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May, 2003 Improvements to City Light Woods Project Overview: Special thanks to the students of Cascadia College, Edmonds - Washington. Outdoor Classroom - Informance Center Brier Elementary and City Light Woods Park Outdoor Classroom Project Inspired by two long-term Brier Parks and Recreation Board members, Craig Harris and Ken Overstreet, the idea of making City Light Woods park available to nearby Brier Elementary students and teachers for an Outdoor Classroom began to take shape this year. Dan Keller, principal of Brier Elementary, responded enthusiastically when approached with the idea. After touring the park and consulting with staff, Principal Keller said one major obstacle for the teachers would be the lack of a seating area. The students needed a place to compose themselves after the short walk to the park - a place where they could sit down and review the lesson at hand before beginning their project of the day. Principal Keller suggested designing a space with simple bench seating for sixty students. A quick call to the U.S. Forestry Service revealed that an area of 60’ x 60’ should suffice. This would allow for easy movement around the benches, and would permit enough room for landscaping around the perimeter to make the area a pleasant view for neighbors. The Snohomish Conservation District was kind enough to tour the park and suggest native plants that would do well in the sunny area of the now dubbed "Informance Area". In March, they provided over 250 starter plants, at a reduced cost, to begin the restoration. With permission from Principal Keller, the majority of these plants are being temporarily stored in the raised beds at Brier Elementary until the fall when students and volunteers can plant them in the park. September, 2003 Scout project begins on Informance area with seating and presentation stage. Scouts Jared Kreiwald and Robert Lenoir start the process. A very special thanks to Dean Backholm Landscape Design of Brier, for the use of their staff and Bobcat to clear and prepare the area. Summer 2003 During the summer correction facility crews from Monroe came in did a great job of removing many of the invasive plants in the area to be used as a Pioneer Forest. May 2003 On May 23, students from Cascadia College, led by Lad Keenan, volunteered to tackle the hard task of cutting back the nearly chest-high invasive weeds in the Informance Area. This was the vital first step in creating the seating space! On May 28 an interested group of eight teachers, along with Rich Edgerton, Science Coordinator for the Edmonds School District, Principal Keller, as well as Craig Harris and Dee Williamson from the Brier Parks Board toured the park. An exciting discussion ensued on how best to use the park as a tool for learning. The following day, May 29 City Light Woods park saw it’s first students! Twenty first graders from Mrs. Olsen’s class pulled a dozen bags of invasive English Ivy from the park grounds while learning about nurse stumps, the value of brush piles, and the interplay between invasive plants and animals and native species. Oh, and we had fun, too. Lessons in ecology, vocabulary, and community service were taken back to the classroom after the project. But there is more to the Outdoor Classroom project than just ecology and community service projects. City Light Woods park offers something unique to the students and staff of Brier Elementary. A chance to do hands-on learning, which helps a student retain what he or she learns. The park lends itself to scientific investigation, such as water and soil analysis and plant identification. Areas of City Light Woods park can be set aside for long term study, especially during the restoration of the north end of the park. Studies in math, both in measurement and problem solving can be addressed in the park; vocabulary skills can be increased, the possibilities are endless. Expert guest lecturers from the Audubon Society and an Urban Wildlife Biologist from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife are available to the students - as well as project advisors from Bats Northwest, Washington Native Plant Society, and the Snohomish Conservation District. On Saturday, June 7, City Light Woods park will host a National Trails Day event from 11 am until 1 pm. The Student Council of Brier Elementary will be in attendance as we kick off the Outdoor Classroom project and as the community comes together to continue the clean up of the park! Contruction begins May 23, 2003 Click on any picture for a larger view Return Home - Click Here