Schools Adapting Curriculum to the Outdoors
Learning Gate student Margarita Czupryn, left, examines a weed and its root structure as Miranda College looks on in the school’s garden area.
—Photograph by Andrew Innerarity for Education Week
Lutz, Fla.
Daily lessons at the Learning Gate Community School often tap the wonders of nature on the 27-acre campus, with its open fields and overgrown orange groves, and a treehouse overlooking an idyllic pond.
Students here are accustomed to digging in the dirt for a science experiment, or climbing trees to set the mood for a writing assignment. Piles of dead and decaying leaves are weighed for math lessons. And organisms found in indoor terrariums are compared with those found lakeside in their natural habitat.
Educators at Learning Gate say the outdoor classrooms and lessons are a balm for many of the ills that can hinder students’ physical and mental well-being, as...
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Correction:
An earlier version of this article incorrectly reported the funding sources for the Boston Schoolyard initiative. It receives financing from the city of Boston and a collaborative of private funders.
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