The Gardens at College Park

The Gardens at College Park. . A Texas native plant garden , Texas native plants are hardy, less susceptible to pests and diseases and unlikely to escape and become invasive. North American native plants, defined as those that existed here without human introduction, are disappearing at an alarming rate due to human activities, such as urban development, agribusiness and the introduction of invasive species. The loss of native plant communities has reduced wildlife habitat and the genetic diversity necessary for balanced ecosystems., The garden preserves native plants that are part of our heritage and the Salado trail system encourages the protection, preservation and respect of their contribution to our every day lives. The garden serves as an outdoor demonstration lab for children and adults to learn about how the plants provide food, fiber, shelter, and are used for medicinal and ceremonial purposes and how plants play a key environmental role for pollination, feeding livestock, and oxygen., The completion of the garden was due to a collaborative partnership between Keep Salado Beautiful, the Robertson Colony-Salado College Foundation, the Village of Salado, Salado ISD, and Bell County Master Gardeners. Funding for the installation of the garden was provided from The Texas Native Garden Grant awarded to Keep Salado Beautiful from Keep Texas Beautiful and Lowes. The garden is maintained by the First Monday Gardeners., the water pitcher pump , Safe water supply has always been a critical need of mankind. The Village of Salado was purposely located near Salado Creek to ensure a good water resource for the early settlers., This cast iron hand water pitcher pump used by the school was strong and efficient in supplying water daily for students and farmland during the 1800's., The worlds first all metal pump was manufactured in 1864 by the Down and Co. Manufacturing Company. The manual pump is the oldest and the most used water pump in the world today. College Park is one of a few historical parks that still have these old water pumps., Captions , Upper Right: Before , Middle Right: After , Lower Right: First Monday Gardeners