CUMBERLAND – Local schools around Rhode Island looking to increase their environmental literacy programs will now have an opportunity to receive funding from the state to aid those initiatives.
Gov. Daniel J. McKee, R.I. Education Commissioner Angelica Infante-Green and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Acting Regional Director Kyla Hastie announced Tuesday at Community School that $7.5 million in grant funding from the R.I. Department of Education is now available for schools as part of the department’s new Learning Inside Out Outdoor Classroom Initiative.
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According to a statement from R.I. Council on Elementary and Secondary Education Chairperson Patti DiCenso, research has shown that outdoor learning can have “significant benefits” on academic performance, mental health and student behavior. She also noted that students are not only calmer and can focus more when learning in nature, they are also “building a sense of community and environmental stewardship.”
During Tuesday’s event, Community School officials showcased the school’s schoolyard habitat that includes stone seating, a 100-square-foot pollinator garden with multiple flower beads. State and federal officials said the habitat’s creation was aided by donations and a grant from both the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Audubon Society.
Through a competitive application process, up to 70 projects will be awarded as much as $100,000 through RIDE’s new program, state and federal officials said. The initiative’s focus is to create, enhance and support access to natural resources for all students, state and federal officials said. The program also will promote environmental literacy and community connections, and addressing environmental concerns, such as inequitable outdoor access, habitat loss and degradation and climate change.
Applications to get involved in the program can be found on RIDE’s website and are due by April 3, 2023.
State and federal officials also said that RIDE’s School Building Authority has partnered with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to provide local education agencies with additional technical support and other resources. At no cost to the local education agencies, the state will provide professional consultants for landscape design and professional development/educational commissioning services, state and federal officials said.
Additionally, RIDE will work with vendors to simplify the procurement process and provide special focus on opportunities for minority-owned businesses to get involved with the initiative.
“We are so fortunate as a state to be surrounded by Rhode Island’s natural beauty, but unfortunately, not every student has access to outdoor spaces. Through this initiative, we are providing resources so our students and educators can think outside of the box and build enriching and engaging outdoor classrooms students can learn, grow, and thrive in,” McKee said in a statement.
Infante-Green said in her respective statement that through this initiative, the state will “plant the seeds of inspiration” in children, and show students and educators learning does not have to be confined to the indoors.
James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter at @James_Bessette.
