2. Include All Voices

Bringing together those with varied perspectives and expertise both within and outside your organization can help to generate the best solutions.

In addition, the success of any new initiative often requires providing opportunities for the community to share their thoughts and get their questions answered.

GATHER A TEAM

Facilities departments have historically overseen school grounds, but when priorities shift and goals for the campus broaden to realize the potential health and learning benefits of outdoor spaces, it is important to expand the group of decision makers and include team members from all related departments.

Create an outdoor learning team that brings together facilities, curriculum, and health experts from your staff along with Parent Teacher Associations, families, and community organizations that may already be providing paid or volunteer support to outdoor learning in your district.

You might invite food services, sustainability, extended day, and communications departments too.

If there are already school gardens or outdoor learning programs in your district, learn from their experiences. Durham Public Schools in North Carolina and Falmouth Public Schools in Massachusetts both created outdoor learning teams.

Consider who else should be included from your district and community. Read more about Community Engagement Strategies (coming soon!).

Know Your Community

Understand the culture of each school community (students, teachers, staff, families, and sometimes neighbors) and of the groups that make up your community.

Honor and respect their historic relationship to nature and the outdoors.

Wherever possible, incorporate culturally significant building materials, art, and symbols into the spaces authentically to support the community’s connection to the space.

Communication is key to the success of your outdoor learning program. Be sure teachers and families have a say in what happens, and that plans and reasons are communicated and explained clearly.

© earlyspace

© Paige green, education outside

clarify Your Goals

It is important to agree on and articulate why your district is creating a system-wide outdoor learning program. Think together about what you want the land your district owns to accomplish — during the pandemic and perhaps for the long term. Clarity on why your district is moving outside will help you to set priorities going forward. You may want to come up with a mission statement that can be the foundation for all subsequent planning.

Create goals and set priorities that will help to guide your work and let you evaluate it as you move forward.

Shortcuts Through the District Pathway

  1. Consider Your Focus: Why Learn Outdoors — children’s health, equity, the environment, long-term change

  2. Include All Voices — gather a team, know your community, clarify your goals

  3. Understand What You Have — inventory each campus, assess teacher interest

  4. Decide What You Need — prioritize comfort, create demonstration sites and pilots, streamline with pre-approved furnishings, consider all needs

  5. Implement Your Program — support administrators, facilities, and maintenance, support teachers, integrate outdoors into curriculum, establish systems, plan for care, consider funding sources, assess and learn

  6. Celebrate Your Success!

CREDITS

This article is based on the vast experience, wise advice, and generous contributions of:
Ghita Carroll — Sustainability Coordinator, Boulder Valley School District, Colorado
Yalda Modabber — Executive Director, Golestan Education, California
Dan Schnitzer — Project Manager, Sustainability and Capital Improvements, Durham Public Schools, North Carolina
Brooke Teller — STEM Coordinator, Portland Public Schools, Maine
Sam Ullery — School Gardens Specialist, Office of the State Superintendent of Education, District of Columbia
Katie West — Outdoor Learning Coordinator, Portland Public Schools, Maine
Andra Yeghoian — Director of Environmental Literacy and Sustainability, San Mateo County Office of Education, California
and written by Nancy Striniste of Green Schoolyards America with support from Ida Li and Lauren McKenna.

National COVID-19 Outdoor Learning Initiative

The National COVID-19 Outdoor Learning Initiative supports schools and districts around the country in their efforts to reopen safely and equitably using outdoor spaces as strategic, cost-effective solutions to increase physical distancing capacity onsite and provide access to abundant fresh air. The Initiative seeks to equitably improve learning, mental and physical health, and happiness for children and adults using an affordable, time-tested outdoor approach to keeping schools open during a pandemic.