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 capacity 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.

If this is your first visit to our website, or you are looking for materials to share the overall idea with colleagues, this is a great place to start reading. This chapter includes the overall rationale for taking learning outside, strategies for “getting to yes” to begin the work, and ideas to engage your community. It also begins with a Preface that provides background about our National Initiative, our equity framework, and our partners. Some elements of this page are still in progress and will be posted as soon as they are ready.

National Initiative Partners
To produce this substantial collection of free resources, our leadership team grew to include more than 20 additional collaborating partners. Over the past seven months, our working groups have also included hundreds of volunteers from a wide variety of disciplines, across 40+ states and six countries. Please visit our partner page for more information.

We extend our heartfelt thanks to all of the organizations and individuals who are collaborating to make this Initiative possible!

Rationale for Moving Education Outside
There is an urgent need to reimagine PK-12 schools in order to safely reopen—and be able to stay open—during the pandemic. Repurposing outdoor spaces is a cost-effective way to reduce the burden on indoor classrooms while providing fresh air, hands-on learning opportunities, and the health benefits associated with increased access to nature. 

Equity Statement
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, many communities and individuals lived with health and educational inequities stemming from structural racism, disinvestment, historical disenfranchisement, and discrimination. Many of these same communities and individuals have also been disproportionately harmed by the pandemic and by responses to it. The National COVID-19 Outdoor Learning Initiative seeks to address these issues by centering equity in our work and designing the resources offered in our library to serve the most vulnerable students.

Health Guidance
Most health-related guidance during the pandemic has focused on indoor spaces. Our Health Guidance chapter addresses how to reduce virus transmission using outdoor environments for learning and play, with specific attention to promoting health and educational equity. It also explores how to create healthier school environments, and introduces the health benefits of nature and being outdoors.

District-scale Work: How to Begin?
This District Pathway is designed to help you to navigate the extensive resources of the National Outdoor Learning Library and find those most immediately helpful when launching a district-wide program. It was written with input from district-level outdoor learning experts from across the country. This section of our library presents a roadmap—or pathway—through our extensive library, to help districts plan with their school boards, develop staffing plans, and create outdoor classroom modules they can roll out across the district.

School-scale Work: How to Begin?
This section of our library provides a pathway through our materials that is designed to help school principals and their planning teams consider the many approaches they can use to reopen school using outdoor learning as a mitigation tool. The materials in this section will help schools get started, engage teachers, gather the school community, assess their grounds, plan for outdoor teaching supplies and curricula, and coordinate with district staff.

Community Engagement Strategies
Community engagement is a crucial part of developing a plan for outdoor learning at both the school and district levels. A successful plan engages stakeholders early and often, and is built on consensus and inclusion. The resources in this section of our library offer strategies, tools, and frameworks for community engagement, designed to produce equitable outcomes for outdoor learning and schoolyard greening during and beyond the pandemic. (Coming soon!)