With a grass-covered slanted roof wedged in a hillside and fir wooden beams, Old Trail School’s Merryweather Outdoor Classroom blends into the beautiful scenery of Cuyahoga Valley National Park — so much so that you have to get closer to realize what it is.
“It was designed ... with the intention of incorporating the surrounding space into the architecture thoughtfully. The purpose of this space is to connect us to the outside world,” says Erin McNamara, director of experiential and nature-based learning for the Bath school.
The outdoor classroom was created in 2020 to help students immerse themselves in the natural environment while learning about nature. Strategically placed between its organic working farm and hiking trails, the classroom is close to the main campus but still in the center of nature. The indoor classroom portion of the building holds up to 50 students, and there is a covered outdoor patio where an additional 49 students can gather for class when the weather permits.
Students participate in different activities based on their grade level once a week year-round in the outdoor classroom. Early education students through third graders focus on plants, trees, animals and naturalist science that is shaped around the ecology of the park and collect natural findings like leaves and bark. Third graders partake in a yearlong project to identify native species in the park using the Ohio Department of Natural Resources guidebook, and then they create a unique hybrid animal with different characteristics of the species they identify.
Fourth grade students focus on navigation and wayfinding on the trails, while fifth-grade students focus on survival techniques with a special camping night where they put their skills to the test.
Middle school students have longer class times to take what they learned in science and apply it to aspects of nature education through hands-on investigations. They also talk about mental health and wellness and how nature can play a big role in staying grounded.
“Feeling that you are both small and big, you are both insignificant and significant, for the middle schoolers goes a long way,” McNamara says.
Through all the hiking, exploring and nature lessons, students are challenged to build their physical strength, endurance, mental awareness and naturalist science skills.
“They have a different respect for our place, both in the park and as shared members of our global community,” McNamara says. “They have opportunities to see themselves as something with a longer history and a long future.
