Create Demonstration spaces and pilots

If resources are limited, you might begin by creating one or more demonstration spaces or pilots that can be used, learned from, and shared with others. Kingsley Elementary School in Los Angeles Unified School District built four outdoor classrooms that have become an example to other schools.

To choose where the first demonstration spaces will go in your district, consider equity and demographics along with the results of your site assessments and staff surveys.

You may consider asking schools to show their interest and commitment by creating schoolyard teams and articulating their goals and plans in a document or application. This Outdoor Learning Technical Assistance Request form from the San Mateo County Office of Education is a good starting template.

Phase in additional outdoor learning spaces as funds are available. 

For the success of a new outdoor learning program, it is important to build your first spaces where there is interest, and then to support staff with guidance, training, and resources on how to teach, manage behavior, and create a positive experience for students when learning goes outside.

One district is creating a demonstration schoolyard outside its swing space (a temporary facility where schools relocate during renovations) so that as schools cycle through, teachers, administrators, families, and students get to try outdoor learning and decide what to bring back to their campus when they return. 

Streamline with Pre-approved Furnishings

To simplify, your district may want to pre-approve a menu of outdoor furnishings (especially overhead shelters, which may require engineering and permitting) so that schools can buy or build with a minimum of red tape. Read about how Falmouth, Massachusetts, schools partnered with their community and worked with their local permitting agency to select, purchase, and install permanent tents that could withstand Cape Cod winters at each of their schools.

Consider negotiating with vendors or contractors for bulk discounts, which will make your outdoor learning dollars go further.

These resources from the San Mateo County Office of Education are follow-ons to our sample cost worksheet. This one offers specific examples and sources of materials and furnishings for outdoor classrooms* and this one includes resources on infrastructure sources and costs for Outdoor Classroom Modules*. SMCOE also compiled this list of local resources.

*Sharing these sources does not imply product endorsement by NCOLI or its partner organizations. Use any of these products at your own risk. 

Partner with your jurisdiction's forestry department for access to free tree parts for seating and work surfaces. See this inspiring example of collaboration between the Urban Forestry Division and the Office of the State Superintendent of Education in Washington, DC.

consider all needs

Inclusive Design

Consider students with special needs from the beginning of the planning and design process so that outdoor learning ensures inclusion, engages the community, and allows schools to meet local, state, and federal legal mandates.

Food Security

Food insecurity and nutrition, as well as many aspects of curriculum, can be addressed in meaningful ways by adding edible gardening to your campus. See School Gardens Part 1 and a series of linked related documents for information that will help you get started with this important component of outdoor learning. Students in Community Consolidated School District 46 in Grayslake, Illinois, learn experientially in outdoor spaces that support food security and community well-being during the pandemic.

Beneficial Plants

Green schoolyards should include plants to add softness, screening, fragrance, color, texture, shade, and play value. Research shows that the presence of plants reduces stress. We recommend child-friendly plants with a focus on locally native plants for their adaptability and for the habitat value they offer. Planting days may be a way to involve volunteers. (See Regional Plant Lists, Using Raised Beds, and Making Paved Spaces Comfortable.) 

A Step-by-Step Process

San Mateo County Office of Education

San Mateo County Office of Education (SMCOE) is a founder of the National COVID-19 Outdoor Learning Initiative. As one of more than 50 county offices of education in California, SMCOE serves all the school districts in its county with support and resources, including an Environmental Literacy and Sustainability Initiative. Find out more about SMCOE’s support for outdoor learning in this case study.

SMCOE created a set of comprehensive resources to help districts get started with outdoor learning. These resources can be used by one district creating support services for all its schools, by consultants working with districts, and as a model for similar offices helping multiple districts.

Here is an SMCOE form for schools to request outdoor learning support services. You can use the form as a template and adapt it for your own district.

Once a district has committed to adopting outdoor learning and opted in for support from the Office of Environmental Literacy and Sustainability, the Outdoor Classroom Technical Assistance Services Step-by-Step Guide outlines the process that SMCOE uses. Support for schools is divided into three phases — Buy-in, Assessment, and Strategic Planning; Implementation; and Sustained Success.

You can use this guide as a model in developing your own district step-by-step process.