Parma’s Green Valley Elementary School welcomed former students and staff Friday to celebrate the 30th anniversary of a transformational outdoor classroom.
The events included sessions where students learned about microorganisms, planted sunflower seeds and made crafts to decorate what the school calls a "land lab," its outdoor learning space.
"They did a sunflower mural with their hands," Principal Jacquie Marconi said. "They also [made] windsocks, ... and of course we got to hear about the history of our land lab."
In 1995, Green Valley Elementary school had a wide, grassy front yard that students and staff weren't able to utilize. The lawn collected stormwater runoff when it rained which, along with contaminants, would eventually make its to Lake Erie.
Kes Jonescu, along with a team of teachers, worked to gather support, funding and resources to convert the space, but she said community support was essential to creating the pond, deck and raised beds that still exist today.
"I get goosebumps because the parents came out and they did the work outside. They were the workers and they got the kids working," she said. "Oh my gosh, that was the best part of the day for them to get outside."
What began as an inaccessible yard became a green space ripe for outdoor learning.
"The deck with an outside classroom," Kes Jonescu said. "You could go outside and feel the fresh air and just do a normal English class if you wanted to, or math, because the kids just wanted to be outside."
The role of the outdoor space has changed over the last 30 years, but it remains a key resource for hands-on learning, Marconi said. One of the payoffs is the fresh produce grown by and for Green Valley students.
"It was more about for the students to learn how their food comes to their table, what they need to do for plants," she said. "What is it, farm to table? Well, ours is land lab to table."
Debby Brown began teaching first graders at Green Valley Elementary six years ago. As a Parma resident and avid gardener, she said she was eager to get involved with the learning lab.
"Someone had planted mint and mint takes over everywhere, so I spent one whole summer just cleaning out the mint out of all of the beds," Brown said. "Then I started getting my first graders involved. We plant seedlings and every spring we bring them out and plant them in the beds."
Brown manages the raised beds during the summer, preparing the crops for harvest by the following school year. Last year, the school harvested 48 pounds of produce to supply its salad bar, Brown said.
"So first graders this year, when they come back next year in the fall as second graders, that'd be like eating stuff off of the plants that we planted," Brown said. "The kids get really excited."
