Courtyard

South Portland High School, Cumberland County
An exemplar of utilizing school space

“Having seen what it was like before, just full of rocks and grey, I never would have thought it would get to this point. I’m really happy it was finished earlier than expected and that I was a part of making that happen.”

South Portland High School junior

PROJECT BACKGROUND

THE PROGRAM

As she walked around the courtyard, Tania Ferrante, a teacher at South Portland High School, passionately described one project after another, “This project is called the Yellow Tulip Project. It was started by a student in Maine after losing her two best friends to suicide. Each yellow tulip represents mental illness, and as you can see, one tulip in five is yellow.” In one day students planted over 400 tulip bulbs. To celebrate the first blooming of the Yellow Tulip Project in May, students filled the courtyard and the chorus sang. Windows surrounding the courtyard overlooked the proceedings, which allowed all students to be a part of the event and raised awareness for both the event and the courtyard. One teacher noted that, increasingly, social issues are synonymous with environmental issues, so the pairing of green space with social awareness is logical. Other uses of the courtyard range from student initiatives to classroom rain gardens, but everywhere you look, student involvement is evident.

Ferrante’s ecology class designed and planted a rain garden and learned about its benefits, as well as runoff and biodiversity.

Students were responsible for choosing which plants to include and then planting them. One student recounted, “We planted everything out there. Everything including those big trees.” In future years, the ecology class will maintain the space and continue to use it as a learning tool. The art class has a designated area to create and display works. Encouraging additional teachers to hold classes in the space will expose more students to the courtyard and may inspire other areas of expansion.

Students have appreciated seeing their work blossom, from inception of the garden to planting to maintenance. Beyond the plants, the courtyard and these projects provide much needed in-person social activity time. One student said, “It’s my perspective that humans are social creatures and active creatures, and this is a great way to do that. Also doing something educational that benefitted the class and the people around us; it could spark something. Like, other schools could do something like this if they had the space.”

BENEFITS

The courtyard provides a space for learning, contemplation, and a connection to nature within the school. Since students have been involved in every step of the courtyard’s ongoing creation, they have a strong sense of buy-in. The project has provided them with agency, ownership and connection to their school and learning. Simply asking students about their hopes for the future of this space led to an enthusiastic discussion of different ideas ranging from a gazebo to a hot tub to simply eating more lunches and holding more classes outside. Although students only attend this school for four years, their work in the courtyard provides a sense of permanence and they hope to come back to see how their work has lasted. As one student noted, “Student input is very important because this is going to be here for future students.” By participating in the creation of the courtyard, students were able to participate in environmental action practices, such as identifying and investigating a locally relevant issue, planning and taking action on establishing green spaces, and understanding societal values and principles. In addition, the courtyard brought together the community in collaborating to raise funding, assemble plants, volunteer time, and hold community events in this space. The impacts of this project will continue to grow as more students and community members participate and use the space.

The partnerships formed with other organizations and individuals provided additional support, without which the project might not have succeeded. The Portland Trails School Ground Greening Coalition was the first to provide support for the project. They provided the funds that allowed Ferrante to dedicate her time to the project and also provided the architectural designers when the initial design proved to be prohibitively expensive. Parents were involved in the planning and coordination of the space, local businesses donated funds to make this project happen, and other companies encouraged employees to volunteer. For Earth Day, volunteers worked with the students for a week to expand the gardens. Additional support and funding came from the school board, fundraising, and remaining funds from the construction of the school. Ferrante attributes the design of the new courtyard as one of the greatest strengths of the program, “For example, this Tulip Project would not have happened without this other design.”

LESSONS LEARNED & NEXT STEPS

Creation of the project, finding adequate funding, and following through on plans, placed a great deal of pressure on Ferrante, who spearheaded the project. Without her work which ranged from finding an architect, to redesigning plans to fit a smaller budget, to finding adequate funding from local businesses, and identifying other partnerships, this project would not have been possible. As the benefits of the space became clear, an enthusiastic and willing administration also sped up the process. And as the gardens and individual projects continue to grow and develop, students and teachers will build on these firm relationships. Future plans include a food garden to connect to learning about food justice, issues surrounding food, and where food comes from. Additionally, encouraging students and teachers to make use of the space from the beginning of the school year will be important in continuing the connection of the students to the space and following through on its great potential.