Outdoor Learning Environments

  Outdoor Learning Environments (OLE) are interactive, natural play spaces and represent an opportunity for a school to re-think and re-create its outdoor playground space beyond the traditional playground model.  They also present a path to allow children to be physically active in a more natural, outdoor space. The OLE offers the possibility of building on the principal of the outdoor garden space and to creatively use the entire outdoor space by filling it with hills, pathways, edible plants, native plants, water, music, sand and outdoor art structures. 

Child running through the Outdoor Learning Environment at The Early Childhood Learning Center, designed by Susan Weber as a naturalized, native plant garden for children to connect with nature through play and exploration.

Student from ECLC sitting on a sculpture designed by artist Adam Bradley. The Red Monkey is a center piece in the OLE and was created through a collective process called "Dreamstorming" by the community. Collectively the group dreams their garden space and the Red Monkey was in one of the community member's sketch. The group as a whole loved the idea and there is now a family of monkey sculptures, with the garden, along with an edible garden, water features, cistern, composting areas and native prairieplant maze.

One of the water features for children to explore at the ECLC garden.

Children learn and play at the same time in the Outdoor Learning Environments. Here a teacher from ECLC is guiding a nature activity with the children. Our partners at both MRDD Schools have a school based on the Reggio Philosophy, which allows the children to direct their learning through personal exploration and discoveries, guided by the teachers and community.