Help Jacob Wismer students create a space to connect with nature, while they also learn outside. I will be working with my class of 29 fifth graders to create outdoor classrooms that can be used by the whole school. We will design and make the seating, and based on the most successful design, we will create more for the whole school to use. The seats we be used transport materials and be an easy way for students to spend time outdoors, without having to sit in the grass and dirt. Funds will be used to buy supplies for students to design and build their own seating out of buckets, vinyl, fabric, cushions or other materials donated or provided by the school and other organizations. Additionally, some funds will go towards a classroom on wheels for all Jacob Wismer classes to use during the school day. Mobile classrooms include things like whiteboards, clipboards, markers and other supplies educators need to teach outside.

With funding help from generous donors, we can help students throughout the school connect with nature during their learning time and see lasting benefits for years to come.

Everyone can benefit from time in nature, but research especially shows that children benefit the most. Have you ever spent time outdoors and after doing so felt a sense of calm and happiness? When people connect with nature, they are using the easiest and most common source of ecotherapy that exists today. 

With children spending less time exploring the outdoors and connecting with nature, the implications of this shift could have lasting effects on mental health. Miller (2005) mentioned the key concept that when children are given an appropriate place to discover nature, their connections to the natural world will be stronger over time. Using this concept and looking specifically at the effects of outdoor classrooms, they have been linked to beneficial impacts on child well-being and positive behaviors in the classroom (Largo-Wright, et al., 2018).