Announcement: Additional learning gardens and opportunities to get involved are coming soon for the Spring 2025 semester. Those interested in getting involved with campus garden initiatives may email green@austincc.edu to express interest, and join the Green Team mailing list to receive updates.
ACC appreciates urban agriculture and promotes environmental stewardship and campus community bonds by converting on-campus, underutilized and neglected parcels into productive learning gardens. ACC campus gardens are maintained by ACC faculty, staff, and students.
In August 2018, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service awarded ACC a grant to establish Monarch Butterfly Migration Corridor Gardens on four campuses – Eastview, Elgin, Hays, and Round Rock. Through these gardens, ACC provides learning experiences in natural resource conservation and attracts and maintains butterflies by strategically locating gardens within the butterfly’s migration path.
The Office of Energy and Sustainability also funded Monarch Butterfly Garden refreshers at Cypress Creek, Highland, and Northridge campuses in 2018.
Garden Features

These are plants with edible leaves or fruits. Growing your own food not only tastes better, it may also help improve overall health and nutrition by decreasing exposure to pesticides and pollution related to food production. Plus, growing your own food can cut costs on groceries!

These plants are well-suited for the growing conditions, either because they exist in the region naturally (native) or because they can thrive in the natural conditions without threatening native species (adapted).

These are drought-resistant plants that store water in their leaves and stems. Their tough skin or spines provide natural protection from most pests and predators and they are almost maintenance free!

Plants that live two or more years and often regrow each season in their native habitats. They create extensive root systems that help stabilize soil, prevent erosion, and resist drought.