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Through the EarthWorks Outdoor Classroom Program children learn to love nature while they study science. Hands-on exploratory experiences bring science alive, and apply to a range of learning styles. The hands-on lessons reinforce indoor science lessons and readings. The program also helps foster children’s sense of stewardship and pride toward their own neighborhoods and schoolyards.

It is possible to create an outdoor classroom on a shoestring budget. One need not have acres of gardens and groves of trees to adequately teach science outdoors. If carefully crafted, a vibrant space can be designed and built on school grounds even with limited space, resources and funding. As there are many fine resources available on creating outdoor learning spaces, the following focuses on troubleshooting common issues that can arise.

Planning
The first step in planning your outdoor classroom is determining what concepts are most important for the children to learn. Curriculum constraints may play a large role in determining what type of outdoor classroom you decide upon. The concepts you wish to address will help determine the type of outdoor classroom that best suits your needs. There are three types of Outdoor Classrooms in which EarthWorks teaches: Butterfly or “Insectary” Gardens, Educational Gardens, and Orchards. Whichever kind of classroom you choose, it is likely that most of the biological science topics have applications outside. EarthWorks has covered a wide range of topics including geology and soils, ecosystems, biodiversity, invertebrates, life cycles, and multicultural studies. Older students can conduct independent field studies and experiments, and all students can use the outdoor classroom as the basis for writing and developing research skills. The more deliberate one is in the planning process, the easier it is to build support, secure funding, and implement the program. EarthWorks' Outdoor Classroom Curriculum Guide, which was developed in partnership with Boston Public School teachers, is available for sale here.

Location
After deciding the kind of outdoor classroom you will be developing, it is critical to select an appropriate location. When making this decision, a careful look at sun exposure, soil quality and potential drainage issues is important. It is also necessary to study the circulation patterns of the area you wish to develop. What may be the ideal spot in terms of sun exposure might be where children congregate during recess, or where cars are parked during pick up and drop off. Unfortunately at one school, a row of expensive hedges was planted in the kickboard outfield. Shortly after planting all that remained were a few broken trunks. Rather than trying to change circulation patterns, it may be best to find a little used or protected area in which to locate your study area.

It is also important to check on any upcoming site construction or renovation projects. Some projects may have little or no impact upon your program, while others may interfere or damage your site. If construction is planned after the Outdoor Classroom is completed, find out the extent and schedule of the work to be done and make appropriate steps to protect your site. Communicating directly with workers is very important. If those doing the work are not informed, the possibility for inadvertent damage is much higher.

A student in the Quincy Elementary School's rooftop garden.

Even if there is little to no open space in which to create an Outdoor Classroom, there are ways to make the project go forward. At the Josiah Quincy Elementary School in Boston’s Chinatown there is no available open space in which a garden could be planted. Not to be deterred, a dedicated teacher at the school created a rooftop garden where flowers, vegetables, fruit trees and grapes are grown in containers.

Soil Testing
An important safety note: Lead paint and emissions from lead-based fuel has left a dangerous legacy in urban, suburban and rural schoolyards. Before letting children work the soil, it is highly recommended that soil lead levels be at a “safe” level. Even if your lead levels are high, there are ways you can still create an outdoor program. At some EarthWorks sites the soil was removed to a certain depth and replaced with uncontaminated topsoil. Other sites have raised beds that keep the roots of the plants well above the contaminated soil. (Raised beds have other benefits such as excellent drainage and handicap accessibility.) If there are concerns about lead (or other contaminates), there are options and resources available to you. For information on lead in the soil visit EarthWorks’ Horticultural Training Manual.

Maintenance
A good maintenance plan is one of the most important, and most overlooked, elements of a successful program. It is best to start planning how the space will be maintained early in the process. Determining who will be responsible for maintenance and setting a regular maintenance schedule will influence the design of the space. In New England school is not in session during most of the growing season. As a result, EarthWorks’ gardens and orchards largely feature plants that bloom in early spring and in the fall. Our gardens and orchards are mulched each summer to minimize weeding and watering needs, and each site is maintained during the long school vacation. Similar steps will ensure a healthy garden or orchard and will generate good will toward the program.

Including summer and afterschool programs in the outdoor classroom program can be an important part of the maintenance plan. Our school programs need to follow the curriculum standards for each grade, which often means that the classes do not have time to do much maintenance themselves. Because afterschool and summer programs don’t have such stringent requirements, children in these programs can do much of the needed maintenance.

	Children enjoy the opportunity to do maintenance tasks in the educational gardens.

Adults might find maintenance tasks tedious, but children often relish the work – especially if they can use tools. Trusting a child with tools engages him or her in the task, and children rise to this responsibility. Providing children with clear guidelines, jobs that are small enough not to be overwhelming, and the option to switch tasks often also ensures the work is enjoyed.

The custodian is a critical member of your team. EarthWorks’ experience has shown us that the custodian is often the most important employee at a school. Custodians can provide tools, access to water, and a helping hand with many aspects of your project. As the caretaker of the site, the custodial staff is responsible for maintaining a safe and good-looking schoolyard. Any unruly gardens and bushy orchards reflect poorly on the custodians and can lead to tensions. Do not rely upon the custodial staff in your maintenance plan. It is best to assume that they are often spread too thin to take on another area of responsibility. The goal should be to make their jobs easier, and well-maintained gardens and orchards can do this.

Site Damage
Damage to the Outdoor Classroom can be a problem in many schoolyards and Earthworks’ schoolyard projects are no exception. In our experience, site damage takes two forms: vandalism and inadvertent damage from improper horticultural techniques and school maintenance. Dealing with vandalism effectively cannot only solve the problem, but often creates positive ties with the larger community.

Vandalism: Of the two types of damage, this is by far the more difficult with which to deal. Rarely will there be an opportunity to work directly with the vandals, so efforts to curb damage need to be directed to the general community. The best way to prevent vandalism is to start during the planning phase of your project. By inviting neighbors and parents into the project early on, there will be a bigger base of support for the project. More people will be involved and understand what is going on in the space, which means there will be more people watching the area when school in not is session.

Prevention can work even after the planning process is completed. At the Hennigan School’s educational garden, the children’s plants and flowers were destroyed repeatedly. The outraged and hurt children began making posters asking whoever hurt their plants not to do it again. Within a day, the fence of the garden was covered with hundreds of signs made by the children. At the same time, EarthWorks’ Hennigan teacher began spending large amounts of time in the garden on weekends and afterschool. As children and teens walked by the garden, he invited everyone in to the garden to weed, dig in the dirt, turn the compost pile, or to help gather herbs for sun tea. As he spent more time with the neighborhood’s children, the young people began spending more time in the garden independently, and kept an eye on it at night. The vandalism ended shortly thereafter. A little engagement and education went a long way.

In other situations, the solutions may not be so readily available. At one of our schools, gang members continually trample the garden. Because most of the neighbors and children fear these individuals, the problem is not so easily solved. Although the police are often called to the scene, the damage is usually done before they arrive. Plant selection has helped some there. Rather than planting tomatoes, which seem to invite damage, we have planted more flowers, leafy greens and raspberries. Elsewhere, orchard trees were badly damaged when vandals ripped off whole branches, leaving large gaping wounds on the trees. This orchard had a large, pre-existing fence which had had always been unlocked. After repeated damage, we reluctantly decided to lock the gate rather than risk losing a tree. While far from ideal, we felt in this case limiting access was our only alternative.

Replacing graffiti with a mural can transform a blighted space into a peaceful one.

Graffiti tagging is best dealt with quickly. EarthWorks has asked schools’ permission to cover tagging in our program areas. When the Hennigan Butterfly Garden was tagged, rather than covering the graffiti with plain beige paint, our City Year team painted a mural of Dr. Seuss’s The Lorax in its place. This mural has not been tagged since, while it seems that the plain paint coverings get retagged quickly.

Inadvertent Damage: Simple preventative measures like these usually work best in preventing inadvertent damage. Signs and a good maintenance plan go a long way in deterring accidental damage. For example, placing hardware cloth rodent guards around the base of orchard trees will protect them from weed whackers that get too close. Better yet, mulching and weeding under orchard trees will keep the weeds away from the tree trunks. This means that mowers and whackers need not come right up against a tree, protecting the trees from equipment and helping their root systems at the same time. During summer vacation, an untended garden can quickly be overrun with weeds, making it a prime candidate for accidental mowing. A well-weeded garden with labels and signs is not likely to get mowed.

Education is also a powerful tool in dealing with inadvertent damage. Some EarthWorks’ orchards suffer from improper pruning and harvesting by neighbors or community members. By sponsoring pruning workshops and harvesting events in the schoolyards, Earthworks educates the community without discouraging anyone’s involvement in the orchard. Overall, maintaining good relationships with the school community, staff and neighbors is the most important element protecting and promoting an Outdoor Classroom program.

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