Nanuet School District Creates New Innovative Outdoor Programs at Outdoor Education Center

On Friday, October 10th, Senator David Carlucci visited the Nanuet Outdoor Education Center, along with Superintendent Mark McNeill and Assistant Superintendent Meredith Fox, to observe new programs happening at the Outdoor Education Center. The programs are designed to teach students the importance of agriculture and the idiosyncrasies of marketing and selling a product.

Senator David Carlucci said, “I am honored to be a part of building these programs to teach students critical life skills outside of a classroom setting. Having our students create a successful product from start to finish will give our kids the confidence they need to succeed in a global economy.”

Today the officials observed as students planted peas and radishes as part of the school’s new Environmental Innovation Project. The seeds were planted in raised gardening beds, purchased by the grant, that give students with disabilities the opportunity to garden at their height level. The students also worked to create a marketing plan to sell the strawberry jam that they previously grew as part of a Summer Enrichment Program which was then turned into jam and placed into jars.

Superintendent McNeill expressed his happiness with the program as well, saying, “I would like to thank Senator Carlucci for his support of our vision for the Outdoor Education Center, we are now able to expand the program even further and provide students with increased opportunities to be fully emerged in hands-on learning while also collaborating with one another, the environment, and their community”

Meredith Fox, Assistant Superintendent said, “In a time when kids spend a lot of their time indoors connected to technology, it is truly heartwarming and encouraging to see our students outdoors connecting with nature. Research proves that engagement with nature is essential for a child’s healthy physical, social, and emotional development. Our job as educators is to prepare students for a world that will present them with complex environmental and social problems.

The expansion of learning beyond the four walls of the classroom in Nanuet allows for students to collaborate with their peers and become innovative thinkers and entrepreneurs so they are ready to approach these problems when they leave us.”