Providence Spring Elementary School provides experiential and hands-on learning experiences for its students both inside its classrooms as well as beyond the classroom walls. We feel these learning opportunities contribute to our students' high academic growth each year.

Next to our school are individual class gardens as well as a "bog" garden which allows classes easy access to the natural world. We are fortunate to have a 12 acre section of our campus that is devoted to outdoor learning, learning that encompasses all areas of the NC Standard Course of Studies curriculum.

Our "Branch Creek Preserve" section of our campus is designed to allow wildlife to have an opportunity to co-exist on our grounds with a minimum amount of disturbance as we practice being stewards of the earth. Parents, teaching staff, and our administration work together to support our oudoor learning activities. Our PTA has an "Outdoor Learning" committee which offers support to our efforts as well as parents who teach lessons which support our teachers' goals. Our school is certified as a "School Yard Habitat" by the National Wildlife Federation. We are also a UTOTES School (Using the Outdoors to Teach Experimental Science), a program of the NC Museum of Natural Sciences. We have obtained grants that have allowed us to have Artists in Residence work with our students in the outdoors to support our curriculum goals (Clare Walker Leslie, international nature jounalist and author; and Consie Powell, author, nature journalist, and illustrator for "Wildlife in NC" magazine have worked with our students in week long sessions to help them connect their outdoor learnings with NC learning objectives.

All who teach here are proud of our accomplishments, and we feel that our work toward our academic goals is enhanced by incorporating the outdoors in our curriculum.

Age/Grade Level Served:
Kindergarten, 1st Grade, 2nd Grade, 3rd Grade, 4th Grade, 5th Grade

EE Programs:
After School Programs, Celebration or Special Event, Committee to Support School-wide EE Efforts, Environmental Service Learning Projects, Field Trips and/or Outreach Programs for Students, Professional Learning Opportunities for Teachers, Teaching Materials or Kits for Teachers

--Our after school program offers EE opportunities from time to time, and they sometimes take on service projects to support our school goals.
--We held a "Celebration of Outdoor Learning" in 2006 to recognize and celebrate our outdoor educational programs. Community members, partents, organizations, and businesses were invitied as honored guests as we recognized them at this outdoor schoolwide celebration.
--The PTA has a committee, "The Outdoor Education Committee," which has a budgeted amount of money to support EE type activities outdoors. This committee is in addition to the school's "Beautification Committee."
--From time to time, PSE has taken on various service learning projects. Included in these are Project Bark and Heifer International.
--Some of our fourth graders have visited Winghaven Gardens and Bird Sanctuary in the past to enhance their study of their "Secret Garden" novel study.
--Staff members have participated in many learning opportunties: Project Wild, Project Wet, Project Learning Tree, UTOTES (Using the Outdoors to Teach Experiential Science), Nature Journaling with renowned journaling experts, Tropical Ecology Institute (Belize, C.A), Yellowstone Institute, Ecuador Ecology Institute, Amazon Ecology Institute.
--Teaching materials, kits, etc: Project Bird Sleuth (Cornell Bird Study), Project Wild, Project Learning Tree, Project Wet, Museum in the Schools (museum quality specimens used to enhance experiential learning), Audubon educational kits

Green and Healthy School Features and Activities:
Composting, Energy Conservation, Environmentally Preferable Purchasing, Food Systems, Litter Prevention, Native Plant Habitat Restoration, Natural Learning and Play Area, Recycling (1-2 material types), Waste Reduction, Wildlife Habitat Restoration

Our school is focused on "going green." This initiative is intertwined with character education and global awareness projects for our student body. This is in addition to enhancing all other aspects of our school programs.
Our goal is to reduce waste, and classes have been given tasks to do to better understand the need for going green. In the cafeteria, plastic and cans are separated from trash, and bins for cans and plastic are located throughout the school. There is a battery "box" in the hall to collect used batteries. Computer cartridges are recycled. Each classroom has a recycling bin for paper. Each Monday, the announcements contain a "green" tip to educate the students as to how they can go "green." We don't use styrofoam in our cafeteria, and for faculty socials, we have purchased stainless steelware so we can reuse our utensils by cleaning them after the event is over.
On our school grounds, we participate in the "Green Invaders" program whereby students, with the help of a county park ranger, spend a morning pulling up invasive and non native plants from our campus.
We have established a nature preserve on our school grounds which provides a space for wildlife to live and bear their young.


Outdoor Classroom Features:
Amphitheater, Bird Feeding Station, Compost Bin or Area, Field, Prairie, or Meadow, Garden - Butterflies / Insect Pollinators, Garden - Hummingbird Pollinators, Garden - Special Needs / Accessible, Garden - Theme, Garden - Vegetables or Herbs, Native Plant Landscape, Nature Trail, Picnic Tables, Benches, or other Study Sites, Stream, Creek, or Pond, Sundial, Supplemental Water Source for Wildlife, Trees, Forest or Arboretum, Wetland or Bog Garden, Wildlife Shelter



EE Professional Organization Membership:
NC - Environmental Educators of North Carolina (EENC)

Ecoregion(s)
Piedmont (Ecoregion 45)

Riverbasin(s)
Catawba River Basin