Maplesville High School Students Help Create Outdoor Learning Center

When Pam Ousley looks out the window of her classroom at Maplesville High School, all she sees are brick walls. But she loves the view.

Thanks to a grant from the Cawaco Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D) Council and the hard work of students, parents, teachers, and other willing members of the community, one of the school's outdoor walls has been transformed from ordinary to extraordinary.

Now a huge mural explodes with the color of a fall scene that represents the great outdoors of Alabama. Several creatures native to the state can be seen grazing or browsing through the mural, while a garden of rocks and plants blur the line between a real, flowing waterfall and the painted creek behind it. The waterfall empties into a knee-deep pond that's home to several goldfish.

"The request for this grant was to develop an outdoor area for students to not only have a place to socialize and enjoy, but also to use as an area to learn about nature and become more aware of the environment. The Outdoor Learning Center is well on the way to accomplishing this goal for all the students at Maplesville High School," said Ousley, a Family and Consumer Science (FCS) teacher.

The funding was used to complete phase one of the project, which included the gardens and waterfall area. A pond kit and river rock was purchased to begin the project. FCS students from the 7th, 8th, and 10th grades excavated the area for the pond and waterfall, while FFA students were called in to help with the river rock. A walkway that runs in front of the Outdoor Learning Center made it complete. "We were going to have somebody (professionally) do it, but for students to actually go out there and get their hands on it, they're so proud of it," Ousley said. Even several parents chipped in by helping with the masonry, landscaping. and stocking the pond with fish.

Eight months of hard work has yielded a place that creates a peaceful mood among the rush of everyday school activities. The elementary classes walk by the area going to lunch. Two classes, a creative writing class and an English class, regularly meet on the grass near the waterfall to complete assignments. Also, the area is near the drink machines and benches so that it provides a warm atmosphere during the students' break time.

But the work is far from over. Ousley said she hopes to have more murals painted on some of the adjacent brick walls, possibly featuring different seasons of the year (the current painting was done by local artist Wilson Spottedbird, with a little help from the students). Other future plans include developing environmental lesson plans and adding bird feeders, picnic tables and a gazebo. "These plans will certainly make this area a true Outdoor Learning Center for all students, faculty and the Maplesville community," Ousley said. 

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