OUTDOOR CLASSROOM CONSTRUCTED
Thanks to generous funding from the Cohen Foundation, the Rotary Club of Bloomfield Hills, a Placemaking Realtor Grant, an anonymous large donation, and contributions from individual community donors, the Johnson Nature Center now features a new outdoor classroom, which includes a new pavilion.
Members of the Rotary Club and the Bloomfield Hills High School Interact Club volunteered their time to paint a new storage shed and construct two garden boxes for the new learning space. Fencing was recently installed, and plantings will soon be added around the pavilion concrete to prevent soil erosion.
Students in the TreeSchool program, serving students ages 3 through 5, will benefit from this outdoor classroom, in addition to summer campers and community program participants. Leigh Rowe, TreeSchool’s lead teacher, shared, “One of our ‘invitations to play’ was to build our own miniature pavilion. Students observed the process of the builders and mimicked it in their play, while also adding details of what they thought it could and should look like upon completion. Students had various questions about how the pavilion was being built, so we wrote them down and ‘mailed’ the letter to the builders. Later in the day, while sitting to observe them working, they came over to answer the questions we sent them. Overall, it was a wonderful and impactful experience for the kids to be involved in!”
The space features hands-on manipulatives and natural play elements that TreeSchool students and visiting families can enjoy for years to come. Other elements that will be part of the outdoor classroom space include: a climbing area, music/art area, blocks and building, partner work area, and a quiet play/reading area. Thank you to the many donors, community members, and volunteers who helped construct this wonderful new outdoor space at the JNC!
TreeSchool students and families helped inspire and did their part to make it all happen.
Phase 1: Design - Kids first started to design what the space could look like and test it as a play space. They used flagging tape to outline the perimeter.
Phase 2: Building - Students built a miniature version of it, observed the workers, and asked them questions about the process.
Phase 3: Moving In - Transitioning into the new space and kids brought over crates of different play areas to move into the space and decide where everything should go.
Phase 4: Trial by Play - Playing in the new classroom to help decide on the final design for play stations.
Building Tables - November 22nd "Family Giving Day". As part of this event, a TreeSchool family brought in materials and facilitated the building of our new picnic tables, which they also designed.
