Dear Educators:

The environmental efforts of today will prepare tomorrow’s citizens to face challenges and obstacles within a rapidly changing world. As you guide our youth toward greater environmental awareness, Brightside and the City of Louisville proudly present this new educational manual, The Schoolyard Habitat Guide.

This manual has been designed to create a better understanding of the environmental issues that we are faced with in our community today. The Schoolyard Habitat Guide is enriched with information and activities for students of all ages to help them better understand the complex eco-issues that confront Kentucky. Through this elevated awareness, the students will have the tools necessary to take action in our community, thereby cultivating a lasting commitment to the environment.

Brightside initiates an abundance of projects for the beautification of our community and the education of those who live, work and play within the City. Together, we can shape students into caring and informed environmental stewards.

I commend your tireless efforts to lead our students toward a heightened environmental consciousness. You have an awesome responsibility, and I am certain that this manual will prove useful as you help mold Louisville’s environmental future.

Sincerely,

David L. Armstrong
Mayor

Outdoor Classroom Quick-Contact List

The following people assisted in the development of this book.

Overview
The Jefferson County Public Schools and Operation Brightside Outdoor Classroom Handbook is designed to:

• provide assistance to teachers in planning lessons to connect their school campus to the classroom curriculum, which increases the depth and breadth of both teacher and student experiences.

• increase linkages between disciplines that are Standards-based and focus on student work that results in authentic exhibitions of learning.

• help design high-performing learning environments that encourage out-of-the classroom work and allow students to achieve at high levels.

• provide a focal point for staff development that supports and enhances the work of daily instruction.

Acknowledgments
The Jefferson County Public Schools and Operation Brightside Outdoor Classroom Handbook combines several documents and resources, which are reprinted with permission.

• The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Resources’ Schoolyard Habitat Guide is reprinted in its entirety. The Chesapeake Bay Field Office of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service produced the guide. For more information, visit their Web site: http://www.fws.gov/r5cbfo
• The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources’ Backyard Habitat Guide gives a Kentucky flavor to this handbook. In this section, information is provided on native plants and animals of our state. Information also is provided on one of the most serious issues facing Kentucky’s open space—exotic species. For more information on backyard wildlife and/or the Salato Wildlife Education Center, contact the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, #1 Game Farm Road, Frankfort, KY 40601; 1-800-858-1549.
• The Kentucky Environmental Education Council’s Developing, Using, and Maintaining Outdoor Classrooms in Kentucky provides an excellent bibliography and list of support services for schools wishing to develop and use their site. For a complete copy of their handbook and/or to obtain information on grant opportunities, contact the Kentucky Environmental Education Council at Capital Plaza Tower, Frankfort, Kentucky, 40601; (502) 564-5937.
• The Jefferson County Public Schools Center for Environmental Education has selected excerpts from appropriate Performance Standards, by grade level, which can be used as an idea springboard for developing interdisciplinary, engaging student work in your outdoor classroom. The Center for Environmental Education can help you with creating a variety of maps for your school grounds and with staff development related to environmental education and outdoor classrooms. For more information, call 485-3295.
• Brightside and the City of Louisville are pleased to provide the paper for this book along with supporting Jefferson County Public Schools in their efforts to become better stewards of the environment. For more information about Operation Brightside’s work, call CityCALL (574-3333).
• The Jefferson County Public Schools Volunteer Talent Center Service Learning Handbook
• The Jefferson County Public School District Department of General Maintenance/Renovations and Grounds is crucial to your success in developing and maintaining any outdoor classroom. Before any work is done, approval must first be obtained by them, but, with that said, this department can be of invaluable assistance in achieving your goal of using your school campus for academic learning. See request for building modification in the Appendix.
• This book would not have been possible without the financial contributions of the following:
  • Metropolitan Sewer District
    Gordon Garner, Executive Director
  • The Kentucky Pollutions Prevention Center
    Cam Metcalf, Executive Director
  • The Humana Foundation
  • LAIMA Group
  • The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources

For more information or to suggest improvements, contact the project director:
Dr. David Wicks
JCPS Center for Environmental Education
(502) 485-3295
dwicks1@jefferson.k12.ky.us

An Invitation to Use Outdoor Classrooms

Outdoor Classrooms Are . . .

• places where students learn.
• ready for use right now.
• the buildings, the sidewalks, the lawns, the gardens, and the playgrounds.
• full of mysteries.
• open-ended.
• corridors to the community.

Outdoor Classrooms Can . . .

• be developed into habitats for wildlife.
• be used for reading circles, creative writing, and observation.
• weave content areas together.
• advocate unique and rewarding lifestyles of learning.
• bring books to life.
• introduce the wonders of the world with modern technology.
• be never-ending sites for service learning.

In Outdoor Classrooms Students Will . . .

• transform information and knowledge into experiences and skills.
• explore their world, generating new ideas and creating drama toward learning.
• explore patterns, cycles, and change over time.
• work together in problem solving.
• move from awareness to knowledge to understanding.
• escape from walls that are barriers to learning.

By transforming the schoolyard into an outdoor classroom, not only are we enriching the learning environment for our students, but we also are enhancing the habitats for many plants and animals of our community. We are supporting the planet’s biodiversity in our own schoolyard.

Before Using this Guide . . .

• take a thoughtful hike on the school grounds by yourself to examine its resources, safety concerns, and potential.
• take your students out to explore and discover. What are their observations? What are their interests or visions?
• determine how this book can help you accomplish your academic needs.
• talk with your principal and plant operator about using the school grounds.
• think about others who will be involved ( i.e., other teachers or classes).

This Book Is . . .

• about natural resources and habitats.
• about service learning.
• connected to core content and Performance Standards.
• laid out step-by-step.
• a way to increase biodiversity on your school grounds.
• a connection to your community.
• about using native species.
• a resource to help you and your students be academically
• successful.
• interdisciplinary.
• inquiry-based.
• student-centered.
• linked to technology.

This Book Is Not . . .

• everything you wanted to know about developing a comprehensive outdoor learning laboratory.
• about developing vegetable gardens.
• about short-term change.
• a list of 101 things to do on your school grounds.