail.com.