Sallye Moore Elementary gets new Outdoor Learning Center
Students, parents, teachers, and community volunteers got to take advantage of the warm spring like weather Thursday to work in the soil as they built flower beds, sowed seeds and planted trees and shrubs for the new Outdoor Learning Center at Sallye Moore Elementary School.
The new learning garden was made possible through a grant from REAL School Gardens, a Fort Worth based organization that brings gardens to elementary schools in North Texas.
Jennifer Fitzgerald, Director of Community Relations for REAL School Gardens, said through the generous support of Chesapeake Energy, Rainwater Charitable Foundation and the City of Grand Prairie, the organization worked in partnership with the school to create the teaching garden for the students.
Sallye Moore is the first school to benefit from Chesapeake’s sponsorship. Heather Scoggins, Senior Coordinator of Community Relations said Chesapeake selected REAL School Gardens for its community project as a way to contribute to the communities it has drilling activity. Scoggins said Chesapeake, through REAL School Gardens, will help sponsor teaching gardens in three Grand Prairie schools.
“I am excited about the opportunities this garden will provide our teachers and students,” said Angela Lesley, Principal of Sallye Moore Elementary. “This garden will provide an incredible environment in which to learn about ecosystems, life cycles and animal adaptations. Whether studying math, science, or English, all students will enjoy the benefits of our new outdoor learning classroom.”
Sammy Wren, fifth grade science and math teacher and garden coordinator at Sallye Moore, said the area is not just a garden but an outdoor learning center. He said there will be a dry erase board under the center’s awning so a teacher can conduct a class outdoors. He said some of the other planned features and uses of the center include:
A senses bed - students can study smell, color and texture.
Victory Garden – for students to study this part of daily family life during World War II
Multicultural beds – students grow plants indigenous to a culture
Weather station – with a thermometer and sundial
Math and science students can use the beds to study area, perimeter and volume. With chalk, students can create charts and graphs on the concrete pavers, and then just wash them away.
