Students Learn Scientific and Spiritual Principles on Wildflower Trip
For the fourth spring in a row, Dr. Jody Vogelzang, biology teacher, took a group of freshmen on a weekend trip to Austin to extend their learning on wildflowers. A total of 48 students and five chaperones attended.
Vogelzang said this excursion was “not just a collection trip but also a field laboratory where the students learned taxonomy and identification techniques.”
Students visited the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center and the taxonomy lab with Dr. Flo Oxley, the center’s education and conservation director. 
The center teaches that wildflowers do much more than add beauty to the landscape. They help conserve water; provide habitat for birds, butterflies, and other wildlife; protect the soil; and save money on fertilizer and pesticides. As Lady Bird Johnson said, native plants, “give us a sense of where we are in this great land of ours.”
In addition to a tour of the center, the students also visited Austin’s Zilker Botanical Gardens, which promotes education and reaches thousands of students every year.
On Sunday morning, Liberty students and chaperones had a devotional time together, and a passage of Scripture that stood out was Luke 12:22-28, which includes the verses of Jesus that says,
“Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith!”
One student wrote about this passage and how “it talks about how God clothed the wildflowers so creatively and beautifully. 
“If that is how He took care of the plants, then He surely has a perfect plan for us.
“Now, I am ready to start a great day.”
In addition to all of the science learned on the trip, this very important spiritual life-lesson was learned as well.
