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Clearview students are trading screens for soil, water and fresh air as outdoor learning becomes a regular part of the school week.

Teacher Jeanne Lukas-Ross, a certified Virginia master naturalist, leads weekly outdoor classes for students in pre-K through third grade. The program connects classroom lessons with hands-on activities using the school’s natural spaces.

Lukas-Ross became involved with Get2Green and Eco Clubs when she started teaching at Clearview. A few years ago, a part-time resource-teacher opening gave her the opportunity to focus more directly on outdoor education.

Principal Stephanie Almquist said the position was a natural fit because Lukas-Ross had already helped create strong outdoor spaces at the school.

As a kindergarten teacher, Lukas-Ross had noticed weaker fine motor skills among younger children and an increase in time spent on electronic devices. She saw outdoor learning and natural materials as a way to help restore some balance.

Lukas-Ross said outdoor education can build confidence, encourage critical and creative thinking, teach responsibility and reduce stress. Experiencing a subject firsthand also engages more senses than viewing it on a screen, she said, while the change of setting can benefit students who struggle inside the classroom.

Students make their enthusiasm clear when bad weather forces a lesson indoors. After outdoor classes, Lukas-Ross said, they generally return tired but happy.

Erosion Becomes a Hands-On Experiment

During a recent spring lesson, second graders studied erosion by building riverbeds in tubs of sand. They shaped channels with their fingers, placed rocks along the banks and tested what happened under different amounts of water.

A light spray became a slow trickle and then a hurricane-like pour. As the sand and rocks shifted, students observed how water pressure changes the land.

“Everything’s moving,” one student said.

After examining grass and its roots, the class discussed how plants hold soil in place. Lukas-Ross then asked students how they might stop dirt from washing away in an eroding section of the school grounds.

Third graders who recently studied soil are expected to tackle that problem through a project-based learning experience. If plans stay on schedule, planting could begin in May.

Lukas-Ross designs outdoor activities around subjects students are already covering in class. The erosion exercise, for example, supports an upcoming language arts unit about the effects of weather on the Earth.

Trees, Meadows and Chesapeake Bay Lessons

Outdoor learning also reaches older students when it fits their curriculum. Fourth graders have worked with Fairfax County’s Stormwater Management Program to create a meadow.

After learning that limited vegetation makes the school grounds a heat island, Lukas-Ross partnered with Fairfax County Urban Forest Management. Sixth graders and the after-school Eco Club planted 24 trees during the past year.

Later in the spring, fifth graders are expected to paint storm drains around the school with reminders that trash placed in the drains can eventually reach the Chesapeake Bay and the ocean.

Ali Culhane, senior manager for Get2Green, described Lukas-Ross’ work as an example of how professional development and community partnerships can strengthen student learning and well-being outdoors. Culhane said the program’s growth over several years has created environmental stewardship opportunities across the school.

Lukas-Ross is already preparing for the next academic year. Her plans include having students grow pumpkins for incoming kindergarteners to study in the fall and planting corn for fifth-grade language arts lessons.