Develop Outdoor Spaces – Healthy Kids, Healthy Planet

What: Think creatively about the outdoor spaces that exist in and around schools grounds. By brainstorming and reimagining existing spaces, a side yard could become an outdoor classroom; a woodsy area could become a nature exploration area with a student-designed trail; milk crates on a black top could become an outdoor meeting area. The possibilities are endless once you think out of the box. In addition, your students, staff or administration could work on designing, planning and building a special outdoor space. Classes could also take responsibility for maintaining and utilizing certain spaces around the school grounds.

How: The first step is to identify the outdoor spaces that already exist. Next, brainstorm all of the ways that these spaces could be used. Then, determine if there are any materials or simple building projects that could increase the ways a space could be used (ex: adding picnic tables, shade sail or crates). The last step is to undergo a design and building project to improve existing or create new outdoor learning spaces. The following chart provides questions as well as ideas to guide the process.

Step	Guiding Questions	Examples
Identifying Existing Outdoor Spaces	What outdoor spaces already exist in and around the school grounds? Have students, staff and admin walk the grounds listing the spaces they see. Compare the lists– did students see different spaces than adults?	Examples of school spaces: Playground Side yard School garden Field next to school Woodsy area adjacent to school field (sometimes on the property or next door. If next door, find out about ownership and if students can use) Base of a big tree Front of school (sometimes there are grassy areas or gardens at school entrances) Black top/basketball court Nearby parks (short walking distance) Area outside of cafeteria exit
Brainstorm Ways Existing Spaces Could be Used	How can existing spaces be used? How can the use and function of a space change through the seasons? How many classes could be outside at once in different spaces and not be in each other’s way?	Examples of space use: A black top can be a meeting area The base of a tree can be a place to do a read aloud A side garden can provide quiet writing spots The entrance to the school might be a shady spot where a class can gather or a small group can work The school garden can be a place to inspire writing, make observations of wildlife, get into gardening and the science of growing food, an inspiration for cooking lessons, and much, much more A field can be used for large games to be played or for a whole grade gathering A nearby woody area can provide nature “sit spots” and a nature trail The playground can be a place for free play but also for investigating science topics like force and motion
Adding Materials to Space to Increase Use/Function	What materials could be added to existing spaces to increase the ways they could be used? Can materials make a space easier to use in wet or cold weather? Would a boundary or barrier make a space safer or easier to use?	Examples of how added materials improve space use/function: Have a tarp available to take outside on a rainy day (place on grass in a field, place at the base of a tree, place on the black top) Milk crates can create instant stools for an outdoor meeting area Basic picnic tables outside the cafeteria can create an outdoor eating area A shade sail or tarp can create shade in a sunny spot Signs or activity cards for a nature trail can engage kids Tree stumps can create outdoor seats (what does the city do with cut down trees? Can they provide stumps to the school?) Adding a boundary fence can make management easier and reduce safety concerns about students running off or proximity to traffic. A boundary could be around a small part of the school yard, or just along a trouble spot like a busy road. Natural boundaries- hedges, rose bushes, garden strips- can be just as effective as human-made ones.
Outdoor Space Design/Construction	Is there an outdoor space on the school grounds that can be improved through a design/building project? How can the design improve the use and function of a space?	Examples of design projects: Design and build an outdoor amphitheater or stage with a wooden stage and wooden benches. This can be used as a teaching and performance space. Survey the woodsy area of a school and locate an area to clear to create an outdoor classroom. The classroom could have basic wooden tables for students to work on. A gazebo or pergola built in a side yard or field can create a separate learning space. Vines and wisteria make a natural roof that can provide shade or a constructed roof can provide shelter from rain.
Different Class/Grades Can Take Care of Certain Spaces	How many outdoor spaces are on the school grounds? What type of maintenance do these spaces need? Can classes take responsibility for maintaining certain spaces? They can do maintenance and spend a lot of time in the area to create some ownership for children. Can classes be responsible for managing sign-up/reservation process for a certain school space?	Examples of outdoor space maintenance: A class could be responsible for raking leaves, shoveling snow, planting bulbs or wildflowers, checking on seats and added materials. A class could have a tarp or set of materials that make a certain space more useful and be responsible for lending the tarp/materials to different classes. A class could check on an outdoor classroom in the woods and make sure it is in good shape–no rotting wood, no animal damage, cleared, no poison ivy, etc. A class could be responsible for managing the sign-up process to reserve/use certain spaces.

When: Teachers and students can walk the school grounds at the beginning of the year to identify existing spaces and brainstorm ways to use them. Administration and staff can collaborate on what/how to get materials to improve and expand space use. An ongoing project with students or staff to design an outdoor learning area can happen at any time. Classes can take on maintenance of a space or managing the sign-up/reservation process of a space throughout the year. Using outdoors spaces during the colder/wetter months will take some dedication, brainstorming, encouragement and planning but it can be done! Kids love to be outside in the snow and they care less about the temperature and more about the engaging activity they will be involved in.

Who: Teachers can take the initiative to identify and reimagine existing spaces on the school grounds themselves or they can involve their students in the process. Administration can support this process by having staff walk around the school grounds in groups during a staff meeting, list available spaces, and brainstorm ways they could be used. Involving teachers and students in each step of the process increases investment. Teachers could choose to use these spaces at any point during the year depending on what lesson or purpose they have planned. Administration can prioritize or encourage teachers to utilize spaces, especially by providing a space for staff to reflect and share ideas, have time to build and improve spaces and by providing space in the daily schedule that encourages teachers to take students outside.

Materials: Time to brainstorm and identify spaces; basic materials to improve spaces such as crates, tarps, picnic tables, signs; sign-up process for reserving and using spaces such as clipboards outside a classroom or a Google doc.

Why: Engaging in a process where teachers and students identify outdoor spaces and their potential uses will greatly increase investment and ideas for how to get students outside. Each year, a school can improve outdoor spaces by adding new materials or going through the design and building process. If students participate in the process of identifying and utilizing outdoor spaces throughout their school career, they will see the outdoors as learning space just like the classroom. Helping teachers see the potential ways to use their school grounds for outdoor learning makes it much easier for teachers to plan and choose to take students outdoors.

Barriers addressed: Behavior/management; Class Management; Distraction; Usefulness of nearby nature; Harm to Environment; Medical Concerns; Accessibility Considerations; Physical Location; School Yard is Public Space; Student/Staff Ratios; Sufficient and Appropriate Spaces; Transport; Weather