My View from across the room

In the last month or so, energetic and willing 7th and 8th graders have helped create the beginnings of an outdoor classroom. They have learned about topsoil, mulch, planting techniques, landscape design, and fund-raising, to name but a few of the educational opportunities offered by this project.

It all started with one of our 7th grade science teachers. She wrote a grant and was awarded a small amount to create a wildlife-friendly area, to take the place of  an empty space, left by the recent renovation of the middle school property. All her classes were involved, and then activity blocks at the end of the day, 4 days of the week. The project grew to be a circular hardspace, surrounded by a berm, planted with shrubs and trees and plants that would attract and perhaps feed wildlife. The existing garden beds in other areas have been worked on, added to, and continue to be maintained.

We are on the home stretch now, but what is so great is that this is an ongoing project, that generations of middle-school students can learn from, maintain, and be proud of. Community, Learning, Beauty—all come together at our middle school!