A Recycling Grant Success Story

By Maria Kisyova
The Templeton Elementary School utilized their grant funds from TCSDs 2015
Recycling Grant Program to establish an outdoor environmental education area for students. This
learning area provides young minds with a wonderful opportunity to learn about plants,
composting, recycling and watersheds.
Teachers Krissy Lorz, Joe Kirschner and Gilda Zimmerling have been heavily involved
with the project. Krissy and Gilda worked hard on weekends and during the summer to prepare
the outdoor area for the 2015-16 school year. Gilda met with students and worked with them to
create decorative mosaics, which were made using repurposed tiles donated from Blue Heron
pools and repurposed plates donated from various sources. Joe has been active in developing
lessons with science standards such as garden mapping, plant observation and plant
identification. School counselor Kelly Meece gives some students movement breaks in the
outdoor learning area.

The outdoor learning area with mosaics created by students (using a combination of math and art) and plants
planted by students.

Students enjoy the learn by doing approach and love digging, using tools, and breaking
down compost. After a few classes outdoors, there is almost no need to provide them with
directions. Children receive leadership experience by recognizing what needs to be done in the
garden, designing posters for sales, packaging seeds, and running mini farmers markets. The
students take pride and ownership in their outdoor garden, inevitably showing it off to their
parents. Some students are part of the Green Team, which is a group of students with special
interest in recycling. Students in the Green Team take care of compost, encourage fellow
students to recycle, and teach them what can be recycled and how composting works.
 The Little Green Thumbs Garden, where students plant a wide variety of vegetables and flowers.

The school receives generous seed donations from Natures Touch and from parents.
There is no limitation to the types of plants students plant in the garden, so they get to learn
about a variety of different types of vegetation.
The elementary school has a greenhouse, and even a solar oven that Joe has used to make
kale chips. A majority of the fruits and vegetables harvested in the garden are given straight to
the cafeteria to be used for meals. Foods scraps then go straight into the compost. Talk about
sustainable eating!
 The newest hand-made mosaic created by Gilda Zimmerling.

The outdoor education area helps children learn about sustainability and become
knowledgeable about important environmental subjects from a young age.
According to Krissy and Joe, next step for the area is honing the connection between the
garden, cafeteria, and compost. They also hope to further improve sustainability, and potentially
include technology in the lesson plans.
Krissy, Joe and Gilda would like to extend a big thank you to all of the community
members involved with the program, from donating supplies to volunteering in the garden.