Seneca Valley to expand outdoor learning at Haine
JACKSON TWP — Students at Haine Middle School and Haine Elementary School have already begun to make use of an outdoor learning space this year, but plans to improve the pilot program — and make outdoor learning more accessible throughout Seneca Valley School District — are underway.
Ken Cahall, a sixth-grade science and social studies teacher at the middle school, presented both short- and long-term goals of outdoor learning opportunities to board directors and district administration at a school board meeting Monday, Oct. 7.
As students are increasingly spending time in front of screens, Cahall said, engaging in nature and offering classroom activities outdoors can benefit mental health and emotional wellness, as well as academic performance.
“We’re trying to bring those kids back out in nature,” he said. “You don’t have to just live behind the screen. There’s a whole world out there that you can explore and learn from and find enjoyment in.”
Short-term goals of the program involve the construction of multiple outdoor learning spaces between Haine Elementary and Haine Middle schools and collaboration with local organizations such as the Jennings Environmental Education Center and local municipalities and clubs.
Cahall said he hopes outdoor learning can be implemented by teachers in all subjects, not just in science classes.
“Outdoor education is not just science education,” he said. “... I can do my language arts lessons here. I can do my math lessons here. And there’s all those additional benefits that students gain by being out in nature and wanting to question things and explore.”
Cahall’s long-term vision is to build a four-season structure to support outdoor learning throughout the year, increase partnerships with families, the community and local experts, and develop cross-curricular experiences across the school district, with a special focus on kindergarten and fifth grade.
“When you look at the first learning environment for kids, the outdoors is one of their first learning environments,” he said. “That’s where they learn to explore and discover. That’s where they learn to problem solve.”
The teacher said he researched examples of outdoor learning implemented in schools across Europe, Canada and the East Coast near Philadelphia. He also pulled from his own experience teaching at St. Stephen’s Academy, where he created an outdoor classroom as an answer to students struggling to learn in traditional classroom settings and exhibiting disruptive behaviors.
The outdoor learning space at Haine was made possible by a $13,000 grant from the Grable Foundation, according to assistant superintendent Sean McCarty. The district also has applied for a $50,000 Moonshot Grant from the foundation, as well as a $30,000 government grant, Cahall said.
