The halls of Madison High School were quiet as summer break began, but that wasn't the case outside as staff members, students, families and community members built an outdoor classroom – just one part of a large garden project at the school.
Volunteers spent 10 days constructing the classroom as part of Village Building Convergence, an annual event organized by the local group City Repair. Each year, convergence participants – citizens, builders and activists – help neighborhoods design and build community amenities.
The classroom, about 250 square feet, sits south of the Madison building along Northeast 82nd Avenue.
“It gives teachers an alternative way to engage students, and provides students access to the outdoors in a school setting,” says Anna Gordon, an AmeriCorps member helping lead the project.
AmeriCorps member Anna Gordon holds up a drawing of the classroom design.
Gordon says that a variety of students will use the space, including those in English, poetry, math and art classes.
From start to finish, the classroom has been a volunteer- and donation-driven affair: spearheaded by teacher Sue House, designed with help from
Sebastian Collet Studio, engineered free of charge by
Nishkian Dean, built with support from
City Repair, supported by a $10,580 grant from the
Lindbergh Foundation and boosted by donations and discounts on supplies from numerous local businesses and individuals, including timber from the
Oregon Log Home Co. and steel brackets fabricated by parent Paul Williams using materials donated by the Steel Yard.
Students helped design the classroom, prepare building materials and assist with construction. For fun, almost every Madison student placed an item – a photo, piece of writing or other small object – in peanut butter jar-sized "time capsules" inside the wall of the classroom.
Surrounded by vegetables
Only a year ago, Madison’s south lawn was a patch of grass. Now, in addition to the classroom, there's a large garden with sections for students, teachers, Madison families and community members. The school's garden is up and growing; the Portland Community Garden, a partnership with Portland Parks & Recreation, will be ready for planting in the fall.
Madison student and project volunteer Colin Ehr has his environmental science textbook in hand at a classroom construction event.
Colin Ehr, a rising junior who helped build the classroom at a volunteer event June 10, says the school garden inspired him to plant tomatoes. “It’s really cool," he says. "I’ve been helping in the garden since it was conceived,”
Connecting students with their food, and educating students about the environmental and health impacts of diet, have been key goals of the school garden, says House, Madison's advanced placement environmental science teacher. The school garden also provides opportunities for science experiments and supplements cafeteria food with salad greens, spinach, lettuce, radishes and broccoli.
The hope is that the family section will encourage parent engagement with the school, and the community area will supply food to area residents while helping make Madison a neighborhood hub.
House says that wildlife, too, will benefit from the change: “The number of pollinators, the insects, the birds, the microorganisms in the soil – there’s already a noticeable increase.”
House adds that students’ food habits have improved: “We’ve had a lot of kale converts.”
Built with Earth in mind
The outdoor classroom includes a number of Earth-friendly features:
- Ecoroof: A portion of the roof will be covered with plants, which extend the life of the classroom, reduce storm-water runoff, capture air pollution and create wildlife habitat.
- Rainwater catchment system: Rainwater from the roof will be stored in barrels and used to water the garden.
- Recycled or low-impact materials: The foundation is made with salvaged cement, and the walls are built with cob, a natural material composed of clay, sand, straw and water.
Students gave input on the classroom design in the fall. House says that engaging them was difficult early in the process. “There was nothing there yet except brown grass. Once we got the food growing, they got excited.”
Sue House, AP environmental science teacher at Madison, is the driving force behind the outdoor classroom and gardens.
Things began moving quickly last spring after Madison won the Lindbergh grant, which requires all funds to be spent within 12 months. House says that Gordon’s help was key: She worked full-time as an AmeriCorps member on the gardens and classroom for the 2008-09 school year, bringing in many of the partners that made the project possible.
The classroom is mostly complete, but finishing touches will be added over the summer.
At a recent volunteer building event, some volunteers pounded hammers while others drank tea from the City Repair’s T-Horse, a mobile tea house. House says: “City Repair’s volunteer support is amazing. And the T-Horse – who else in the city does
that?”
