In the fall of 2008, my daughter, Dana Clements, and Erika Rippeteau's son, Isaac, were involved in a gardening project in the small garden located at the southeast corner of Sheridan school.  They planted bulbs, and they had a fantastic time.  Erika and I volunteered to help that day, and afterward, as we were chatting, we found that we both wished that the kids could do more projects like that. Dana's preschool program at Montessori School for Young Children, and Isaac's, at Dimensions Education Programs, had strong outdoor education components. We wondered if a child-centered garden could support outdoor education at Sheridan.  We approached then principal, Mary Kanter, with the idea, and she was fully supportive.  We spoke to the members of the Sheridan Parent-Teacher Organization (PTO), and they were fully supportive, so we went ahead with the idea.

 

During the first year of the project, we worked with the Lower Platte South Natural Resources District (McKenzie Barry, Christina Hoyt), Nature Explore (Tina Reeble, a Sheridan mom), and Lincoln Public Schools (Scott Weiskamp, Mary Kanter) to create a plan for more than a garden... we were going to create an Outdoor Classroom.  The fundraising arm of the PTO, "Friends of Sheridan" (Tracy Sanford, a Sheridan mom) began fundraising efforts, and Erika and I began writing grants, to finance the first stages of the project.  (I had written grants in the past when I was a college professor, and Erica wrote grants for her job at the University of Nebraska Press). Our first completed project, in the spring of 2010, was the rain garden.  We received a grant from the City of Lincoln, and the folks at Campbell's Nursery installed it.  That generated a lot of excitement!

  

In the summer of 2010, we hired Erica's dad, Gary Kuebler, as our contractor.  He and his crew did the earthworks, and built the steps and retaining walls for the garden beds.  They finished that work by early July, so we recruited a group of Sheridan kids and parents to plant pumpkins and sunflowers.  The seeds grew! The kids loved them! We were a success! We then bought native plants from the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum, and many of the Master Gardeners volunteered their time and expertise to help the Sheridan kids plant the perennial beds. I recall that Kay Hesse (Sheridan Grandma), Jeff Krull (community volunteer), and Kathy French (UNL's Morrill Hall Education Director) were especially devoted.  

 

We had a lot of items to purchase for the space, so Kathy Sonderup (Sheridan mom and local business owner) acted as our purchasing agent. For example, she scoured the web, and found the best deal on picnic tables, and she figured out how to move the giant limestone boulders that she purchased from a former conference center on "O" St. to Sheridan.  We purchased supplies, and had Gary and his crew built new areas through the years as finances allowed (when I left the project in 2012, all structures except the "Tree House" climbing / crawling area had been completed).   

 

We needed more help with grant writing, so Susan Dahl (Sheridan mom and professional grant writer) joined us. As of 2012, we'd received grants from the Lower Platte South Natural Resources District, the City of Lincoln, Lowe's, Home Depot, the Cooper Foundation, the Nebraska Environmental Trust, Cabot Creamery, Welch's, the Kimmel Foundation, the National Gardening Association, and the Herb Society of America.

 

In 2010, Jodi Bellin volunteered to help as our volunteer coordinator.  Later, when Erica's role in the Outdoor Classroom decreased, due to her increased work commitments, Jodi stepped in to fill that void.  She took over the leadership role when I left.

 

Of course, we had incredible support from the Sheridan administrators, staff, and PTO.  I must make special mention of DeAnn Currin (Principal, who fully supported us, just as Mary Kanter had), LaVonne Hanlon, Media Specialist, (who was a great help with curriculum ideas for the Outdoor Classroom, and who always included the Outdoor Classroom in her Summer Reading Program), Lara Shaw, Art Specialist, (who was a champion of the connection between art and nature), Becky Ritterbush (retired teacher and the artist who painted the mural), Shari McCright, First-Grade Teacher (who loved teaching kids about plants, and who led the after-school Nature Club), Laura Keller, Music Specialist (who was a champion of the connection between music and nature) and Jennifer Doll (Sheridan mom, PTO treasurer, who helped us with financial details, and who made sure the bills got paid.)