Heather Trindle, a second-grade teacher at Elkhorn Elementary School in the Excelsior Springs School District, has turned her dream of creating an outdoor learning space into reality. This project, dubbed the Elkhorn Outdoor Learning Lab, aims to provide students with a unique educational experience that promotes engagement, problem-solving, creativity, and social skills—all in the natural environment.
Trindle shared the many benefits of outdoor learning, noting how it helps students develop essential skills and fosters a love of learning. She also highlighted the social and emotional well-being benefits, such as reducing stress and boosting self-esteem, which come from spending time in nature. Also, the lab serves as a vital tool for environmental education, instilling in students a sense of responsibility for the natural world.
During the dedication ceremony, Trindle shared how a lesson on the engineering design process inspired the project. She and her students identified the lack of a dedicated outdoor learning space as a problem, leading them to brainstorm and design plans for the lab. Trindle turned to Pinterest for inspiration, created a design, and then refined it with input from her students.
Ms. Trindle’s 2nd-grade class officially broke ground on the learning lab last May. Over the summer, with the support of numerous donors and community members, the project became a reality. Trindle expressed deep gratitude to the many contributors who made the project possible, including the Education Foundation, PNC Concrete Construction, The Beehive Masonic Lodge, Ray Rocks Offroad Resort, the SOS parent group, Kayla Nibarger with Kayla’s Kupcakes, R&L Shoemaker Towing, and Richard Covert from Elkhorn’s maintenance department. She also thanked her family for their unwavering support in bringing the vision to life.
Contributors Larry Lanning and Steve Hanchette from the Beehive Masonic Lodge #393 in Lawson, Missouri, attended the ceremony. Lanning explained that their lodge, in partnership with the Masonic Home of Missouri’s Creating-A-Partnership (CAP) Program, helped raise funds for the project. The CAP program matches funds raised by local lodges, allowing Beehive’s $1,000 contribution to grow to $3,000, which was used to purchase lumber for the lab.
So far, the lumber has been used to build dedicated raised garden beds for each grade. Trindle is also collaborating with the Excelsior Springs Area Career Center to complete additional projects for the lab, including picnic tables and learning benches with built-in easels.
Ms. Trindle hopes that the success of the Elkhorn Outdoor Learning Lab will inspire the other two elementary schools in the Excelsior Springs School District to consider developing similar outdoor learning spaces. Trindle believes that the benefits of outdoor education are too significant to be limited to just one school, and her wish is for all students in the district to have access to these enriching, nature-based educational environments.
With the ribbon cut, the Elkhorn Outdoor Learning Lab is now open, providing students with a space that will inspire curiosity and a passion for learning for years to come.
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