The Alabama Outdoor Classroom (AOC) Program provides technical assistance and support for schools' faculties to help them develop a schoolyard wildlife habitat that can be effectively used an outdoor classrooms (OC) for hands-on, inquiry-based activities AND to help them establish a maintenance plan to sustain their outdoor classroom from year to year. 

Click on the orange links below or the Quick Links on the right for more info:

"Benefits of an OC" Video   |   "Benefits of the AOC Program" Video  |   Frequently Asked Questions   |   OC Development Checklist for Schools
 

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Benefits of an Outdoor Classroom
What is an outdoor classroom?  How can it benefit students?
Learn what an outdoor classroom is, the purpose of the different types of outdoor learning stations, and the benefits of an outdoor classroom for your students...watch this quick 5-minute video:  
YOUTUBE VIDEO  |  VIMEO VIDEO
 

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Benefits of the AOC Program
What is the Alabama Outdoor Classroom Program?  How can it benefit schools?
Learn about the resources the AOC Program provides to help schools develop, use and maintain their outdoor classrooms for years to come...watch this quick 5-minute video:
YOUTUBE VIDEO  |  VIMEO VIDEO
 

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What steps must a school take to develop an outdoor classroom through the AOC Program?
Use this checklist to guide you through the development, use and certification of your outdoor classroom:
CLICK HERE to DOWNLOAD CHECKLIST
 

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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
To download a PDF of the Frequently Asked Questions, CLICK HERE!

What is the Alabama Outdoor Classroom Program?
The Alabama Outdoor Classroom (AOC) program provides technical support for public and private K-12 schools who wish to create sustainable wildlife habitats that can be used as effective outdoor classroom sites for hands-on, inquiry-based activities.

To participate in the AOC program, a school must formally enroll in the program and follow the steps discussed in the Outdoor Classroom Planning Guide throughout the development, certification and use of their outdoor classroom site.  

What is the Alabama Outdoor Classroom Planning Guide?
The Outdoor Classroom Planning Guide provides valuable information about how to get started, form a planning committee, evaluate your campus, create a master plan, write grants, construct outdoor learning stations, develop a long-term maintenance plan, and use the outdoor classroom as an effective teaching tool.

What is an Outdoor Classroom?
An outdoor classroom site is a living laboratory with a schoolyard habitat and outdoor learning stations that allow students to observe wildlife, explore nature, and apply what they learn indoors to real-world learning opportunities in the outdoors.
 
What is an outdoor learning station?
An outdoor learning station (such as a weather station, pollinator garden, or frog habitat) is an area or garden developed around specific educational topics.  These learning stations provide a wealth of engaging cross-curricular activities that help students gain a greater understanding of the topic. 

How do you use an Outdoor Classroom as an educational tool?
The Alabama Wildlife Federation provides free Outdoor Classroom Field Investigation Activities on their website that help teach the Alabama Department of Education's science, math and language arts standards as students record their observations and data in the outdoor classroom and then discuss their observations/data with their teachers.  

Some of AWF’s Outdoor Classroom Field Investigations have online lesson plans that include topical PowerPoints, pertinent trade books, informative videos, activity pages, and links to educational webpages about plants, wildlife, and topics related to the outdoor learning stations.

How long will it take to develop an Outdoor Classroom at our school?
We suggest that you develop your outdoor classroom in phases, taking anywhere from two to five years to complete all phases and projects.  This allows student involvement from the inception as the outdoor classroom grows and changes from year to year.  The most sustainable and effective projects are those that are developed slowly and methodically following a master plan, taking advantage of the teaching opportunities every step of the way.

Who will construct the Outdoor Classroom?
An outdoor classroom project offers a wonderful opportunity for the school and surrounding community to work together to enrich the educational opportunities for the students in their community.  Your local AWF Outdoor Classroom Consultant can help your school’s outdoor classroom planning committee organize an OC Build Day to develop the outdoor learning stations.  During an OC Build Day, parents and community volunteers work side-by-side with the school to help build the various outdoor learning stations and plant native plants in the new habitat. 

How much does an Outdoor Classroom cost? 
The average cost to develop an outdoor classroom with the core outdoor learning stations needed to teach the Alabama Department of Education’s standards ranges from $7,000 to $10,000.  This does not include large items like pavilions or gazebos.  Of course, the cost of the outdoor classroom can be offset by fundraisers, grants, discounts on materials, or donations of plants and materials. 

What are the benefits of participating in the Alabama Outdoor Classroom Program?
After enrolling in the program, an Outdoor Classroom school receives the following for FREE:

• Outdoor Classroom Planning Guides for the planning committee; 
• Alabama Public Television Discovering Alabama DVDs;
• Technical support from Alabama Wildlife Federation Outdoor Classroom Consultants to assist their planning committees throughout all phases of development, certification, and use of the outdoor classroom site;
• A customized outdoor classroom site map and a materials list budget for all of the learning stations;
• Professional development opportunities to equip teachers with cross-curricular activities and materials that can be integrated into their daily lesson plans and used in the outdoor classroom; and
• Eligibility to apply for Alabama Outdoor Classroom Certification and National Wildlife Federation’s Schoolyard Habitat certification.

What steps should you take to become a certified Outdoor Classroom school?
Follow the steps below and utilize the suggestions, checklists and resources in your Outdoor Classroom Planning Guide and on the Alabama Wildlife Federation’s website:
 Step 1:  Collect & Share Information
 Step 2:  Organize Planning Committee
 Step 3:  Enroll in AOC Program
 Step 4:  Evaluate your Campus
 Step 5:  Develop Master Plan
 Step 6:  Obtain Funding & Support
 Step 7:  Construct the Outdoor Classroom
 Step 8:  Integrate the OC into your Curriculum
 Step 9:  Establish a Maintenance Plan
 Step 10:  Certify your Outdoor Classroom

How do you know when you're ready to certify your Outdoor Classroom? 
You are ready for certification once you and your planning committee have accomplished the following:

• An active planning committee that meets at least four times a year;
• A sustainable Master Plan with short-term and long-term goals that has been entered and updated in your school's online OC Records Hub on the Alabama Wildlfe Federation's website:
• Outdoor learning stations including a weather station, cardinal directions sign, sensory garden, songbird sanctuary, butterfly garden, pollinator garden, log decomposition station, and frog and toad habitat;
• Educational learning station signs and plant identification signs;
• Professional development for the faculty to ensure that all of your teachers feel comfortable using the outdoor classroom as an educational tool;
• Teachers using hands-on, multi-curricular, inquiry-based activities in the outdoor classroom; 
• A maintenance plan that includes weekly, seasonal and summer maintenance tasks; and
• An outdoor classroom that you are ready to present as a model for other schools across Alabama.

What schools does the Alabama Outdoor Classroom Program serve?
All K-12 public and private schools in Alabama.
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