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Goal

Fernandina Beach Middle School serves approximately 705 students in grades 6-8, 39% who are low-income based on free or reduced lunch criteria. Our current facilities lack a dedicated outdoor learning space, limiting opportunities for collaborative, experiential, project-based learning that connects students with each other and the natural world.
Research shows that outdoor education improves academic performance, student engagement, and mental health. We aim to address these needs by building a safe, accessible, and inspiring outdoor classroom that enhances our current curriculum and promotes lifelong learning. The 40 X 50 feet space will include four to six durable outdoor round picnic tables with umbrellas, sodding and mulch, whiteboards, and storage units for classroom materials. The final phase of the project will include installing synthetic turf and a pole-barn structure to allow for utilization when it precipitates.

This project will strengthen our relationships with the community. The team will seek partnerships with parents who have expertise in design, building, construction, and landscaping. We will also raise funds from small businesses sponsorships and apply for other grants to assist with furnishing the space with tables, storage bins, and classroom supplies.

The construction of an outdoor collaboration lab offers each discipline an opportunity to engage our students in learning.
 

 

Category

SHARK School-Wide, Grade-Level, Or Class Events/Pr - Parent Nights, Honor Roll Celebrations, EOY Events, etc. 

 

What will be done with my students

ELA:
A flexible outdoor classroom for ELA would promote reading motivation and increase students' confidence and shared interests. Students will engage in collaborative reading, oral presentations, project-based learning, while building reading stamina, improving focus and mood, and reducing stress. In addition, immersing student readers in nature would provide freedom for them to optimize sensory details, strengthen imagination, and foster a deeper connection to the material. A flexible outdoor classroom presents the added benefit of opportunities for learning outside the four walls of a classroom.

MATH:
Hands-on, real-life experiences to curriculum concepts.
Concrete connections to abstract math - physically measure, build, and model geometric or statistical concepts (e.g. angles in nature, area/volume of garden beds, or data collection from the environment).
Application-based lessons –standards can be reinforced through data collection.
Ex: 6th grade: calculate average plant growth or rainfall ratios, area, perimeter, and data collection.
Ex: 7th grade: use proportional reasoning to scale models of outdoor structures, scaling and proportional relationships in design (scale drawings, calculating material cost).
Ex: 8th grade: apply linear equations to analyze temperature changes or shadows vs. time,
functions, slope, data modeling (e.g. graphing shade vs. sunlight hours, temperature trends.)

SOCIAL STUDIES:
The outdoor space would be used for students to engage in simulations, debates, and cultural projects that promote wellness, teamwork, and respect. This space will not only boost academic engagement but also foster a sense of community and responsibility—key aspects of civic education and social-emotional development.

SCIENCE:
A content area that lends itself well to an outdoor classroom. The outdoor classroom can inspire curiosity and critical thinking as students experience real-world natural phenomena. In the Florida Middle School Curriculum, much of the Earth and Life Science standards are applicable in an experiential format, which can be achieved in the outdoor classroom. Teachers would have the flexibility to instruct and then provide hands-on experiences in the outdoor space; students could unplug and see firsthand how the events “work”. Specific areas of focus in an outdoor Science classroom can include observing Earth’s structures, patterns, and systems, Life Science’s diversity and interdependence of living things, and developing the practices of science through designing and experimenting with hypotheses and outcomes.

EXCEPTIONAL STUDENT EDUCATION (ESE):
ESE will utilize the space to assist the many students who struggle with traditional classroom learning through engaging with tactile, visual and kinesthetic experiences outdoors. The space would assist in increasing focus and motivation: fresh air and natural light boost attention and working memory, prove especially effective for students with ADHD or high energy. A change in environment reduces behavior fatigue, helping sustain engagement across all subject areas. Outdoor education provides an immersive experience with the natural world.

ARTS:
Arts programs can thrive in an outdoor classroom by using the natural environment as both a canvas and a stage. Visual arts students can draw inspiration from the landscape for sketching, painting, and photography, and land art. Performing arts students can rehearse and present plays, dance routines, and musical pieces in the open air, enhancing their spatial awareness and expression. The space also encourages collaboration while offering a peaceful setting for creative reflection and journaling. Altogether, the outdoor classroom becomes a vibrant, interdisciplinary hub that nurtures creativity, connection, and environmental appreciation.

PHYSICAL EDUCATION:
P.E. will utilize this area as an outdoor exercise space for HOPE and PE so the students can get the benefits of fresh air while completing their workouts. Additionally, PE classes will utilize this area as a more conducive workspace to complete assignments related to the variety of sports and exercise standards covered.

CTE: Component (Career & Technical Education):
They can utilize an outdoor classroom by creating hands-on learning environments for skills like science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEM). Outdoor spaces allow for practical, real-world applications in fields such as agriculture, horticulture, engineering, and construction. This can include designing and building structures, conducting environmental science experiments, growing and maintaining a garden, or even using the outdoors for art and design projects.

MENTAL HEALTH:
An outdoor space for students to practice emotional regulation, sensory grounding, and physical movement which a student can then recreate and practice in their own outdoor setting. Enhancing overall mental, emotional, and physical wellbeing at school and home. This translation of skills is the hope of all treatment.

CLUBS:
The various clubs offered at FBMS can utilize this space for their planning, meetings, and rehearsals. These clubs include but are not limited to Culinary, Pirate Players (drama), Garden Club, Interact Club, and Student Council.







 

 

Benefits to my students

Replication:
Building an outdoor learning and collaboration lab can be replicated on any Nassau County campus from primary to elementary to high schools. A Google folder can be created and shared to all school personnel to post lesson plans and activities used in the outdoor lab. Sharing ideas from school to school, community to community will strengthen our collaboration and increase the overall success of all Nassau County students.

Goals for Student Learning:
The goal of the collaborative learning lab/ outdoor classroom is to take learning beyond four walls, allowing middle school students to be outside for more movement and engagement. The space will increase their opportunity to collaborate and have more face to face communication versus using technology. The engagement will be assessed through overall increased attendance, thus increasing our percentage of students' achievement scores for state assessments. Creating opportunities for our students to communicate and collaborate will also translate to decreased behavior issues and needs for mental health intervention.

Outcome Measures:
Within the first year of implementing the outdoor learning and collaboration lab, FBMS will establish a Google calendar to reserve the space for instruction across the curriculum and grade levels. The goal is for the space to be utilized 80% or more of the time.

Overall excitement about engaging in school through our unique outdoor collaboration lab will help us reduce the student population who misses 10% or more of school from 5.24% (37 students) to 2.83% (20 students). Furthermore, we will reduce the total number of suspensions from 8.79% (62 students) to 5.67% (40 students). As a result of students attending more regularly, increasing our positive behavior and delivering effective and engaging instruction, the overall reading and math assessment scores will increase.

 

 

Budget Narrative

Phase one from NEF would include $5,180 funding to construct an outlined area with wood and natural landscaping (consider sodding and mulching combination.) The remaining $4,820 includes assorted items for every academic discipline to support learning at FBMS as outlined in the itemized budget above. Ultimately, the goal is to install synthetic turf and build a pole-barn style roof covering to allow the space to be used during inclement weather. These installments would be a joint effort for future funding from NEF, millage allocations, PTO, private donors and business partners. The remaining parts of the project will include 1200 square feet of synthetic turf installed ($12,000), 4 octagon polywood tables for 8 (funded by business partners and families, $8,000 planned for phase one). At time of submission the pole-barn roofing has reached estimates as high as $100,000. The team recognizes raising funds for this portion could take 2-3 years. Upkeep and maintenance of this area can be maintained with the PTO campus beautification budget.



Project Timeline:
Planning & Design: January/ February 2026
Site Preparation & Construction: March 2026
Implementation of Curriculum: April 2026
Project Evaluation & Reporting: April 2027









 

 

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