We have assembled some great, free and low cost local resources that offer support, materials, information, programming, volunteers, or other types of help with your schoolyard and outdoor programming. This collection is growing!
Contact us if you have a resource we should include or questions that this page doesn’t answer.
(Inclusion on this resource page does not imply connection with or endorsement of ALSI by these organizations)
Furnishings for Outdoor Learning
TREE STUMPS can be arranged in a circle or a grid and provide simple, aesthetically pleasing seating for outdoor learning around your campus.
ALSI is testing out a new program to connect your school to a source of stumps from Arlington Urban Forestry or from a local arborist. Use the Contact Us form to let us know what you’re looking for including the number of stumps you need. We will be in touch with more details.
You’ll need to provide someone to meet the delivery and labor to set them in place. As this is an all-volunteer program, we ask that you be as flexible as possible with your request and understand that delivery time cannot be guaranteed.
CARE: Because these are fresh cut natural wood, they will decompose eventually. To extend the life of your stump seats you can explore any of these measures: set them on stone dust or gravel, remove bark, and/or seal with wood sealant
*None of these life extending measures are essential. Because we are in a pandemic and time is of the essence in setting up these outdoor learning spaces, know that the stumps, as delivered, are fine to use.
SAFETY NOTE: It is the responsibility of the school to arrange and install the tree parts according to physical distancing requirements. Be sure to install on level ground to help avoid tipping. We believe that movement is good for kids. If you anticipate that children will be standing/jumping/balancing etc on the tree stumps you must locate them on a soft surface or surround them with a soft surface such as wood chips.
LIABILITY NOTE: Neither NoVA Outside, the Arlington Living Schoolyard Initiative, nor the tree company that donates tree parts will be liable for any injuries that may occur from the delivery or use of these natural materials.
PICNIC TABLE SOURCE details coming soon!
Plants for Your Schoolyard
EARTH SANGHA In the DC area, Earth Sangha operates a volunteer-based program to propagate local native plants, restore native plant communities, and control invasive alien plants. Their Wild Plant Nursery is the region’s most comprehensive effort to propagate native plants directly from local forests and meadows and it is a unique resource for ecological restoration in the greater Washington, DC, area. Established in 2001 in Springfield, Virginia, under an agreement with the Fairfax County Park Authority, the nursery is the region’s most comprehensive source of local, wild native-plant material (“local ecotypes”). The use of local ecotypes is a standard best practice in ecological restoration because that helps to safeguard genetic diversity and local adaptation in the species planted. The nursery is currently working with about 340 species, some uncommon or rare in the wild in this region.
For many of these species, the nursery is the DC area’s only source of production — local ecotype or otherwise. All plants are grown from seed (or spores) that they collect, from over 50 local natural areas. (They collect only with permission.) The nursery serves their own planting programs, as well as those of area governments, schools, businesses, and other conservation nonprofits. We rely on volunteers to run the nursery!
NATURE BY DESIGN is a local source of native plants for your schoolyard. Their innovative approach to landscape design will: reduce maintenance, protect our precious Chesapeake Bay watershed, replace vanishing wildlife habitat, and transform your schoolyard into a sanctuary of breathtaking beauty.
PLANT NOVA NATIVES is a great source of information on what native plants are, why schoolyards (and all yards) should be planted with locally native plants, where to get them, and more!
SMART GARDEN SIGNS sells durable educational signs that identify plants with drawings, common and botanical names, and fun facts about uses and history.
Professional Learning for Teachers
NOVA OUTSIDE is an alliance of environmental educators, schools, businesses, nature centers, non-profits, “green” groups, and government agencies who strive to connect people of all ages to the natural environment. NoVA Outside began informally in 2010 as a forum to connect environmental educators, and since then have grown into a regional network offering regular professional development, networking and resource sharing for environmental education professionals. NoVA Outside is the only organization of its kind in Northern Virginia! Sign up for NoVA Outside’s monthly newsletter filled with grants, professional learning opportunities, local and national events and more.
MINTS (Model Inquiries into Nature in The Schoolyard (or “for Teaching Science”) was put together by some folks at Virginia Tech, and contains a lot of example lessons for teaching outdoors, and moreover a great description of the philosophy behind outdoor/inquiry-based learning. Download it here.
Programs that Support Children and Nature
ARLINGTON REGIONAL MASTER NATURALISTS (ARMN)
Members of the Arlington Regional Master Naturalist (ARMN) chapter of the Virginia Master Naturalist Program:
- provide, promote, and facilitate volunteer service to sustain natural areas in our communities using sound natural resource management and conservation practices,
- offer and support environmental education and outreach to encourage understanding and respect for our natural environment, and
- engage in a wide range of citizen science activities that contribute to greater knowledge of local streams, plants, animals, and local habitat.
ARLINGTON OUTDOOR LAB The Phoebe Hall Knipling Outdoor Lab is a 225-acre facility that provides science and outdoor education to the students of Arlington County Public Schools. In this natural classroom, urban youth — often for the first time — can run in a meadow, climb a mountain, hike beside a stream, or fish in a pond. Up to six classes per week visit the Outdoor Lab, some overnight, and there are three week-long summer camps.
Each year, the Outdoor Lab provides hands-on outdoor and environmental education to more than 10,000 students, from elementary grades through high school.
The non-profit Arlington Outdoor Education Association (AOEA) owns the land and buildings and partners with Arlington Public Schools who provides the teachers, buses and science programming at the Outdoor Lab. Learn more about the Outdoor Lab at their website.
4-H OF ARLINGTON Elementary school students are invited to join the 4-H Outdoor Explorers Club. Together the group will search for wildlife, investigate backyard habitats, embark on scavenger hunts, play nature-inspired games, and much more! This is perfect for the animal-lovers, future gardeners, or even youth who just want to get outside.
4-H strives to foster positive first experiences in nature for kids. This program is led by volunteers under the supervision of the County 4-H Agent. Currently, this program runs in the fall and spring at APS Sites, including: Randolph Extended Day, Ashlawn Extended Day, Hoffman Boston Extended Day, Abingdon Extended Day, Barcroft Extended Day, and AHC’S Ft Henry location.
With additional volunteers, 4-H can expand to even more sites. For questions or more information about 4-H, please contact Arlington County 4-H Agent Caitlin Verdu at cverdu@vt.edu or call our office at 703-228-6404.
School Gardens
FOUA is working in partnership with Virginia Cooperative Extension, Master Gardeners, Marymount University, and the Arlington Living Schoolyards Initiative to provide technical assistance and other support, and to build a network of school garden programs to cultivate community, peer to peer connections, and opportunity for long-term strategic planning. Find out more about FOUA on our website.
If you are a school garden coordinator or connected to a school garden program, please send an email to info@arlingtonurbanag.org to be added to the Arlington School Garden Network.
ARLINGTON MASTER GARDENERS details coming soon!
REEVESLAND LEARNING CENTER details coming soon!
Student Empowerment
NOVA OUTSIDE is the host of SEAS (Student Environmental Action Showcase) an annual event that brings together students (in-person or virtually) to amplify youth voice in environmental problem-solving. Student presenters, green/eco teams, and classroom groups share their projects reducing waste, conserving energy, improving water quality, and preserving natural habitat in their schoolyards and communities. Each year we host student participants from as many as 50 area schools.
Recorded webinars from ALSI
From January 2021: ALSI’s pandemic launch called Outdoor Learning in Arlington, and from June of 2021 called Schools that Heal: Design with Mental Health in Mind featuring Claire Latané, the author of a book by that name.
