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Planning is Half the Fun!
By April Lupardus Waltz, AWF Conservation Education Specialist, and
Doyle Keasal, ACES/AWF Conservation Education Specialist
*Reprinted from the Summer 2006 Alabama Wildlife magazine |
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| At a recent 4-H Wildlife Stewards workshop, we discussed the “keys to success” for outdoor classroom development with the volunteers, parents, teachers, and administrators who attended. As we emphasized the importance of planning before you ever break ground with an outdoor classroom site, someone in the group pointed out that “planning is half the fun!” Although this is true, it’s often a step that is skipped or overlooked. To many, sitting down with a planning committee to discuss a “master plan” for the outdoor classroom site seems like an arduous task that postpones all the exciting projects such as building nesting boxes, creating butterfly gardens, and getting your hands in the dirt. However, brainstorming about activities that you can conduct in the outdoor classroom, researching potential project ideas, and anticipating how it will all look once it is developed can be very exciting. |
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To create an outdoor classroom site that will be around for years to come, your planning committee should put together a master plan including a site map.
Photo by April Lupardus Waltz |
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Planning Committee
Of course, one of the first steps of planning is to have a planning committee, also referred to as a “Habitat Team.” If you are trying to create an outdoor classroom by yourself or with one or two other teachers/parents, your project will probably be short-lived since no one will be there to carry on the torch if you leave (and it’s too much work for just one person). To have an effective committee, involve key people including the principal, faculty, students, parents, community and 4-H Wildlife Steward volunteers, and your custodial staff (since they will help you with the maintenance in and around the outdoor classroom site). With a full committee’s support, the project will be easier to develop, it will get used by a greater number of teachers, and it will endure for many more years to come. More importantly, it makes the project much more fun when you share the outdoor classroom with others at your school.
View/Download a Habitat Team Form
Once your planning committee is assembled, you should establish how often and where you will meet, how you will communicate between meetings, and what each person’s role will be on the committee. View/Download a Planning Committee Checklist Then survey your full faculty to find out what outdoor classroom projects they’d like to include (example: butterfly garden), and if there are any limiting factors to the teachers using the outdoor classroom site (ex: lack of hands-on outdoor activities). View/Download a Faculty Survey If your faculty would like to learn more about outdoor classrooms before filling out the survey, contact us and we’ll visit your school to give a free presentation about the Outdoor Classroom program. After you have heard back from your fellow teachers, the planning committee will have a better idea of what your goals will be for the outdoor classroom site. This is also a good time to submit your application for enrollment in the Outdoor Classroom program if you haven’t already, so that you can receive your Outdoor Classroom Planning Guides for your committee members along with additional free assistance from the Outdoor Classroom staff.
Map Your Site
The next step is to survey your campus for outdoor classroom project sites. It is very helpful to have your administrator and your custodian present while you walk the campus with your planning committee (if they’re not already on the committee), so that you’ll know the future plans for the campus including any potential construction projects that you may need to avoid. Also, consider how far the outdoor classroom would be from the school buildings—you don’t want to be so far away that it is time prohibitive to use the site. Other items to consider include soil type, sunlight, water sources, electrical outlets, safety issues, wheel chair accessibility, wildlife habitat that already exists, and enhancements that can be made to attract more wildlife to your outdoor classroom site.
Record your observations and map out your outdoor classroom site on graph paper as you survey the campus with your committee. For a detailed checklist of items to consider while evaluating your campus, review your Outdoor Classroom Planning Guide and/or view/download a Site Evaluation Form. A representative from the Outdoor Classroom program would be glad to provide free on-site, technical assistance and advice as well.
Master Plan
The last step in your planning process is to develop a master plan, which should include your outdoor classroom site map. When you put your ideas on paper, it will help your planning committee stay organized and on-task. It also provides a written plan that you can share with parents and faculty who might not be on your planning committee but are interested in the project. Often, information included in a master plan can be used for grant applications as well, and if the pertinent information is already organized, it makes applying for grants an easier process. See the “Master Plan” text box for a full list of items that should be included in your master plan. view/download a Master Plan Worksheet
Have Fun
Sometimes the planning phase may seem to take up an inordinate amount of time, but be patient. Getting the committee’s ideas down on paper and creating a site map and master plan are essential steps when developing an effective outdoor classroom that will be around for years to come. Summertime provides a good opportunity to begin your planning, or to review your master plan with your planning committee. Remember, keep it simple and have fun as you work towards certifying your outdoor classroom thru the Alabama Outdoor Classroom Program!
Master Plan
1) Project Ideas – List your project ideas (ex: butterfly garden, nature trail, aquatic study area, etc.) in order of priority after you have surveyed your entire faculty.
2) Short Term & Long Term Goals – Don’t try to accomplish all of your projects in the first six months, or even the first year. Consider developing your outdoor classroom in phases.
3) Schedule – Develop a project schedule with realistic deadlines for each task.
4) Budget – Put together budget estimates before beginning construction of your projects and be sure to include maintenance costs.
5) Donations/Grants – Identify funding sources including in-kind donations of goods and services, monetary donations, and grant opportunities.
6) Work Plan – Establish “work days” for student, parents and community volunteers. Always include students in the development of the outdoor classroom site—this provides excellent hands-on activities and learning opportunities for the students in addition to creating a sense of ownership.
7) Plan for Summer – Have a summer maintenance plan! Many outdoor classroom sites have met their demise during the summer when they were neglected.
8) Activities – Identify hands-on, educational activities that will be utilized in your outdoor classroom. Schedule free teacher training workshops with the Outdoor Classroom staff to learn about a variety of activities that can be used in your outdoor classroom.
9) Publicity – Publicize your Outdoor Classroom through press releases, PTO/PTA newsletters, bulletin boards, signs, etc. The more people who know about your project, the more support you will be able to garner.
10) Photos – Keep a scrapbook with before and after photos, and photos of students and volunteers working in the outdoor classroom. These photos will be helpful for grant applications and press releases in addition to tracking your progress.
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Learn more about the Alabama Outdoor Classroom Program.
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