Taking learning outdoors

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This article was published 23/02/2022 (1501 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The staff and parents backing an outdoor classroom initiative at one Westwood middle school believe in the adage that if you build it, they will come.

Lincoln Middle School and its parent advisory council have raised just over half the funds needed to design and build a space where students can gather, learn and relax.

The school contracted Little Bluestem Landscape Architecture to consult students and staff on what they want in an outdoor meeting place. It came up with an accessible, sheltered, multi-level seating area with sections that can accommodate small groups to lectures of 35 students.

The modular design features wood benches, concrete ledges and limestone blocks for seating, a native plant garden, and trees and shrubs to protect from the elements. Some existing on-site materials, such as boulders, will be incorporated into the design.

The site will be tucked behind the school, the northeast portion of the yard, nearest to Kirkfield Street.

Principal Kyle Lizotte and the PAC anticipate the space will serve the community beyond the school’s 343 Grade 6 to 8 students and their instructors. In proximity to the proposed outdoor classrooms exists the Kirkfield-Westwood Community Centre, Robert Browning School, Sansome School, Westwood Collegiate and the St. James Montessori School, which shares a building with Lincoln Middle School.

“We’re a hub for so many reasons,” Lizotte said, adding the outdoor classroom will also complement the Pinehurst Park greenspace, which lies to the south of Lincoln Middle School’s lawn.

“It’s going to support our students in instruction, learning about their community and the space around them. It also gives them an alternate place to connect with their teachers and each other outside of the school, but yet it’s still conducive to group discussion and observation and work space,” Lizotte said.

PAC president Brea Williams has two children who passed through the school; the youngest, a Grade 8 student, will move on to high school next year. Williams has been championing the project for some time and hopes to see it break ground this summer.

“We’re so close. We’re right there,” she said. “I’m really happy with bringing in these experts that can make this for and about the students.”

The initiative at Lincoln Middle School comes when other city schools are focusing on green spaces and outdoor education — particularly in light of the pandemic.

“Coming out of what we’re coming out of now, I think it would be well received,” Lizotte said.

Charleswood’s École Dieppe is fundraising for a similar project for its staff, students and neighbourhood. Little Bluestem Landscape Architecture has worked, and continues to work, on a suite of local “nature play” projects.

The Lincoln PAC has fundraised $13,000 for their project and has secured roughly $60,000 in community grants through the city. The PAC anticipates more contributions will come through in the upcoming months. To meet its $125,000 goal, the group will welcome donations from community members and local business leaders.

“If anyone has ideas or sources for our own funding to complete the project, suggestions are greatly appreciated,” Lizotte said.

To learn more about the project, or to donate, contact Williams at lincolnmiddlepac@gmail.com