| Fall 2003 - 7202
Foxtree Cove, Northwest Austin
When Dale and Pat Bulla, both certified
habitat stewards with the National Wildlife Federation, built
their home in Northwest Austin, they used the "building envelope"
method to preserve as much of the native plant life as possible.
The Bullas identified micro-climates
in their yard, and planted to suit conditions. These sunloving
plants are in a hot and dry part of the yard.
 
| The front bed
is full of native and well-adapted flowering perennials. |
|
This natural looking waterfall is fed
by rainwater, and only runs after a rain. |
 
| These steps were
created to look like natural outcroppings of rock. |
|
Testing the water level on this rainbarrel
is easy. Hold the hose at different levels and when it stops
spouting water you're at the level. In this case, it's about
half full. |
Dale Bulla is leading the way in educating his neighbors about
the water quality in his own backyard. Dale has been collecting
data from a groundwater source in his backyard ("Bulla seep")
and from a tributary to Bull Creek ("Foxtree East").
By collecting nitrate data, Dale has firsthand information to
show his neighbors that the nitrate levels in his neighborhood
are elevated. The source of high nitrates is most likely from
fertilizer runoff in the Bull Creek watershed.
View the collected
data
The red dots on the map represent
the test area. |
