As Featured in Chester County Life Magazine May/June 2021

Montgomery School

Montgomery Head of School Tom McManus and fourth graders – At Montgomery School in Chester Springs, a sprawling campus opens up the walls of every classroom. Learning takes places through lessons in Pickering Creek, observing plants and wildlife in the meadow, and working in the school garden.

The Power of Outdoor Learning Maximized at Montgomery School

By Julia Krumenacker

“ Tell me and I will forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I will understand.” Confucius

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Imagine going to school each day where a bucolic, 60-acre campus is the classroom, steeping in lessons from biology, chemistry, zoology, and math, to poetry and mindfulness.

At Montgome ry School in Cheste r Springs, a sprawling campus opens up the walls of every classroom. Learning takes place through lessons in Pickering Creek, observing plants and wildlife in the meadow, and working in the school garden. Students spend time outdoors often and with purpose, affording them hands-on science lessons and a deep appreciation for nature.

Although outdoor learning has been a tradition at Montgomery, the school is proudly stepping in to new and exciting initiatives that will markedly enhance each student’s educational experience.

An independent day school serving boys and girls in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade, Montgomery’s mission involves developing each student through academics, fine and performing arts, and athletics in an

Over the past year, COVID-19 has awakened our perception of the power of the outdoors.

Through this lens, we are able to see the importance of getting outside, not simply as a risk mitigation strategy. We recognize, now more than ever, that nature has the potential to improve health and wellbeing. “The COVID situation has forced many educators to prove this belief to be true,” noted Montgomery Head of School Tom McManus.

All Montgomery students come to appreciate their natural surroundings, learn to study science in action, and reap the many health benefits of spending time in nature.

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Montgomery School

One of Montgomery’s aspirations is to construct a comprehensive pavilion and greenhouse next to its existing garden, to serve as an outdoor science laboratory and workshop.

“The pavilion would make a perfect outdoor classroom for learning about ecosystems in earth science, habitats and animals in biology, and many other topics from plants and food to healthy eating,” explained science teacher Wendy Sheldrick.

Montgomery’s campus was created with the objective of students spending quality time outdoors, with environmental sustainability at the forefront of their curriculum.

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enriching and cultural environment, with an emphasis on integrity, respect, responsibility, and service to others. The campus was created with the objective of students spending quality time outdoors, with environmental sustainability at the forefront of their curriculum. Lower School students regularly engage in nature walks through the property and the creek, observing and learning about plants and wildlife. Boots are actually required classroom necessities!

Middle School students have raised trout in the classroom and released them into the creek each spring, after testing the pH of the water throughout the year. The school’s organic garden is maintained by members of the school community, and the harvested produce has been used in the school’s family-style lunch program or donated to a local food pantry. All Montgomery students come to appreciate their natural surroundings, learn to study science in action, and reap the many health benefits of spending time in nature.

Over the past year, COVID-19 has awakened our perception of the power of the outdoors. Through this lens, we are able to see the importance of getting outside, not simply as a risk mitigation strategy. We recognize, now more than ever, that nature has the potential to improve health and wellbeing. “The COVID situation has forced many educators to prove this belief to be true,” noted Montgomery Head of School Tom McManus. “Here at Montgomery School, we really can take a literature project, a social studies lesson, or a science experiment outside throughout all four seasons. We have a large number of different environmental features here, and we are very excited to introduce several new projects that will enhance our ability to fully utilize our campus as a learning tool.”

A recent addition to campus is a beautiful creek overlook, allowing students to effortlessly enter Pickering Creek. Here is where they go to obtain water samples, conduct pH and nitrate testing, and perform their annual trout release as they learn about the ecosystem in science class. Many plants have been added to the area that will encourage pollination, attract butterflies, and promote new habitats for the students to observe, providing a great extension of environmental science and biology experienced in and along the creek.

One of Montgomery’s aspirations is to construct a comprehensive pavilion and greenhouse next to its existing garden, to

serve as an outdoor science laboratory and workshop. The unique space would be fully equipped with electricity, sinks, microscopes, sundials, and a site to measure the water table. The vision is to establish an outdoor hub of STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, mathematics) projects. It would be set up like a traditional classroom but with living walls to act as weather barriers, which would allow students to engage in large-scale projects that they design and

build, such as windmills for sustainability, race cars to study velocity, and solar projects, as well as lessons emphasizing composting, recycling, and sustainability.

“The pavilion would make a perfect outdoor classroom for learning about ecosystems in earth science, habitats and animals in biology, and many other topics from plants and food to healthy eating,” explained science teacher Wendy Sheldrick. “Obviously, the space would lend itself to the scienc-

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Montgomery School

“When Tom McManus and I discussed Montgomery’s goals to enhance its outdoor space, we realized this campus is full of rare ecological diversity,” stated Wendy Furry, Head of Outdoor Learning at GeoVentures Programming and Services.

es, but every teacher would have access to utilize it to enhance his/her teaching. If you are working on poetry about birds, building sculptures in art, or performing measurements in math, what better way to deepen the learning than to be outside?”

Montgtomery’s future plans also include a new greenhouse building which will provide the space and light to heighten learning that evolves from Montgomery’s outdoor garden. This structure would enable students to carry out long-term labs, grow seedlings, and engage in hydroponic growing and photosynthesis experiments.

“We are designing a spiraling, skills-based outdoor education curriculum, which will incorporate regular intentional use of the outside campus,” noted Sheldrick. “We will not simply integrate the outdoors; we will be engaging in the learning outside, as a deliberate part of our curriculum. I don’t think there’s any substitute for learning by doing. This approach will take all of the concepts students are learning in the classroom and make the experiences so much more authentic.

“Most importantly, these new campus enhancements will emphasize conservation and stewardship,” continued Sheldrick. “Our students will have a true connection with the environment, and understand why conservation is so important. Additionally, they will genuinely be able to relate it to science, as it will be so much more relevant and meaningful when they are actually engaged in the projects, rather than learning about the subject matter from inside the classroom.”

Another project in the making is the development of beehives on campus. With the help of a beekeeping expert, students will directly observe the bee life cycle in action and the chemistry of honey and also understand the job of bees and their importance to the environment. The meadow will be planted with bee-pollinating flowers, with a live feed to the school website. Students will gain a firsthand understanding of how to care for bees, while also learning about the importance of protecting them.

To incorporate these projects and make the most of its outdoor space, Montgomery

“ Our school has become a well-kept secret, but I would like to open our beautiful doors up to the community so we can share these gifts.” TOM MCMANUS School paired with GeoVentures Programming and Services, a group that assists communities and schools in utilizing space to inspire connections with nature. “When Tom McManus and I discussed Montgomery’s goals to enhance its outdoor space, we realized this campus is full of rare ecological diversity,” stated Wendy Furry, Head of Outdoor Learning at GeoVentures. “It is a treasure, a hidden gem in the community, and we have to optimize it. I see a lot of schools adding outdoor classwork, but Montgomery is able to boost so many different types of learning due to its true connection with nature – from science to poetry to journaling to simply teaching kids the value of quiet and stillness. As soon as you go outside, the potential for interactive learning increases.

It ties what you’re learning to an immediate application, creating deeper knowledge. The science behind this initiative is a mile deep.

Numerous studies show there are many other enormous and unexpected benefits of kids spending time in nature, from less illness to improved emotional wellbeing.”

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“We are very excited about all the directions we can go with the amplification of our outdoor curriculum,” said McManus, who eventually wants to expand into the community with opportunities for teacher education and conferences, community and family events, weekend programs, and adult learning, as well as create walking trails lined with birdhouses open to the public. “Our school has become a well-kept secret, but I would like to open our beautiful doors up to the community so we can share these gifts.

One of the aspects I cherished most when I first came to Montgomery was the fact that although our students wear uniforms, they are covered in grass stains and mud,” he laughed. “They get dirty, and simply love it.”

CCL Montgomery School 1141 Kimberton Rd. Chester Springs, PA 19425 610.827.7222 MontgomerySchool.org

Boots are actually required classroom necessities!

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