Planting a legacy at Armand Bayou Nature Center
It could have been insect field study: more than 50 sunscreen-and-bug-spray-slathered students shooing lovebugs away with work gloves as a biology lab supervisor pointed out that “Plecia nearctica” is actually a fly.
Instead, this San Jacinto College crew — lovebugs or no lovebugs — was getting ready to shovel dirt and plant native species on Armand Bayou Nature Center’s newest acreage.
While some students dumped water to loosen the soil, others wedged shovels into the
hard earth, excavating holes to be filled with prairie grasses and other native plants.
Since 2005, San Jac has sent students to Armand Bayou Nature Center to help restore the Texas coastal tallgrass prairie as a service-learning project. This Planting Day partnership was the brainchild of now retired San Jac biology professors Larry Petersen, Patricia Steinke, and Carrie Hughes and the nature center’s Mark Kramer.
Planting Day shapes students. They leave not just with knowledge but with a stronger sense of responsibility, connection, and pride in their role as environmental stewards.
The tradition continues to today. Each fall and spring, Central Campus students — ranging from a handful to almost 125 at a time — work in heat, cold, mud, and standing water to rebuild this vital ecosystem. Sometimes, they plant up to 1,200 plants at a time.
“Over two decades, that adds up to thousands of plants,” said Kristen Russ, biology
professor and coordinator of the service-learning project. “More importantly, Planting
Day shapes students. They leave not just with knowledge but with a stronger sense
of responsibility, connection, and pride in their role as environmental stewards.”
About San Jacinto College
Surrounded by monuments of history, evolving industries, maritime enterprises of today,
and the space age of tomorrow, San Jacinto College has served the people of East Harris
County, Texas, since 1961. The College is ranked second in the nation among more than
1,100 community colleges, as designated by the Aspen Institute and was named an Achieving
the Dream Leader College of Distinction in 2020 and 2026. As a Hispanic-Serving Institution
that spans five campuses, plus an online college, San Jacinto College serves approximately
45,000 credit and non-credit students annually. It offers more than 200 degrees and
certificates across eight major areas of study that put students on a path to transfer
to four-year institutions or enter the workforce. The College is fiscally sound, holding
bond ratings of AA+ by Standard & Poor’s and Aa2 by Moody’s. San Jacinto College is
accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.
