Fifth-grader Savanna Campbell was thrilled with the yellow squash she’d grown herself.

“I started with just a seed,” she said as she showed off her prized vegetable to her teachers and fellow students at Alachua Elementary School during the last week of school.

Savanna is one of more than 175 students at the school who spent the school year planting, maintaining and harvesting crops in the school’s outdoor classroom. That work has resulted in a lot of learning—along with a lot of vegetables. And the learning will continue throughout the summer as rising fifth-graders work in the outdoor classroom during the school’s enrichment science camp in June.

Alachua’s outdoor classroom is a labor of love for 5^th-grade paraprofessional John Goettel, known affectionately among students and staff as Mr. G. It began as a vegetable garden, but with the support of school staff and funding provided by the PTA and the Alachua County Public Schools Foundation, the outdoor classroom has now grown to include a greenhouse, a weather station, bird nesting boxes, a composing center and other features. Every fifth-grader works in the outdoor classroom throughout the school year, putting the math, science, reading, writing and other academic lessons they’re learning inside to work outside.

“Without application, you can’t learn,” said Goettel. “We give them an opportunity to experiment and use what they’ve learned. The curriculum and the work in the garden are all weaved together.”

“Learning becomes much more meaningful,” said fifth-grade teacher Pam Evers. “Paper and pencil lessons don’t always sink in, but working in the garden really makes a difference.”

The school also boasts an indoor science lab that allows students to do more hands-on work, such as studying a snake skin under a microscope or studying weather patterns on the Internet.

The students themselves say that putting both their hands and their brains to work, especially in the garden, helps them with academics.

“A textbook shows you pictures of how stuff grows, but it’s better when you can come out here and see it and take care of it,” said 5^th-grader Jacey Cottingham.

“I think I learn more things out here than staying inside and having Mr. G just tell us what happens,” said 5^th-grader Marc Navarro.

Teachers also say they have seen an improvement in grades and behavior because they are able to use the outdoor classroom as an incentive.

“It’s really an effective way to get students to turn in homework and behave in the classroom,” said 5^th-grader teacher John Becker. “Many students who never showed an interest in their grades before made a special effort in class so they could spend time working with their peers on something they really enjoyed.”

The concept of working effectively with their peers is also something reinforced in the outdoor classroom. Goettel says teamwork is emphasized in everything they do.

“Scientists work in teams, so that’s what we do,” he said. “We learn to work in groups, to support each other and to solve problems together.”

And of course, the students are enjoying the sense of accomplishment that comes with taking care of a family of birds, composting waste from the school’s cafeteria or growing a nice big squash.

“I feel glad because I know we’ve worked hard to build stuff and grow stuff in the garden,” said Campbell.

For more information on the school’s summer enrichment science camp for rising 5^th-graders, contact the Rick Thomas at Alachua Elementary at (386) 462-1841.