This is a place that makes Austin "weird" and very special. A multi-decade project to catalog all…read moreof the plant life of the Southwest USA and Northern Mexico. They are at volume 4 now - out of an estimated 20+ volumes to be written. Volume 1 of "Useful Wild Plants of Texas..." is a resource that covers the appearance, traditional uses and other information. Great to have this in my library. Highly recommended if you are interested in the plant life around us!

I have been going to get plants at Clifton for over a year now. I won't go anywhere else... EVER…read more The plants here are amazing, well-cared for and the place is gorgeous. Clayton is helpful, is willing to spend as much time as you need teaching you about how to care for your plant and will even teach you how to "splice" them correctly to grow more! Because this is a school for kiddos who might not obtain employment otherwise, you not only leave here with a super awesome assortment of plants at AMAZING prices, you leave here knowing you're supporting a really great program and a super wonderful group of kids that are so proud of their work! Clayton's students can even help with landscaping! Go, do the right thing, get a great deal and leave with a smile on your face that comes, not only from the tremendous amount of money left over in your pocket from the purchase of gorgeous plant life, but from the really awesome thing you just did for a group that truly deserves a "great job" or "thank you so much!" and a chance that might not be given otherwise.

I was a student there and the school is great I liked the teachers there they teach you laundry…read moreskills, job skills and even a computer class and a family class did not think I took that class and what is the coolest class is the Shirt making class where you learn how to work a printing press if you are in H.S. you will want to check out this school

For my first session, the tutor was 20 minutes late to the online session. She did not introduce…read moreherself or provide clear explanations or expectations. She was distracted and disengaged. She seemed to be looking at something online that was unrelated to the tutoring session. I ended the session early because it was unproductive. I do not trust this organization to hire tutors of quality after this experience. They refused to provide me with a refund, even though this experience was terrible.

I would give them zero stars, if possible…read more Great service in creating the account and putting my student in front of a tutor. The tutor turn out to be a retired Chemistry professor who spent 15 minutes complaining about the fact that VT assign to him too many students and he didn't have time to take care of anyone. We changed tutor. My student has a question, the same answer was given three times. Finally it came out that my student had not clearly understood what an isotope is. The tutor replied "you should know what an isotope is". We finally gave up and requested to cancel the subscription. They told me to consider it a done thing. One month later, mid-December, I was charged 324$ on the credit card. I called them to ask a refund and to finally cancel the subscription for good. The reply was that the contract does not allow for refunds, only for credit. When I promised to write this review, they told me "ok, we will put you in contact with the special requests team"... Our experience has been that of incompetent tutors and a scam-like approach to billing. At the time of writing I am not sure yet if they plan to bill me again in one month. Don't give your credit card number to this people.

I went to my second Songfarmer in November 2015, and it just keeps getting better! I saw a lot of…read morethe same people from the previous one and also met new musicians, which brought some impromptu collaborations that went really well. Owen and Gordy continue to have a great structure to their teachings and continue to introduce new concepts. Check out the app! I will for sure be going back. Maybe this spring??

I attended the Songfarmer workshop in November, 2015 just west of Austin, in a really beautiful…read morerural setting. I think what Owen & Gordy have going with Songfarmer is a great thing, in that it can help songwriters who are at many different levels. Instead of the kind of scene where a professional songwriter just talks about what they do to write great songs, Songfarmer is a philosophy that gives you tools and puts you to work, in a fun, creative way, to make sure that you keep writing and up your output. The weekend was a huge creative kick in the pants for me, in that I have been writing more and better songs since attending, and my new habits have enabled me to be prepared for opportunities that have come my way. I met some great folks and expanded my musical horizons in many different ways. If you are serious about writing better songs and more songs, this is an excellent experience. The size is perfect, and the setting is really gorgeous, with good food and inspiring surroundings. The only bummer of the whole weekend was a super cold front that arrived in the middle of the night, but I don't think Owen & Gordy could do much about that. Go, you won't regret it.

The Texas Freedom Network strives to maintain the separation of church and state in Texas by…read moremonitoring a variety of state offices and PACs. They help make sure that factual information is included in our state textbooks, lobby for patient rights in regards to stem cell research, and address any issue they believe the Religious Right is adversely affecting in an inappropriate manner. There is far too much about this organization to sum up here. Visit their website for the most current information about their projects and research. The weekly TFN email alert is a great way to stay informed about these issues without flooding your inbox. I believe that the service TFN is providing to today's (and tomorrow's) school children is invaluable. Who here remembers the Texas health textbooks that told teenagers that having an abortion would give them breast cancer? I remember that textbook, but due to TFN's hard work that (dis)information is no longer printed. I also remember not being allowed to even discuss the possibility of evolution in a science class. Thank you, Religious Right members of the Texas State School Board. But more importantly, thank you to TFN for working hard to stay on top of these issues and for fighting against unnecessary edits to our textbooks.

From their website, TFN was Founded in 1995. The Texas Freedom Network is a nonpartisan, grassroots…read moreorganization of more than 100,000 religious and community leaders. Based in Austin, the Texas Freedom Network acts as the state's watchdog, monitoring far-right issues, organizations, money and leaders. The organization has been instrumental in defeating initiatives backed by the religious right in Texas, including private school vouchers and textbook censorship at the Texas State Board of Education. There is so much goodness to like about this group. We attended their 20th anniversary fund raiser this past weekend and the passion their organization showed up and down was amazing. Keeping censorship out of our textbooks is an issue near and dear to my heart. They have stopped school vouchers and kept creationism from being taught as a valid theory in our science classes. They want to leave Religion in Religion classes and Science in Science classes. They support equal rights for all. I can't imagine how anyone could be against any of these things.

JUSTIN RIPPED ME OFF FOR $1200 I CANT GET MY MONEY BACK BUT DONT LET THIS HAPPEN TO YOU!!!…read more My experience with PFTA of Austin(ran but Justin not to be confused with the original PFTA in Round Rock ran by RA) was nothing but unprofessional. I started out being super excited to start and really appreciative of Justin since he offered me the nutrition program for no extra cost to me in addition to the physical training ncsf program I signed up and made the down payment of $600 for. First of all the nutrition class started over a week later then the original start date I was told. Between making the down payment and the first day of class there was little communication from Justin and he was slow to follow through with anything he said he would do. Such as sending out emails with all the information for the first day of class. (Side note the email wasn't sent out until the night before our first day and told us to report to the wrong location) Secondly, Justin who is supposed to be the "teacher" spoke about current students, former students and former owners personal business infront of the class refering to other owners as a cancer to the pfta name. He's was very unprofessional when speaking about others and I won't be surprised if he talks unprofessionally about me now. Third, I never received any of the books I paid for or any class time for the personal training program. Fouth, Justin does offer a payment plan. I talked to him multiple times befor putting my down payment down about my monthly payment being $350. On the 14th of July I received a receipt saying a $400 payment would come out of my account on the 15th. I reached out to Justin and told him that would not work and I didn't agree to payment that high. He's acted like there was a miscommunication that I did agree to those payments and said he was again willing to work with me and I could pay $200 on the 15th and the rest of the payment the following week. On the 15th a total of $600 was pulled from my account. I received a email saying $400 would be returned, I reached out to Justin and his book keeper asking what happened and when my money would be refunded. Both were slow to respond and rude. Justin was unhelpful about the whole issue saying there was nothing he could do and that he was doing me a favor by only pulling $400 instead of the $500 his contract said.. (even though him and I discussed $350 a month paymeny multiple times) We're now on the 19th and I still have not be refunded the $400 Next, with all these issues I decided to withdraw from his school weeks before the personal training program I paid and signed up for started. I asked him for a refund. He refused saying my money went towards the books and binder. (Again I never received these) and when I continued to push the issues Justin told me to quit contacting him. Last, I thought I was signing up for the original PFTA and turns out he just uses the name but has been asked by the owner of the ORIGINAL PFTA to stop operating under this name. Sure his school is able to use any name he pleases until the court says otherwise but he was very misleading about the schools history. I know this is long and I know Justin will try to respond covering up all his mistakes and blame me saying I was the issues and he did everything he could to work with me and help but the truth is he ripped me off. I received no class time, books or fitness knowledge after paying him $1200, when issues were brought to his attention he was rude and now he refuses to even communicate with me. I can't get my money back but please save yours and pick a different school.

When I decided to become a personal trainer it was important to me that I have hands on experience…read moreand a true understanding of the human body and health. Simply reading the books and taking the test would have never gotten me to the understanding and experience to truly help others the way PFTA has. Justin (owner) is one of the kindest, caring and intelligent people I have ever met and he teaches the class incredibly well. He almost always has a smile on his face and welcomes ALL the questions you may have. He truly wants to help his students become confident in the field and help people in general maintain their health. I am so thankful to this program. Today I received a 93 on my NCSF certification exam!

After years of shooting a wide variety of firearms, I recently attained my LTC and wanted to…read morereceive some formal pistol training to improve my skills and overall competence with with my everyday carry pistol. Overall, this was an amazing experience which has significantly challenged and enhanced my skills. I can't wait to practice what we learned again at the range, as well progress with additional courses they offer. This is no weekend warrior shit. These guys are seasoned professionals who can coach you if your smart enough to close your mouth, and open your ears. Here is more details... I found Texas tactical Training institute on YELP, and while they had no reviews, their information and photos intrigued me to make a call and have an initial discussion. I spoke with Tim over the phone for more than 20 minutes, explaining what I was looking for and what he could recommend. He explained he was a former police officer who was now focussed on offering firearm training experiences for people of all skill levels, at a price that didn't scare people away. Within minutes you could feel his passion coming through the phone, and i was eager to get something scheduled. I shared the idea with a friend and we signed up for a 4-hour 'Intro to movement - pistol' class for the upcoming weekend. We were excited at the idea of receiving some training to improve our skills, but unsure what two 'seasoned' gun owners would be able to learn in just 4 hours. A few days ahead of the training day, we received instructions by email of where to meet the course instructor, and what to bring with us. On the day itself, it was unusually cold...39 degrees in April cold. This elevated the training to a new level, as we were both not prepared or used to shooting in such cold climate. When our hands were not tucked deep into our pockets in a effort to once again feel our fingers, our hands were a little shaky when shooting (or at least that was my excuse on the day.. he he). We started with a short yet descriptive safety brief, and jumped straight into some dry-fire exercises of turning 90 degrees and firing on the 'threat'. That is the word Instructor Dustin used when telling us to engage the target... "Threat". At that moment you would turn the 90 degrees, or 180 degrees, or start moving and shooting from various positions indicated by black circles of spray paint in the dirt that had just been created by Dustin and his his fellow Instructor Brian. Over the course of 4 hours we were introduced to various shooting exercises involving moving and shooting. My favorite phrase of the day (aside from "threat", which meant you were being told to engage the target), was "Push, Plant, Pull", which described your movements from one position to another. The push and planting refers to your feet, and the pull... well you can guess what that is for. We continued learning and practicing through the bitter 39 degree weather, breaking only for a few minutes here and there to return to the truck in an attempt to warm up and feel our fingers again. Dustin was an exceptional coach. He would watch you follow his instructions and offer specific minor changes to your body position, feet position, pistol grip, the elevation of my hands in relation to my eyes, and other small tweaks. All of which felt a little uncomfortable at first, kind of like I was shooting for the first time. However, this was a strong introduction to a new understanding that all my previous experience shooting was from a static position with no accountability of each round pushed through a paper target. I strongly recommend this training to firearm owners of all ages and skill levels. I also strongly recommend the 'intro to movement - pistol' course to anyone with a LTC, or someone looking to improve their skills.

Very patient instructor. My wife and I took the intro to pistol and rifle class. The instructor was…read morevery patient with the students. He also helped my wife find a pistol that better fit her hands. It was my wifes first time shooting a rifle and by the end of class she was able to hit a target at 300 yards. We would recommend this training center to our friends and family, we will be taking classes here again.

3 months after paying in advance for a full year of tutoring for 2 of my daughters, being told I…read morewould receive a discount for paying ahead, a sibling discount, as well as not having to worry about monthly payment reminders, the facility shut down with no notice. I tried calling the number of the guy who I gave my cc info to and he hung up on me and then blocked my number. His name is Sean and he has a Beaumont area code. Still looking for the owners of this location if anyone has info.

This place is great. I bring two of my kids here and they love working with the staff. The great…read morething is the kids don't complain about going but i can see they are progressing. The schedule is very flexible too.