Environmental Studies Program

Our Environmental Studies Magnet provides our students the opportunity to continue their regular classroom education in an outdoor setting. On our school grounds, we have several outdoor classrooms, a working pond, raised garden beds, and native plants. Teachers are able to take students outdoors to enhance their lessons and provide an authentic setting for many science experiences.

We partner with numerous facilities and programs to provide experiences that directly connect to our curriculum. Our partner agencies include the following:

• Louisville Nature Center
• Blackacre State Nature Preserve
• The Parklands
• The Louisville Zoo
• Oxmoor Farm—The Food Literacy Project
• Mammoth Cave
• Red River Gorge
• Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest
• Jefferson Memorial Forest

One of the highlights of these partnerships includes the second grade’s partnership with Oxmoor Farm and the Food Literacy Project. Oxmoor Farm is a working urban farm, right in the heart of Louisville. At the farm, students are able to experience a true farm-to-table experience. They travel to the farm twice during the school year, planting seeds, watching the plants mature and develop, and finally harvest the vegetables and fruits that they’ve grown. They learn how to use what they’ve harvested each time they visit to make a healthy meal, such as salad, bread, and even a healthy pizza!

Another signature experience happens in third and fourth grades. In partnership with Louisville ECHO program students visit Jefferson Memorial Forest three times in spring, winter and fall. Students engage in a variety of hands on activities, and multiple hikes each time they visit the forest. Fourth graders even have an extended overnight camping visit, complete with fireside s’mores.

Lastly, third through fifth graders have the opportunity to participate in our after-school Environmental Club or Field to Fork programs. These after school clubs partner with Yum! Brands and Oxmoor Farms. The students who participate in this program learn about the environment, ways to help keep the earth clean, and even participate in service-learning projects around the Portland neighborhood. Students will also plant seeds to learn sustainable ways to feed themselves, and have the chance to cook what they have grown. Students will learn a new recipe each week and get to bring home fresh produce to share with their families.