Baltimore Students Get Hands-On Learning In Outdoor Classrooms
BALTIMORE (WJZ)-- The Living Classrooms Foundation, a Baltimore-based educational nonprofit organization, is taking the classroom outside by having city students plant their own garden.
As Gigi Barnett explains, the White House is taking note.
It's dirty work designed to teach and take Baltimore students outdoors. They're learning to plant an urban garden at the Living Classrooms Foundation in Baltimore. Teachers hope students pass on what they learn and it leads to a greener city.
"Everyone can help no matter how old you are," said Tyler Swinson, city student.
Nancy Sutley, who heads the White House Council on Environmental Quality, visited schools as part of a national thrust to get more people outdoors, especially kids.
"Kids spend so much time indoors. So many Americans live in the cities and the suburbs and they're really losing touch with those places that make them special," said Sutley.
Children are working on a floating wetlands, a place for microorganisms, fish and plants to grow. It will go in the Inner Harbor, making it a place for fishing and swimming by 2020.
"People come from other cities and ask questions about what it is. If you supply them with the right literature, they can go back to their own communities and do the same thing," said Noah Smock, Living Classrooms Community Outreach Director
The White House Council on Environmental Quality is also looking at ways to bring more access to parks for inner city children.
