Outdoor Education

by Melissa Keeley, Director of Development

One of the positives that have come out of this challenging year is the increased use of our school’s beautiful outdoor space. As the current pandemic has increased everyone’s dependence on technology, being outdoors has provided an antidote to screen fatigue and Zoom weariness. While teaching outdoors or incorporating outside time has been a necessity this year, the school plans to support outdoor learning long after the current mitigation strategies are required. In fact, exploring outdoor learning opportunities is part of the school’s new five-year strategic plan, a plan that predates COVID-19. Spending time outdoors promotes physical and mental well-being as well as emotional health. Those benefits are not just important during a pandemic, they are an important part of a transformational education that supports the whole student.

In late 2020, the school asked our teachers to identify spaces, equipment, and/or structures that would facilitate their use of our outdoor space. The school is currently working with a local architect to help us better understand how we might utilize our 66 acres to implement some of those ideas and aid outdoor teaching and learning in the best way possible. While the planning is just starting, we are excited to explore the potential we have at LCS and to engage our parents in this process. We anticipate there will be many opportunities for parents to volunteer and to be hands-on as we enhance our trail system and create spaces for outdoor learning. We look forward to unveiling the outdoor education master plan during the Black and Gold Fund Drive the last week in April.