Every Student Learns Outside™

The Situation

Lakeside High School is located in Hot Springs, Arkansas. For many years, Kathey looked for ways to get students there to learn outside.

She sponsored science fair projects that focused on lake water quality. She worked on curriculum to retrain science teachers throughout the state in a program called the Arkansas Science Crusade. But she felt she could do more at Lakeside.

The Solution

·        An elective: After many years of planning, she successfully introduced an Environmental Science elective in 1996.  The classes are field-based. Students design, construct, and maintain their own habitat-based study area. Many of the field experiences are based on PLT activities. Her goal: for students to become future stewards of the Earth.

·        New spaces: And she successfully received grants from the Environmental Protection Agency to expand the decades-old outdoor classroom into an outdoor learning center that includes a greenhouse and aquaponics center. With additional funding from the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, her students designed and constructed a wetland area, water feature, bird observation area with a habitat wall, garden with handicapped accessibility, walkways, and seating. The students partnered with the PTO, Alumni Foundation, Hot Springs Downtown Rotary, and others to develop and sustain their project.

·        Festivals for Younger Kids: In addition, the environmental science students now reach out to younger students. They plan and host Bird Fest. Each year, more than 1,000 students and teachers have participated in this multi-day event aimed primarily at elementary schools. Next up: planning a Dendrology Fest for middle school students.

Kathey bases many field experiences on Project Learning Tree activities. Her high school students have used some of PLT’s elementary-level activities to provide resources for teachers of younger students to meet the state’s science standards.