JMS Wildlife Habitat and Outdoor Classroom About Our Project

WHO:  7th Grade students, teachers, and various supporting faculty, staff & community members.  For a list of donors and helpers, please click here!

WHAT:  The JMS Habitat consists of:   

• Native trees & shrubs

• Wildflowers meadows

• Hiking trail with interpretive signs (ex. “This American Beautyberry (Callicarpa Americana) hosts a variety of bird species, providing bright purple berries as food. A medicinal plant, its leaves, bark & roots were used by native Georgia nations such as the Creek to treat disease. ”)

• Succession demonstrations (contained areas in which a natural landscape will be gradually reintroduced)

• Bird feeders, bird & bat nesting boxes, bird baths

• Butterfly gardens (host plants)

• Seating area (wooden platform & benches)

• Weather station planned 

WHERE:  in the vacant clearing across from the JMS entrance

WHEN:  Begin date:  August 2005; ongoing!

WHY: 

• To join over 319 other certified Schoolyard Habitat Sites in Georgia

• Provide an alternative site for hands-on, experience-based learning

• Facilitate interdisciplinary teaching of science, math, social studies, LA & art

• Provide opportunities for performance-based learning (research)

• Enhance skills in collaboration, planning, technology & responsibility

• Partner with community members & institution

CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS: The GA state curriculum emphasizes interdisciplinary, community, and performance-based instruction. An outdoor classroom & wildlife habitat serves students by providing a living, sensory & discovery-based environment for the 6th grade Earth Science classes to explore soils, rocks, & weather; the 7th grade Life Science classes to investigate interactions among organisms & their environment; & the 8th grade Physical Science classes to discover real-world examples of energy, motion, & matter.  A seating area, gardens, and open space also provide hands-on opportunities for art, language arts (poetry) and subjects of all grades.  Specifically, the habitat provides opportunities for research (architectural design, ecology, environmental science), planning (collaboration, computer modeling), a sense of community (partnerships with local business & individuals), interpretation (creation of interpretive signs & brochures), technology (web quests, research) & responsibility & commitment.

HOW:   The Habitat Club is responsible for design & maintenance.  An educational tool, it’s important that this be a student-led project.  Club members raise donations in the form of plants, soil, shovels, etc.  The support has been overwhelming, with labor, funds & materials from Lowes, Chapman Fencing, Thompson Gardens, Doggie Style, Food Lion, Regions Bank & Wolfskin Gardens.  Richard Wilson generously donated trees and labor.