Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Fruit Smoothies with Kathy Gunst
Students in three classes had the opportunity to try new fruits and create their own fruit smoothie recipes today with local chef and author, Kathy Gunst. Paying careful attention to serving amounts, students copied out their recipes to take home and share. Some of the ingredients were new to the students, such as figs, pomegranates, kiwis and coconut milk. Many thanks to today's volunteers for their help with food preparation and assisting with the fruit smoothies. Kathy Gunst will be visiting Central School classrooms throughout the school year. If you are interested in volunteering or giving a financial donation to the project, please send an email to cesoutdoors@gmail.com.
Central Purpose and Goals of the Outdoor Classroom
The central purpose of the landscape restoration project is to expose children to the benefit of a beautiful and sustainable landscape that introduces them to natural elements for play, social interaction, and educational opportunities.
A diverse and healthy landscape will compliment the Centrals School’s curriculum in that it will provide an opportunity to observe nature and the natural patterns that underpin the fields of biology, mathematics , physics and of course art. For instance, the great poet, thinker and naturalist Henry David Thoreau credited his language skills, in “Faith in a Seed”, on his life long observation of nature.
The goal of exposing children to nature is seen in research documented and cited by Richard Louv in “The Last Child in the Woods” and Robin Moore in “Play for All” which indicates that because children are sensory creatures, interaction with nature has the following attributes:
Increases sensory stimulation
Increases Cognitive abilities
Aids creativity and learning
Increases attention span
Benefits language skills
Develops self confidence
Develops the power of observation
Furthers a sense of connectedness
The Concept Plan for Restoration of the Central School Campus includes the following design elements to achieve the above goals:
-Walking Trail: a perimeter path that exposes the user to the various existing and planned landscape elements and plant communities. The trail will meander through the various forest, meadow and plant communities. This trail will link the children to the school entrance and surrounding neighborhood paths.
-Natural Play elements will include a rain garden, a log walk composed of tree trunks and limbs, boulder walks, sculpted earth mounds for climbing, paved areas for play, and relocation of the smaller play structures. These areas are to be designed to allow children to challenge themselves at their own skill level so their skills can develop at their own pace. These play features shall be shaped and formed to create niches to allow for kids to gather in small intimate groups or be alone.
-A “re-wilding” or naturalizing of the existing landscape areas. This will include a meadow, seeded
with native grasses and some wild flowers from the edge of the existing forest into the existing athletic field. This undulating meadow area shall be planted with native shrubs and tree saplings and serve to extend and enlarge the usable landscape for the kids. The meadow shall be shaped to create distinct spaces and still accommodate organized play. The campus shall be planned with plant communities that are in transition which will compliment the existing forest to offer the user a full range of plant diversity
-The overall effect of the above design elements of the proposed restoration shall be to create a very diverse community park in the center of town.
Terrence Parker, Landscape Architect
A diverse and healthy landscape will compliment the Centrals School’s curriculum in that it will provide an opportunity to observe nature and the natural patterns that underpin the fields of biology, mathematics , physics and of course art. For instance, the great poet, thinker and naturalist Henry David Thoreau credited his language skills, in “Faith in a Seed”, on his life long observation of nature.
The goal of exposing children to nature is seen in research documented and cited by Richard Louv in “The Last Child in the Woods” and Robin Moore in “Play for All” which indicates that because children are sensory creatures, interaction with nature has the following attributes:
Increases sensory stimulation
Increases Cognitive abilities
Aids creativity and learning
Increases attention span
Benefits language skills
Develops self confidence
Develops the power of observation
Furthers a sense of connectedness
The Concept Plan for Restoration of the Central School Campus includes the following design elements to achieve the above goals:
-Walking Trail: a perimeter path that exposes the user to the various existing and planned landscape elements and plant communities. The trail will meander through the various forest, meadow and plant communities. This trail will link the children to the school entrance and surrounding neighborhood paths.
-Natural Play elements will include a rain garden, a log walk composed of tree trunks and limbs, boulder walks, sculpted earth mounds for climbing, paved areas for play, and relocation of the smaller play structures. These areas are to be designed to allow children to challenge themselves at their own skill level so their skills can develop at their own pace. These play features shall be shaped and formed to create niches to allow for kids to gather in small intimate groups or be alone.
-A “re-wilding” or naturalizing of the existing landscape areas. This will include a meadow, seeded
with native grasses and some wild flowers from the edge of the existing forest into the existing athletic field. This undulating meadow area shall be planted with native shrubs and tree saplings and serve to extend and enlarge the usable landscape for the kids. The meadow shall be shaped to create distinct spaces and still accommodate organized play. The campus shall be planned with plant communities that are in transition which will compliment the existing forest to offer the user a full range of plant diversity
-The overall effect of the above design elements of the proposed restoration shall be to create a very diverse community park in the center of town.
Terrence Parker, Landscape Architect
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Phase One: Trees and Shrubs
PLANT LIST: Trees and Shrubs
https://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=1kQ7AUpudo-ZvGwEq5rylPZ3WmK_bH5uolAfq3Lc4BTA
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
A Conversation with Terrence Parker
At the PTO's September 8th meeting, Terrence Parker and Kathy Gunst shared how the Outdoor Classroom and Garden have progressed and the steps that need to happen next. It was an exhilarating meeting that left everyone with a "can do!" attitude. Terrence emphasized that this project is truly a community project, with many local businesses and community members having already donated their time, talent and resources to build what will truly be an exceptional creative play environment for our children. These three You Tube videos are clips from Terrence Parker's presentation.
SO much work still needs to be done! Donations of time, talent and resources are greatly appreciated. If you are interested in being a part of this community project, please contact principal Vicki Stewart at vstewart(at)msad35.net Our next work day is Oct. 2nd!
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| Proposed Rock Garden |
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| Proposed Log Walk |
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| Proposed Boulder Walk |
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| Earthen Mound |
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Central School's Hoop House
Here is a video that describes a hoop house and how it helps plants grow, even in the winter!
What Is a Hoop House? -- powered by eHow.com
Here is another short video that describes the benefits of a hoop house.
Benefits of a Hoop House -- powered by eHow.com
Friday, September 3, 2010
Principal Vicki Stewart Gives A Tour of Our Progress
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| Vicki Stewart, principal |
Vicki Stewart gives us a tour of Central School's playground, highlighting some of the changes that have been made and the wonderful progress being made due to community members and local businesses.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Work Day
Over the summer we had two workdays to take out the invasive plants and prepare the landscape.We want to thank all the helpful hands. It was a great day!
While clearing invasive plants from the edge of the woods, we found old drainage pipes and trash that had blown in over the years.
This is one of the piles of invasive plants that were taken away by Urban Tree Services.
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