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A ribbon-cutting for the groundbreaking of the new Franklin High School outdoor learning center highlighted the 3rd Annual Green Fair held May 3 at the school.
The new center, located in the school’s courtyard, was made possible by a $10,000 grant from Sustainable Jersey Schools and the New Jersey Education Association, said Rod Brundidge, one of the school’s vice-principals and coordinator of its Green Team.
The organization provides a “free, voluntary certification program for pre-Kindergarten through twelfth-grade public schools in New Jersey” that “provides guidance, support, and recognition to schools that implement steps to be sustainable in their operations and proactive in preparing students for the challenges they will face in the future,” according to the group’s web site.
The Green Fair featured petting zoos with animals from two farms, a plant sale, an electric car show, displays and demonstrations, and contests.
There were also a number of interactive sustainable activities provided.
Brundidge said the grant will be used for a variety of pieces of equipment for the outdoor learning center.
The first $5,000 of the grant, he said, was used to purchase “desk seating areas with whiteboards for full class instruction, love benches for counseling, rain barrels, and a teacher’s table.”
“Now we have to submit it to Sustainable Jersey Schools to show that we used that $5,000 for what we said we were gonna use it for, and then they’ll release us another $5,000, which we’re going to use for environmental enhancements,” he said.
“We worked with the Bountiful Landscape Garden Company in Hillsborough, and they identified the best areas to put the garden beds and plants that pollinate and bloom during the time that the courtyard will be used,” he said. “In addition, this grant also comes with workshops from the Somerset County Parks Commission naturalists who are going to train teachers how to incorporate outdoor learning into their everyday curriculum.”
“So we’re not just saying, put a bunch of stuff out here, put a bunch of flowers out here, now, teachers go out and teach,” he said. “No, we’re putting all this stuff out here, and now we’re going to train teachers how to teach outdoors.”
Overall, Brundidge said, the fair was a success.
“This is our third annual one, and each time it’s getting better,” he said.
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