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Base's certified outdoor classrooms triple within year

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Joe McFadden
  • 1st Special Operations Wing Public Affairs
HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. --  Last November, the Arbor Day Foundation and Dimensions Educational Research Foundation recognized the Hurlburt Field's Youth Center outdoor classroom as one of 29 certified Nature Explore classrooms in the nation, becoming the first in the state of Florida and on a military installation.

Personnel behind the project didn't stop there. After citing core research that demonstrated the benefits children gain by being outdoors, the staff at the base child development center and library followed the youth center's lead by turning their playgrounds or open walkways into fully-interactive outdoor classrooms.

On Aug. 19, both classrooms became the 49th and 50th certified outdoor classrooms in the country. According to a press release from the Arbor Day Foundation, the recognition places Hurlburt Field in a select circle of outdoor classrooms bringing its total, as well as the state of Florida's, to three.

"Hurlburt Field Library and CDC have taken an important leadership role in a profoundly needed initiative to connect young children with nature, setting a wonderful example for education centers across the country," said Susie Wirth, Nature Explore outreach director for the Arbor Day Foundation, in a press release. "Everyone at the Arbor Day Foundation and Dimensions Educational Research Foundation appreciates the commitment the Hurlburt Field Library and CDC have made to the Nature Explore program and to provide nature education opportunities for young children."

The origination process for the base's outdoor classrooms began with Donna Love, Air Force Special Operations Command manpower and personnel, and former elementary school teacher. She added that the current plan is to expand the outdoor certification program to Cannon Air Force Base in New Mexico and eventually throughout AFSOC.

"I believe military families very proudly serve, and to be able to give back to them is rewarding," Mrs. Love said. "We're excited that we're piloting this for the Air Force and making sure our AFSOC children have the very best."

But apart from setting precedents and getting the certifications, Mrs. Love said reintroducing children to the wonder of nature is at the very heart of the drive to get the outdoor classrooms.
"It's amazing to see the children's absolute wonder and awe when they hold a butterfly in their hands or when they're eating something that they planted," she said. "And it's tremendous to think that we can touch every child on Hurlburt Field with opportunities to restore them outside and impact their lives for the better."

Like the youth center's classroom, the newly-certified classrooms have many environmentally-friendly features, both in that they focus on reintroducing children to nature and are often constructed from recycled natural items include lumber and dirt.

The library's classroom is adjacent to its entrance beginning with a garden pathway filled with milkweed, vines, gourds and basil. The area also includes a music area with a xylophone and drums, an instrument that measures heat index and wind direction and a planted-tree circle where children participated in the summer reading program.

While the youth center and CDC's classrooms are set for specific age groups, the library's is open to the base public at-large, including teenagers and adults.

"This classroom truly belongs to the community in every sense of the word," said Vicky Stever, library director. "We are seeing adults come in and say, 'I'd like to do that in my yard.' As this library is an information center, we can help people get books or share the knowledge that we have, and that helps them go home and incorporate that knowledge into their own lifestyle."

The CDC's classroom is split up into 13 different activity areas with different themes like music, gardening and art. Volunteers from Airman Leadership School helped turn an open field with a few trees into an outdoor discovery center complete with tree stumps, pathways and rain barrels.

The CDC director, Nancy Adams, pointed out that while the classroom is certified, it's far from being totally realized.

"The color isn't there yet, and it's going to be provided by the flowers and plants that the children grow," said Mrs. Adams. "And as the children grow more things, they can take those plants back to their homes and encourage their parents to take them outside and help them be a part of it. It's rewarding, and it lets us know we did the right thing by doing this."

According to the Arbor Day website, the Nature Explore Classroom Certification Program is a national initiative that recognizes schools and other organizations that have made a commitment to providing outdoor classrooms and comprehensive programming to help children use the natural world as an integral part of learning.