By Barbara Murphy

Stone Middle School in Huntsville, AL is an inner city, Title I school that sits at the intersection of three major roads.  But this asphalt and cement corner of the city is now a green haven, used by teachers for almost any class.

Birds, insects, and many other animals visit the outdoor classroom, and teachers of all academic subjects have used the space for unique hands-on activities.  The classroom has improved the appearance of the school as well as the outlook students have about their school.

Phase I of the creation of the outdoor classroom began two years ago with a GreenWorks! grant from Project Learning Tree.  It was this initial grant, awarded by PLT in 2006, that laid the necessary foundation for a successful student-led service learning project. The project was so succcessful that the students who designed and implemented it were recognized with a silver medal award from the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Teens for Planet Earth program. This award recognizes teens around the world for service learning projects that demonstrate their commitment to the environment.

The students, who call themselves the “Wild Gals of Stone,” said their thoughts about an outdoor classroom began when they were in 6th grade. "Our teacher Mrs. Murphy takes us to Camp McDowell, an environmental camp, every year,” said Allyce McClain.  She added, “A lot of the students at school live in areas where there is not much ‘outdoors’.” Mrs. Murphy attended her first PLT professional development workshop in 1999 and has been using the PLT curriculum since then to enhance her classroom lessons.

“Yeah, we wanted to do something that would improve the looks of our school and would help the teachers, students and even the community,” said Dominique Carter.  “We knew that learning outdoors is fun and a totally different experience from what we are used to. We learned so much more than sitting inside of a classroom." 

The girls’ idea connected the GreenWorks! Outdoor Classroom project to environmental awareness and wildlife conservation. Along with physical labor and working with community volunteers, the three “Wild Gals” planned the Phase II ribbon cutting event, to which Project Learning Tree national staff was invited to attend.  Miranda was the chairwoman of the event, which proved to be stressful at times “but worth it, paying off in the end.” The girls each had student volunteers working with them, and they learned to write formal invitations and how to get food donated for the reception.  Dominique had the job of making a guest list which included everyone from the Mayor to the President’s wife.

To record their experiences, the "Gals" prepared a report with specific project data, photo documentation, and testimonials to submit to PLT and Teens for Planet Earth. This service learning project connected Stone Middle School students to their community beyond the classroom using education. As Miranda Ranson says, "We did hands on things and were able to relate them to what we see in the real world."


Barbara Murphy is a 6th, 7th, and 8th grade PLT teacher at Stone Middle School in Huntsville, Alabama.