Columnist Paula Del Giudice: Outside classrooms clear the air

PAULA DEL GIUDICE has been an outdoors freelance writer, author and photographer for 13 years. Her column appears Wednesdays.

IT'S NOT hard to think about school as the summer begins to wane and the kids start getting bored. While I'm solidly supportive of strong programs to teach reading, math and science, I also enjoy the outdoors and know how many lessons about the basics can be taught there.

That's why it's terrific that some schools in the Las Vegas Valley, mostly spearheaded by enthusiastic teachers, are developing wildlife habitats and using them as outdoor "classrooms."

Outdoor classrooms are garden areas planted to accomplish whatever goals the teachers, students and parents have in mind.

In one local elementary school, a perennial garden was planted solely to attract butterflies. It doesn't take much space to plant the beautiful flowers that attract butterflies. Imagine the wonderment those children must have felt when the large, fluttery insects visited the flowers they so diligently planted.

Some outdoor classrooms teach other kinds of lessons. The lessons of hard work, as they till the soil; lessons of soil microbiology, as students learn what makes the best fertilizer; the miracle of how a seed knows which way to send its stem and leaves and which way to send its roots. Gardening provides many of those lessons, many of which are understood when they are experienced rather than read about in a detached way.

There are many other lessons the classrooms can teach. Students can learn about conserving water -- what plants thrive in a desert climate, and why? Students can learn about ecosystems -- what they are and what role we play in them.

They can learn about the wildlife that abounds in the desert, from songbirds to insects. By providing the things wildlife needs: food, water, cover and shelter for their young, outdoor classrooms can attract a number of desert denizens that are wonderful to observe.

One of the most impressive schoolyard habitats that I've seen in the desert was in Tucson, Ariz. It is in an "at-risk" high school in a depressed area. The teacher showed off his classroom with a tremendous amount of pride.

He talked about how some of the kids who had been getting into trouble because they had too much time on their hands got involved with building and tending to their outdoor classroom. As a result, they stayed off the streets and their grades improved.

In Las Vegas, there are organizations and agencies interested in working with schools to create outdoor classroom space.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service, the Las Vegas Valley Water District's Desert Demonstration Gardens, the Nevada Division of Wildlife and the Nevada Wildlife Federation are all resources for how to get started in such a program.

Schoolyard habitats can provide places for wildlife that have been reduced due to the large amount of development that's occurred in our valley. They also can help expand the range of some animals, like songbirds.

Children have a natural affinity for all that is wild. Learning firsthand and knowing that they made a difference are important lessons that can't be found in a textbook.

* ATTRACTING SONGBIRDS: There are many local experts happy to share their knowledge with local gardeners or teachers. Rita Schlageter of the Red Rock Audubon Society will lead a tour at the Desert Demonstration Garden to help visitors spot the variety of birds that make their homes there. She'll also let you know how to attract them to your garden. Her presentation is scheduled for for 9 a.m. Tuesday.

* MOONLIGHT HIKE: Bring your binoculars to Red Rock Canyon on Friday or Saturday night to explore the surface of the moon. Hikers also will search for bats and listen for other desert wildlife on this short (less than a mile) moonlight walk. It's a popular hike, so call the visitor center at 363-1921 to register.

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