PROPOSED OUTDOOR ECO-CLASSROOM

The college has a small central grassed quad area accessed from the school hall and canteen and a small-grassed area at the rear of the site and it is the potential of this second area that we wish to develop to become an innovative outdoor eco-classroom. We are asking for support to create this classroom. The space is totally protected from intruders and vandalism by our steel perimeter fence. The area is secluded and bordered on one side by a small area of ‘woodland’ (please see photos). It is our desire that this area becomes a fully equipped outdoor classroom to allow ecological learning to take place within the actual environment that the learning is focused. This forms part of our whole college drive to bring environmental education to the students educating them for life in the fullest and widest sense.

The aim is to purchase high quality seating / tables from appropriate sustainable source to seat up to 35 students. To erect a teaching area with the backdrop of the wooded area. Woven fencing will border the area whilst bark chipping would be used to provide a basic path into the wooded area to allow access to the ecological environment already there and due to be developed through this project. (The natural habitat will be kept absolutely in tact as it is the key resource for all teaching and learning). The wireless networked teaching pod could be used by staff and students alike to generate teaching / internet resources through a protected / tree mounted digital projector. The college is fully wireless enabled so this would be a relatively simple extension to our network. We would need to bring power to the area from a neighboring building. The college already has a number of wireless enabled laptop trolleys purchased through our technology status that can be taken and used in the outside classroom area. A webcam will be set up to allow parents/students to view the classroom all year round to see how the environment changes through the seasons. A weather station set up in the area will measure / monitor rainfall, wind speed and direction etc and reading displayed on the school website and digitally gathered for data use within science, geography and maths. Comparisons can the be made with other environments across the globe.

All students and staff will have opportunity to use this facility. Ecology teaching through Science and Geography lessons will be the prime beneficiaries. As the garden classroom will be a permanent feature at the college all staff and groups from all subjects will be able to use the facilities proposed.

The school has scientific analysis equipment used predominantly within ecological science and sometimes geographic learning that will be used in this outdoor classroom. We are also searching for funds to extend this data logging equipment.

This outdoor classroom would be the basis for ecology analysis as the college would set up different mini-environments within the area and considered planting of species natural to the woodland habitat would allow high quality ecological learning/testing. This provision would bring the classroom to the environment rather that taking the environment into the classroom. It has wonderful potential for environmental learning.