In order for students to be able to get outside more and learn outdoors, science teachers Chris Barnett and Susan Schram‘s  AP Environmental Science students and Tom Jodelka‘s nature club N.A.R.W.H.A.L.S. came up with the idea to set up an outdoor classroom. It was completed in July and is located in the Restoration Area near the Driver’s Education range.

The new classroom is mainly for the purpose of students to go outside and learn more about Illinois’ main ecosystems: the savannah, the woodlands, and the prairies. Currently, the APES students and N.A.R.W.H.A.L.S. are working on restoring these ecosystems in the outdoor classroom itself.

“It shocks me when I hear a student say he/she doesn’t like the outdoors.   Having an outdoor classroom is a way for students to connect to the natural world in which they live.  Instead of staring out the window talking about how nice it is outside, why not actually be out there?  It’s an incredible place to learn,” said Schram.

According to Schram, the proposal for the outdoor classroom was taken to the GCSI committee, a group of people who are responsible for keeping Niles West as eco-friendly as possible, to be approved. Schram and her students along with the other APES class and N.A.R.W.H.A.L.S. contacted an architect and professionals to build the classroom with the help of their own designs.

“While the students were excited about doing all the work themselves, we felt durability in both the materials and construction was important. We wanted something that would be easy to maintain but last a long time,” said Schram.

The outdoor classroom is made up of benches, table-tops, and a white board–and it is available to all classes.