Pupils take lessons from nature

By Denise Dick

The school received grants to convert the wooded area into an outdoor classroom.

POLAND — Mud smears adorn the T-shirt, pant legs and knees of 8-year-old Jonah Spencer as he rakes wood chips along a path behind Union Elementary.

Jonah and his classmates from Linda Watts’ second-grade class at the school are creating an outdoor classroom.

“I just work hard to try to take care of the earth,” the mud-caked Jonah said.

Watts said she knew the school district owned property behind the elementary and wanted to incorporate it into the curriculum.

“During recess and in the early morning, I would see deer back here,” she said.

Watts secured permission from Principal Carmella Smallhoover and district Superintendent Dr. Robert Zorn to convert the parcel into an outdoor classroom.

Last spring, parents and teachers cleared away brush from a path and removed trash that had collected in the wooded area. Children pitched in to clean up litter.

The school applied for and received a $950 grant from the Mahoning County Green Team and a $500 Project Wild grant from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources to help convert the space.

Watts is pursuing more grants, and a group of dads from the school’s PTO has organized a fund-raising kickball tournament this summer. Some of that money will go to the outdoor classroom as well.

The school district paid to cut down a tree that leaned across the path leading to the open area that caused a hazard.

“We’re using logs from that tree to sit on when we come out here now,” the teacher said.

Kincaid Mrakovich, Nicholas D’Apolito and Larry Kosela, all 8, Brandi Hughes, 9 and Lily Connelly, 7, sat on the logs digging in the dirt.

“We’re all helping Brandi look for worms,” Kincaid said.

Brandi wants to protect the squirmy creatures from being stepped on or otherwise hurt.

They deposited each worm into a mound of dirt at their feet that Brandi calls a worm nursery.

The grant money will be used to buy benches, made from recycled plastic, where pupils can sit for class time instead of on the logs. The benches will be installed over the summer.

Bird feeders and bird houses hung from trees provide food and shelter for the feathered friends that visit the spot. Small watering areas are planned too. Those features are in accordance with the Project Wild grant.

The classroom is for the whole school, and several teachers bring their pupils outside for lessons, Watts said.

“We come out here in every season of the year,” she said.

The children witness how the environment fluctuates between the seasons. That coordinates with second-grade science standards requiring pupils to recognize seasonal changes, the teacher said.

Michael Masucci, Juliana Blangero, Jessica Seppi and Kyle Salser, all 8, used rakes to spread mulch around the classroom on an afternoon last week.

“We’re spreading wood chips to make the path more interesting,” Michael explained.

Juliana said the work started about three months ago to prepare the outdoor classroom.

This marks the first time Kyle has spread mulch, but he says he learned from watching his dad do the work at home.

Jessica says it’s hard work.

“But once you get used to it, it’s really fun,” she said. “Talking to your friends while you work, that’s the best part.”