Morse High School is putting the finishing touches on its new outdoor learning space, which will host classes and afterschool programs.

The aim is to create an inviting space for teachers to bring their classes outside, according to Eric Varney, Morse High School principal. Varney said the primary phase of building the outdoor learning space is expected to be unveiled at a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Oct. 23. The space includes a performance stage and amphitheater, a greenhouse to grow fruits and vegetables, and a 115-foot raised garden bed for pollinators.

“The hope is that we have this great resource for people to be outside with their classes or with their clubs,” Varney said.

The greenhouse, which cost around $14,000 to build, was funded through private donations. The afternoon Rotary Club of Bath donated $10,000 from its golf tournament to help fund the greenhouse, and the fraternal organization Masonic Temple gave the school $2,500. The Biosophical Institute located in Bath also pitched in an undisclosed amount, and an additional $10,000 was donated by the Sunrise Rotary Club to build the raised garden beds.

The American Rescue Plan funds of around $90,000 paid for the outdoor amphitheater, seating, walkways, materials used by the carpentry students, electrical wiring, and a heating system from the Bath Tech residential electrical program along with the help of heating and cooling technician contractor Alex Crosby.

The stage, which Bath Tech carpentry students are building, is expected to host concerts for the school’s rock ‘n’ roll ensemble and a theater program for smaller outdoor performances. The stage could also serve as a venue for outdoor movie nights.

Morse High School will take out the ninth-grade class for Community Service Day on Oct. 12 to help plant the new garden under the direction of Carolyn Nichols, the science department chairperson and biology teacher, and Amber McGowen, the school counselor.

“Going from our old school, we did not have that ability to go outside so much,” said Charlie Bingham, Morse High School physical education teacher. “Now, people walk outside all the time, and I think that is the beauty of it in understanding what is around us and what we can do with the natural systems that are here.”

Bingham is involved with the Unified Special Education program at Morse High School, which provides life skills to people with developmental disabilities. These students are matched with student mentors and work together in the classroom.

“Once they get out of here, what do they do?” Bingham said. “What do they do as adults? So one of the goals is to create a program where they have these skills growing fruits and vegetables where we can sell them back to our local schools.”

Morse High School plans to sell fresh fruits and vegetables at farmers markets on the first Tuesday of every month. If there’s an additional surplus, the fruits and vegetables can be given to the food bank or the school’s cafeteria.

Bingham said another goal is to get adults involved with the greenhouse over the summer. The greenhouse’s indoor garden will be vertical so the school can use as much of the space as possible.

“It would be great to have a field trip for the life skills program from Woolwich to come up here and see what the gardens look like and what the bee hive looks like,” Bingham said.

When the new Morse High School was built a few years ago, school officials worked with the architects to include a bee apiary location on campus, which is of high value in teaching all the aspects of science through the bee yard. One of those lessons is environmental practices through the pollinator garden, perfect for a new class called “Plants and Pollinators.”

Nichols estimates there will be over 200 pounds of honey for the bee club at the high school, with students involved in the extraction process learning how to extract honey wearing the 30 bee suits. Morse High School sells the honey, and the money goes back into the school’s programming.