An underutilized outdoor area located at the entrance of East Providence’s most populated elementary school could become a welcoming spectacle of outdoor education.

At their Oct. 20 meeting members of the East Providence School Committee heard a joint presentation from advocates representing Waddington Elementary School, its parent community, and an East Bay nonprofit that has gained increasing attention for their work creating outdoor learning spaces at public schools; all with the hopes of generating enthusiasm and support for an outdoor learning space to come to Riverside.

Beth Leonardo-Silva, a parent of two at Waddington, told the committee that the current outdoor conditions at the site in question — which would be located between the drop-off area and the main entrance to the building south of Glenrose Drive — had serious untapped potential.

“The conditions are really subpar,” she said. “I found it really concerning and, as an educator as well, it’s really important to me that the spaces where my children are learning reflect the value that we put on education.”

Leonardo-Silva said she came across Thrive Outside while looking into how they could improve the situation. Thrive Outside, based in Bristol, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to spreading the benefits of outdoor learning to students throughout the state.

“Childhood experts agree that connection to nature is actually a critical component of childhood development,” said Shannon Rozea, director of Thrive Outside, about the group’s mission. “Yet in the U.S. today, children spend on average 44 hours a week on a screen and as little at 10 minutes a day outside.”

Rozea said that the group utilizes three approaches to improving access to outdoor education, including through empowering teachers to incorporate outdoor learning into their curriculum, and by providing districts with complimentary outdoor programming concepts.

But the method to spread outdoor learning at Waddington would be via the group’s most comprehensive way: through a “schoolyard transformation project”, where existing land on school ground is converted into a thriving, intentional space with multiple features intended to allow for various types of interaction with nature to ultimately enhance the learning experience for students.

“What really struck me was … the ability to transform what is essentially dead, useless space into vibrant learning zones for children,” said Leonardo-Silva. “It’s a really holistic approach and really mindful of the way young students learn, and the way that that incorporates their social and emotional wellbeing as well.”

Thrive Outside has already built such a space at Melville Elementary School in Portsmouth, RI, Rockwell Elementary in Bristol, and are in the second phase of constructing one at Kickemuit Middle School in Warren. At KMS, Rozea spoke about the beneficial opportunities for inter-district collaboration. Students from the Mt. Hope High School construction program, for example, got experience through their help building a performing space, and vegetables grown within the zone’s community garden go directly to the school’s food pantry.

“That was truly a wonderful collaboration, which we hope to replicate,” Rozea said.

The space proposed for Waddington, at least in its early vision design, would include multiple components including rain gardens and swales to learn about stormwater, a boardwalk, a carousel common area, and multiple areas to interact directly with the local nature.

But it would come at a price

Karen Moore, Waddington’s principal, said that Leonardo-Silva approached her with the idea to work with Thrive Outside last February. They then met with the PTA, faculty members, and a small cohort of students to talk about the possibilities of the outdoor learning space. That led to a steering committee of families, staff members, and students to brainstorm ideas and start thinking about fundraising.

And fundraising will be an important part of the equation here.

Rozea provided some early estimates that the outdoor learning zone, as presented, could cost as much as $571,065. That includes an estimated $240,680 in “add/alternate” options which could be included or scrapped depending on how much money is actually available. Some of the work, she added, might be able to be done in-house by the city or through collaborations with student trade programs, as happened in Warren. Grants from the state and federal government are also something they would be applying for.

“We can also start looking into what could be donated; all those things,” Rozea said. “It is such a long-term investment. Because it’s not just the renovation of this space. It’s very much thinking about that curriculum development, that professional development, the way that we can be supporting and enhancing our children’s education for years to come.”

As for the Waddington school community, they aren’t waiting for anyone to come to the rescue with a big check. They already hosted a fundraiser for the project at The Guild in Warren, which was said to have been a big success.

“It was overflowing to the patio,” Leonardo-Silva said. “Kids were running around, parents were there. It was just this really positive statement to me of how much our community cares, and a foreshadowing, in a positive way, of what this space could look like for us moving forward.”

Rozea said that depending on how fundraising goes, the hope would be to break ground on the space in the summer of 2028. She said she was likewise encouraged by the enthusiastic reception from those within the Waddington school community.

“It was clear from the start that they truly will be a partner,” Rozea said. “And that’s what we look for always; the enthusiasm and the willingness to roll up the sleeves and do the work.”

The school committee, although they had no action to vote upon for this meeting, was also enthusiastic in their support.

“I think all in all we owe it to that community, we owe it to the teachers, and we owe it to the students that go into that building every day; almost 560 kids,” said at-large committee member, Anthony Ferreira, who said that some funds leftover from the bond used to build the new Martin Middle School and renovations to Waddington should go towards this cause. “We’re going to make this happen.”