LES Outdoor Classroom

Pond: The first project we completed was the pond, stream and waterfall. Steve Senn worked with the other SF elementary schools to install their ponds and he did ours as well. Mary DeAngelis was the Environmental Specialist for the district at the time and we worked closely with her, too. Steve focused on installation and lessons with the students. Parent volunteers, staff and students did all of the work to install the pond under Steve Senn’s direction. Kurt Rimmel owes a landscaping company in the area and was a student at Limerick. All of his children went through Limerick and his youngest son was a Limerick student at the time. He was extremely helpful during the planning and acquisition of materials for the outdoor classroom.

Raised Garden Beds: Robert Fimognari, a former Limerick student, worked with us to create the 5 raised garden beds for his Eagle Scout project. We usually plant vegetables and flowers using various themes throughout the years. The cafeteria use the vegetables the students harvest when school is in session. Students are very excited when they are given tomatoes, broccoli , etc on their lunch trays when it comes from our gardens! One summer, our family volunteers took our extra vegetables to Project Outreach in Royersford as part of the Ample Harvest program. In addition we received two compost containers for free and placed them in the garden area. During the spring, leftover food is placed in containers and then students add it to the compost.

Pollinator Garden: In 2014 another Eagle Scout, Evan Lehr, came to Limerick and worked to create the pollinator garden. We worked with a committee and a Master Gardener to design the garden and select plants native to Pennsylvania.

Mural and Glass Tiles: Our art teacher, Traci Evans, brought artist Jessica Gorlin Liddell in for an Artist in Residence program. She worked with the entire fourth grade and the staff to create circular ceramic mosaic tile murals which were placed on the brick walls by the library windows. At another time, the same artist returned and created fused glass tiles which hang in the top sections of the windows that look out over the pollinator garden.

Instructional Area: We were very fortunate when Excelon Nuclear came to Limerick for an Earth Day presentation which took place in the outdoor classroom. They were very impressed with the area. Our principal, Mitch Edmunds, went to them and requested funding for the area in 2010 and they provided the money needed to create our paved instructional area. Once again, Curt Rimmel was instrumental in creating the area. He designed it, helped us to get the materials needed, provided man power and equipment, and directed all of the parent volunteers on the day of construction. We were able to purchase a shade sail and benches in 2012.

Future projects: We have partnered with Project FeederWatch through the Cornell Lab of Ornithology to help track birds in our region. "FeederWatch data help scientists track broadscale movements of winter bird populations and long-term trends in bird distribution and abundance."

To accomplish this activity, we are requesting donations through DonorsChoose.org to purchase the materials needed including binoculars, guidebooks, bird feeders and more.

Click on the link below to view AND make your donations. Please share with your friends and families too.

https://www.donorschoose.org/project/did-someone-call-for-an-ornithologist/3034415/

May 2018 Annual Spring Fling

More details to come!