Maplewood, NJ, May 24, 2010—The idea of holding class outside on a beautiful day will no longer be a pipedream for students at Jefferson School.  After months of fundraising, development, and construction, the school will debut its Outdoor Classroom at the Art and Music Festival on Wednesday, May 26.

Several dedicated parent volunteers worked with Jefferson Principal Susan Grierson to create a beautiful and tranquil outdoor space that enhances the school environment and can be used as an educational tool. The idea is to inspire the students in these unique surroundings to engage in science and ecology, as well as art and creative writing.

The space is in the center of the Jefferson property, surrounded on four sides by school buildings. Before the Outdoor Classroom Initiative, or OCI, the overgrown and unattractive area was a refuge for broken furniture and weeds. The volunteer committee—headed by Jefferson parents Michael Salvato and professional landscape designer Aileen Binder—developed the space using all natural, sustainable materials.

Several hundred hours of in-kind services and thousands of dollars of material were donated to the project. Under the direction of Binder, Tom Venezio of County to County Landscape Contractors did the construction using nearly eight tons of stones from all over the U.S and Canada.

The courtyard has two distinct areas joined by a 100-foot long gravel path lined with stones. The upper part of the courtyard boasts a 26-seat "Learning Circle" using giant boulders which weigh between 300 and 800 pounds each. The lower part is a flexible learning area where students and teachers can arrange portable stools and a table as needed. There is also a handicap-accessible upper patio made of solid bluestone to ensure that all students are included in outdoor lessons.

Sprinkled throughout the learning areas are many native trees and plants, including a stately Dawn Redwood, which dates back to the dinosaur age. A new drainage system will prevent flooding and water damage to the school buildings.

Principal Grierson is thrilled with the results. "Imagine learning—reading, writing, discussing, and debating-- outside as an alternative to sitting inside all day? I envisioned a space perfect for writing poetry, sketching, or daydreaming right in the middle of the building! What a nice change of pace for our students." 

In the interest of furthering their green efforts, members of the OCI committee took on the task of writing a proposal for a $6,000 American Water Company grant.  The request was to support the Rahway River Keepers Project which intends to engage students in restoring the understory and wildlife habitat of Crooked Brook. The Brook is a tributary to the East Branch of the Rahway River, which happens to run behind Jefferson's back yard.  

The American Water Company—based in New Jersey—awarded the grant to Jefferson last month as part of its Environmental Grant Program, which funds innovative community-based projects that improve, restore or protect water projects. 

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection has designated the area as a NJ Wild School habitat. The school community will have the rare opportunity to explore this hands-on laboratory to learn about water conservation and watershed restoration. Seton Hall University students studying water programming will help the Jefferson third, fourth and fifth graders in their research.

The Outdoor Classroom will be introduced as part of Jefferson's Art and Music Festival on Wednesday, May 26^th at approximately 8pm.