Editor’s note: This is part of a regular series of articles written by Brunswick High School students interested in journalism. These students will be covering issues in their school and the local community, with guidance by a teacher and editor at The Times Record.

Brunswick’s youngest students are experiencing a new kind of learning — one that involves less sitting at desks and more climbing on logs, balancing on stumps and digging in the dirt.

Two elementary schools, Harriet Beecher Stowe and Kate Furbish, recently added nature-based playgrounds with outdoor classrooms designed to make learning more active, hands-on and connected to the environment.

At Kate Furbish Elementary, the playground was designed in collaboration with landscape architect Sashi Misner and a community design team. The design intentionally connects the school’s namesake, botanist Kate Furbish, to the site’s natural features. Similarly, Longfellow School’s new play space replaces traditional metal and plastic equipment with boulders, logs, native plants and winding paths that encourage movement and imaginative play.

“Natural materials support sensory stimulation, emotional and cognitive development, and creative play,” Misner said. “They offer the ability for change — seasonally and annually — and create loose parts, which are key elements to engage users beyond the point when they’ve mastered the equipment.”

District leaders view these projects as both educational and recreational. Superintendent Phil Potenziano said the Kate Furbish project was the product of a broad local effort to promote “creativity, problem-solving and physical activity through unstructured play.”

He summed up the district’s goal: Nature-based spaces should “support both learning and play,” foster environmental connections, and contribute to child development.

At Harriet Beecher Stowe Elementary (HBS), a classroom-focused initiative is already underway. HBS received a $250,000 Rethinking Responsive Education Ventures (RREV) grant from the Maine Department of Education to support a multipart project that includes a greenhouse with electricity, heat and water; new science kits and curriculum units; and nature-based play areas. The grant requires 80% of the funds to be spent directly on student experiences and emphasizes sustainability, which shaped how the project was planned.

School leaders describe the grant process as collaborative and teacher-driven. HBS staff completed a DOE-offered design-thinking course to develop the grant application. Teachers from every grade co-designed units with outside partners to ensure outdoor lessons meet academic standards and fit into the regular schedule.

The Cathance River Educational Alliance (CREA) provided curriculum support and professional development, helping teachers translate outdoor learning into lessons. Potenziano also highlighted local groups, such as the Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust’s Teens to Trails program. These collaborations shaped both playground features and the teaching methods behind outdoor classrooms.

Student input and accessibility were also key priorities. HBS leaders held student focus groups during planning. Students suggested more climbing features and equipment accessible to children with mobility challenges. Potenziano stressed that accessibility was built into the project, with input from general-education and special-education teachers to ensure the spaces serve “all students.”

Educators and advocates for outdoor learning point to many benefits.

“So much of kids’ lives is indoors, often on screens or sitting at desks … but that doesn’t provide the fresh air, sensory stimulation, physical movement, and feeling of freedom and curiosity and exploration that comes with being outdoors,” said Sara Rodgers, director of education at the Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust and CREA. She highlighted how natural play elements like stumps, logs and loose parts encourage open-ended play that fosters cooperation, creativity and problem-solving.

“When they’re working together to create a home for a sluggish-looking inchworm, they’re developing empathy,” she said.

She shared an example from “Forest Friday” sessions, where students transformed a stump into a collaborative play structure, keeping them engaged over several weeks.

Misner described the playground design as research-based and intentional. She emphasized that spreading play elements across the landscape, using local materials and native plants, supports varied developmental needs. Misner noted that natural materials provide “sensory stimulation” and “loose parts” that invite creative reuse, while the design’s flexibility allows children to invent games and adapt the space throughout the year.

School department leaders acknowledge challenges. Project timelines have slowed due to construction realities and shifting costs. HBS leaders talked about waiting for financing and implementing the project in phases. They also attended a DOE sustainability symposium to seek more funding for nature play features. The RREV grant’s sustainability requirements led to planning for ongoing upkeep, teacher stipends for coordination, and schedules involving classes in seasonal plant care and maintenance.

The impact so far is mostly based on observations but is very positive. Families surveyed through the grant expressed strong support for more outdoor learning. Students themselves shared positive experiences. Avery Tucker, a rising fifth-grader at HBS, described the nature-based site as “peaceful, calming and relaxing,” adding, “We learn in the greenhouse all the time.” The head gardener “Mrs. Kim is great and she teaches us about the plants and their history. She even lets us eat the green beans.” Her comment highlights how play and curriculum blend in these spaces, exactly what district leaders hope to sustain.

Brunswick’s approach is being evaluated and adjusted instead of being adopted all at once. School leaders emphasize shared responsibility among administrators, teachers, maintenance staff and community partners to keep outdoor learning practical, lasting and inclusive.

As the district and designers continue refining these spaces, the focus remains on broad educational goals like physical health, sensory development, environmental awareness and social-emotional growth, rather than just novelty. In Brunswick, the schoolyard is increasingly seen not as a leftover area for recess but as an extension of the classroom and a place for discovery.

Ian Wiley is a Brunswick High School student journalist.