An outdoor classroom at the Perez School in Austin, Texas
by Julie Z. Russo
During the winter months bringing warmth and light inside by way of Christmas cactus, pine trees, and poinsettia keeps the cold at bay. The Coombes School in Berkshire, England has stored its sunflower seeds in favor of a winter garden, but in late June they’ll broadcast the seeds widely around the school grounds again in time for a fall harvest and education project (see related article on Van Gogh.) In Austin, Texas, where the climate supports year-round outdoor learning the students benefit from the option of staying outside to study for longer periods of time. Applying different approaches to learning through experiential and outdoor curriculum is the central focus of the Natural Learning Institute (NLI) within North Carolina State University’s School of Design, as well as the National Wildlife Federation (NWF).
On Nov. 6, NLI’s director Mr. Robin Moore and Mr. Allen Cooper, a NWF director of state and local education advocacy in Austin shared case examples and education concepts pertaining to the design of outdoor education spaces in a Department of Education-sponsored webinar. During the past 14 years, NLI’s main focus is the design of outdoor environments to boost human health and a healthy biosphere, said NLI director Mr. Moore. The National Wildlife Federation is a nonprofit conservation organization founded in 1936 to inspire Americans to connect with nature and protect wildlife, said Mr. Cooper. The organization also publishes the popular Ranger Rick magazine.
School outdoor environments provide students and educators with important opportunities for learning and discovery. Field research demonstrates that African-American, economically disadvantaged, and Hispanic students benefit the most from these green school programs, said Mr. Cooper. The Perez Elementary School in Austin is an example of how students gain from learning in an outdoor classroom with a nature trail. Spending time outside at the Perez School includes making science observations and journaling in a butterfly garden to an annual family campout on the school grounds with ‘smores and star gazing. With the introduction of nature in everyday learning, Perez school students are demonstrating improvement on standardized tests, said principal David Kauffman.
Through its Schoolyard Habitats Program, the NWF provides international certification to schools that have demonstrated the development, ongoing monitoring and maintenance of a schoolyard habitat. A habitat can be as small as building bird feeders and planters to removing asphalt playgrounds to provide for green spaces that attract insects, butterflies, and birds. NWF also sponsors Eco-Schools, which is a more comprehensive international program allowing schools to incorporate up to seven conservation measures ranging from developing energy efficiency and waste management practices or schoolyard habitats, Mr. Cooper said. Founded in 1994 by the Foundation for Environmental Education, Eco-Schools is endorsed by the European Commission as well as the United Nations Environment Program.
“The advantages of being outdoors in rich natural environments supports multiple styles of learning,” said Mr. Moore, adding that outdoor learning creates social harmony by enabling us to be in touch with the broader ecosystem. More than 50 years of research has gone into the concept of school ground renovation to design and manage the environment. NLIs work has led it on investigations of a 30-year garden project at the Coombes School in England to incorporating long-leaf pine and vegetable gardens in the schools of North Carolina. The Coombes School founded by Susan Humphries in 1971 has gradually built a school yard habitat that includes the cultivation of sunflowers, an ecotrail that gives a boundary for children to explore, and a connection to a forest and orchard where the children can plant saplings, said Mr. Moore, citing the example of the art project inspired by Van Gogh that is conducted by students there.
A Van Gogh art project at the Coombes School
“It is not only beautiful itself, it is a constant source of interest to see how the flower heads incline towards the sun and to see and hear insects collect the nectar and pollen, to see how the birds are drawn to the first seeds,” wrote Ms. Humphries and Susan Rowe in their book “The Coombes Approach: Learning through an Experiental and Outdoor Curriculum.”
The challenge is to create compelling smart, nature schools that will stimulate children’s intrinsic curiosity and engage the community in ownership of these schoolyard designs, Mr. Moore said. “Nature play is part of integrating childhood processes, supporting health, and conducting mandated curriculum in a different way," he said.
How to promote a sustainable culture and help children respond to learning in a global society is the goal of these school programs. Successful green schoolyard programs often involve “significant dollars,” Mr. Cooper said, citing the voter-based bond initiatives passed in Boston, Denver, and San Francisco. For example, Denver voters passed a series of bond initiatives worth $49 million that resulted in 96 schools participating in schoolyard renovation, Mr. Cooper said. Since 1998, the initiatives have helped fund a partnership called “Learning Landscapes” between the University of Colorado at Denver and Denver Public Schools that renovates neglected public elementary school yards. The schoolyards are converted into public gathering and play spaces that promote wellness in the community. For its outdoor classrooms and science programs in Austin, The NWF receives private support from Toyota USA.
The challenge is creating broad-based policy initiatives that encompass art and design, STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) and outdoor learning with the support of elected officials, Mr. Moore said. Professional development initiatives might also include the training of caregivers who are also recreational specialists and place makers who shape an environment that is aesthetically appealing, he noted.
"If we think back to childhood, nature is a very powerful memory that we carry through to adult life," Mr. Moore said.