Classroom Group Two

Beginning process, Plans, and Steps

• Our plan was to update and clean the outdoor classroom so it could be of use to the Flat Rock students and the community.

• First, we started with the idea of improving the stage. Then we gravitated to the outdoor benches and other important locations in the area.

• Many ideas and strategies were used to determine what we could do, including adding greenery.

• We plan on adding a flower/plant design to the border of the stage.

• Our group also decided to work on putting down mulch to make this area look more presentable.

• We also planned to put signs by the plants so people are able to easily identify which plants we have in the area.

Steps for the Bench Area

• The first thing we had to do was take care of the poison ivy problem. There was poison ivy all over the outdoor area.

• We cleared out the poison ivy by using Round-Up. We used Round-Up on the section that students may come in contact with.

• Next, we got rid of all of the pollen that was left on the benches and the stage we swept and wiped it off.

• After we wiped off the pollen we began to remove the dead leaves surrounding the benches and the stage. We completed this by raking and shoveling the leaves off to the side and into the wagons.

• After this was done and the area was clear, we began to prepare for the mulch.

Steps for Mulching

• Our first step we had to do during this process was to find cardboard

• After we got our supply of cardboard, we had to take off the tiny pieces of tape

• We did this so that the cardboard would decompose

• Next, we began to wet the ground and the cardboard so it would stick to the ground and not fly away

• Our group did the perimeter first then started to fill in the rest of the ground area

• We then gathered mulch and began to pour it over the cardboard

• The next step was to smooth the mulch out to make it even

Steps for Designing

• We decided that mulch by itself is not enough to make the outdoor classroom presentable for students and teachers that desire to hold instruction in the area.

• So, we made the decision to clear the path and learning area of leaves, pinecones, sticks, rocks, and poison ivy to make the area more appealing to teachers and students and for them to feel safe in the environment.

• Safety was also something to keep in mind when it came to designing our plans for the outdoor classroom area since it would destroy the purpose of renovating the outdoor classroom if students and teachers were afraid of using the area.

• We also painted the benches and stage with a brown color selinect , that not only made the outdoor classroom look better but made the wood have longer lasting protection.

In all, our tenure on this project has come to an end. There was a lot of teamwork and dedication involved during these long days in the outdoors. We are glad to say that this process lead to success.

Group Planning Form

This Google Document shows our project planning process. Within this doc, important information such as our individual roles, key steps, purpose, and completion of our goals can be found.

Google Keep

This Google Doc was created from our Google Keep note, where we made updates and did research throughout the project. We used a combination of text and images to get our ideas across and to make sure that everyone was on the same page on what our primary goals were. It was used during almost every step of the process.

Impact, Purpose, and Reflections

Going into this project, we knew that we would have the opportunity to make a positive influence on our school and community. By making the outdoor classroom space more usable for teachers, students would get an opportunity to spend more time learning from their natural surroundings and enjoying the health benefits that can come with spending time outside. We wanted to make a space that would be safe for those who use it while preserving the existing environment around it. By leaving in wild plant species and avoiding the use of products such as pesticides, we are allowing for a learning opportunity. In addition to this, countless publications from locations such as Harvard Medical School and the American Psychological Association identify a connection between going outside and mental health. We hope that by allowing the students at our school this opportunity to learn outside, they will also gain valuable traits such as confidence, a reduction in stress, and a boost of mood, all of which we believe will be beneficial additions to the middle school environment. Some students may feel more open to express their emotions if they are welcomed into a comfortable, outdoor environment.

Reflection

Reflecting back on what we were able to accomplish throughout this project, we think we achieved partial success in making the outdoor classroom into a positive space that is ideal in both functionality and appearance. The largest obstacle blocking us from achieving full success was our time limit. We made a lot of progress and improved the outdoor classroom significantly compared to how it was when it started, but we believe that in a longer period of time, we would have been able to complete more actions that would benefit its usability. Even with this, we have succeeded in making the outdoor classroom a place that is easier for teachers to take their students to and gain all of the benefits that can come as a result of spending time outside.