Schoolyard-focused community academic partnerships can be effective in enhancing students' understanding of ecological principles and increasing their awareness of environmental issues

This paper presents the process and outcomes of a community academic partnership (CAP) focusing on the greening of schoolyards and a study associated with the project. Two elementary schools in Canada and a regional university worked together in co-designing and installing an outdoor classroom at each of the schools and co-developing a schoolyard curriculum that aligns with Ministry of Education (Canada) expectations. The project was designed to promote sustainability, connection to nature, and community connections. The associated study explored the outcomes of this initiative and its successes and challenges as one form of CAP.

Prior to the installation of the outdoor classrooms, the researcher and 32 of her undergraduate university students met with various stakeholders, including the school teachers, school principal, kindergarten students, and parents to solicit their input for the design of the outdoor classroom. The university students then worked with the elementary students and teachers in installing the two outdoor classrooms, which included several willow arches, a rock amphitheater, mulch pathways, and garden beds. The data-collection process included (1) focus group discussions with the university students, (2) interviews with a teacher, a parent, and a graduate student involved with the project, and (3) questionnaires sent to school/community stakeholders.

Data analysis focused on four key areas used as a theoretical framework for the study: lived experience, place, experiential pedagogy, and agency and participation. The analysis revealed a well-matched alignment between the framework and the results. All 35 study participants (the 32 undergraduate students, the graduate student, the teacher, and the parent) referred to the CAP project as a success, with place being an important aspect of the experience. For the undergraduate students, success was related to accomplishing the project. For school stakeholders, success was reflected in project collaboration and the beauty and functionality of the outdoor classroom itself. Responses relevant to experiential pedagogies emphasized ways in which the outdoor classroom could serve as a site for teaching and learning. For the university students, learning about experiential education while doing something experiential emphasized the potential of this approach to learning – both for themselves and for the elementary students. Most of the undergraduate students also talked about challenges to this approach, including the difficulties of implementing experiential forms of learning in outdoor settings within the public education system. Their reports relating to agency and participation focused primarily on their sense of personal responsibility to the project. Reports from the school/community participants included concerns about project sustainability due, in part, to the lack of commitment and/or ability on the part of the teachers to deliver instruction in an outdoor classroom.

This research calls attention to the need for developing sustainability plans prior to beginning a CAP project. This research also calls attention to the value of free play and child-initiated inquiry in the outdoor classroom as a catalyst for learning. The results confirm the potential of schoolyard-focused community academic partnerships in enhancing students' understanding of ecological principles and increasing awareness of environmental issues.