Dawes Intermediate

The Outdoor Learning Center should be an enhancement to the educational experience at Dawes Intermediate School, an experience that each student who participates should recall for a lifetime. The OLC will be a long term investment in educating the children of Dawes Intermediate School on Healthy Lifestyles and Specialty Crops. We hope that our outdoor learning center will bring the community back into our schools as well. Outdoor learning centers give so much to the children and community. The students are able to understand the importance of local and worldwide sustainability by learning the health impacts of organic gardening and healthy diet. And teaching our children about appreciating our local farming practices and environment through outdoor hands-on experiences will make the world a better place for all.
Architect Craig Roberts volunteered his time and talents to design plans for our Outdoor Classroom Garden Project. It is truly a beautiful area and a sight to behold. Teachers and staff have all been assigned a garden bed to cultivate and plant. Outdoor Classroom Curriculum Materials were acquired from the local 4H extension and their Master Gardeners. Math, Art, History, Science and Civics are incorporated into their lessons as well. Heritage/heirloom beds to incorporate history lessons, shaped beds for math, Test/R&D beds for science, ornamental beds for art, and community beds/orchard for civics and social studies are just a few examples. We have bat houses installed around the garden. A local Boy Scout also built us a Hydroponic Growing Station as part of his Eagle Scout Certification. We have had local chefs come out to the school to give cooking and tasting demonstrations to the students. Students also have in class tastings of crops they have grown. A local business called Home Grown Mobile has also partnered with us to teach us how to compost. Students collect uneaten food products suitable for composting in the lunchroom. These materials are then taken to our compost area in the learning center where it is turned into quality soil and fertilizer for the gardens.