Outdoor Classroom Structures

[Ullery, Sam (OSSE)]

Hi All,

 

I am looking for examples of large permanent outdoor classroom structures that are used for a wide range of activities (from cooking and art to science and writing) with a budget.  I am putting together a project proposal to build a few in DC school gardens.  Any help would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks!

 

Sam Ullery

School Garden Specialist

Department of Wellness and Nutrition

DC Office of the State Superintendent of Education

Government of the District of Columbia

810 First Street, NE Washington, DC 20002
Ph:  (202) 741-6485 I Cell: (202) 341-0791 I Fax: (202)724-7656

sam.u...@dc.gov

www.osse.dc.gov

 

Sign up for Growing Healthy Schools Week October 20th - 26th !

 

 

 

 

Serve DC is proud to present NeighborGood, a new, free tool to help residents engage in meaningful service and connect with the causes and organizations they care about. Visit NeighborGood at http://serve.dc.gov/service/neighborgood

[John Fisher]

Hi Sam,

I have found that the word "permanent" increases the costs of these covered structures significantly due to district or state architecture design boards. We once were applying for a specific shade structure grant and got some quotes of around $18,000 for the structure which was unfortunately out of the range of the grant.

I don't have the specifics for your budget question but the following folks cc:ed above most likely will:

Teich Gardens installs school gardens across the nation  http://www.teichgardensystems.com/

Shawn or Ellen of Real School Gardens - they install real nice gardens in TX. http://www.realschoolgardens.org/

For inspiration of outdoor gathering areas you can check out our photo album on gathering areas http://www.lifelab.org/for-educators/schoolgardens/gardenphotos/ Some of the photos have weather proof covered areas others are quite simple.

Please share what you find out on this forum thread.

Healthy Regards,

John Fisher

www.lifelab.org

[Ullery, Sam (OSSE)]

Hi John, 

Thanks for your help.  I intentionally used the word “permanent” because this is an requirement of any structure built with capital funds, which is what we have.  Cost is less of an issueJ

Sam Ullery

School Garden Specialist
ph: (202) 741-6485

cell: (202) 341 0791

sam.u...@dc.gov

 

Sign up for Growing Healthy Schools Week October 20th - 26th !

 

--
REPLY TO THIS TOPIC AT: https://groups.google.com/d/msg/school-garden-network/topic-id/message-id?hl=en
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "National School Garden Network" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to school-garden-ne...@googlegroups.com.
Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/school-garden-network.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.

[Nathan Larson]

Hi Sam,

I have included two links below to information about a relatively inexpensive permanent outdoor classroom structure at a local Madison School, called the "Pazillion", named by a third grader who said, “We should call it the Pazillion, because we can do a ‘pazillion’ things in it."  The second link includes architectural plans.

http://host.madison.com/news/local/education/local_schools/school-spotlight-lake-view-elementary-uses-outdoor-classroom/article_b7ff23f4-ea98-56de-8364-d4e5d2f68a63.html

https://boeweb.madison.k12.wi.us/files/boe/Appx%2010-15_2.pdf

If you would like more information, I can connect you with the teacher who led the project.

Warm regards,

Nathan

Nathan Larson

Co-Founder and Education Director | Community GroundWorks

nat...@communitygroundworks.org

(608) 240-0409

www.communitygroundworks.org 

Troy Kids' Garden | Goodman Youth Grow Local Farm 

Wisconsin School Garden Initiative | Growing Minds Institute

[rac...@educationoutside.org]

Hi Sam,

You should definitely check out the book Asphalt to Ecosystems by Sharon Danks. She has a lot of great examples of permanent structures in there. I would also be happy to talk over the phone to discuss what out Prop A bond funds have created in the green schoolyards here in SF. Sinks/center tables, compost bins, recycling/compost/trash systems, seating, shade structures, cob, water features, rainwater cisterns, sheds, small group tables, etc.

Rachel

On Wednesday, October 23, 2013 12:25:07 PM UTC-7, Sam Ullery (OSSE) wrote:

[Greg Ellis]

Greetings!

John suggested I revive this discussion with my CA specific question.

A little background: Most of the gardens we work with in Central California could benefit from a shade structure to encourage use of the outdoor space.  However, our school districts are strict to the law as far as Division of the State Architect (DSA) restrictions go.  I have spoken with our facilities directors as well as made direct inquiries to DSA.  Currently, any shade structure, even (a table umbrella!) requires professionally engineered plans and DSA approval (a couple-thousand dollar cost).  So, at minimum the shade structures cost us the DSA approval fee.  Plus, they often have to be heavily built to comply with the DSA standards.  There are pre-approved DSA structures, but they still have to go through the DSA fee-based process (a couple thousand dollars), and the structures themselves are usually built from costly materials available only from the specialized manufacturers of these structures.

My question is, what is your experience with garden shade structures (big or small) in California?

I think it would be incredibly useful to us and the school garden movement as a whole to know the lowest cost options.  $3000 or less would be a good goal for a 15 person structure, including volunteer labor, low cost materials, and DSA fees.  A simple shade-cloth/pole structure could be built for < $1000 in materials, so an even lower cost seems possible if DSA fees can be minimized.  There are a few projects that could come out of this:

1. Creation of pre-approved plans that use low-cost, readily available materials.  Therefore the total cost of the structure could be held low, only including DSA approval.  The plans could be shared publicly in CA.

2. Working with DSA to allow a loophole for small shade structures.  Currently, they do allow greenhouses, tool sheds, and a few other minor structures for plants and storage where small students may enter briefly.  I have also asked about trellises...they require approval as well, so aren't a valid work-around.

3. Leveraging funding for these types of structures (not a priority, as I'd rather see the funding go to garden coordinators or teacher training).

I don't want to rave too much, but this is an equity based issue...many of the richer schools can afford the expensive structures through private funding, while many of our disadvantaged schools cannot.

Thanks for hearing me out, and let me know if you have any resources or connections who might pursue this!