Dear Friends and Cole School Families,
We would like to take this opportunity to fill you in on the progress of our Conservation Education Center located behind the Cole School and the adjacent Hatch Pond.
Thanks to widespread community support, our Outdoor Classroom is beginning to take shape! We have spent countless hours consulting with the South Shore Science Center and the Massachusetts Audubon Society on how to best use this land. Just behind the Cole School, our Outdoor Classroom focuses on a beautiful garden plan generously donated by Seoane Landscape that defines a bird sanctuary, complete with houses and feeders, which the Glennon Family has kindly donated, a bird bath, a butterfly garden, benches, and stone paths. Also featured will be 6 raised-bed gardens built by an Eagle Scout, a greenhouse and trellis currently being built by the Norwell High School students, and a composting machine for the children to participate in hands on learning. The Girl Scouts are in the process of writing a manual on the recycling process and have applied for a grant to pay for the composting machine. In addition, a committee of teachers is creating and collecting materials to be used with the outdoor classroom relative to each grade and curriculum.
The Hatch Pond Area will feature boardwalks and paths to bring you through various parts of the natural area complete with informational stations along the way eventually leading to a platform along the water to take water samples and to use as a viewing area. There will also be a “school class” area that will offer bench seating arranged as a theater in the round. The Micciantuono Family has kindly offered the labor to build these benches. Steve Ivas our Water Commissioner and environmental contractor and Abby Childs, a local wetland scientist, volunteered their services for the wetland flagging and structure placements. McKenzie Engineering of Norwell has offered us a discounted fee to survey the land and assist in filing the notice of intent with the town of Norwell. The culmination of creative ideas, community spirit, a generous PTO, a supportive steering committee, and most of all an encouraging and accommodating Principal have put us well on our way to creating an exciting Outdoor Classroom!
On March 9th at 8:00 p.m. at Town Hall, we will be presenting a proposal to the Town of Norwell Community Preservation Committee to ask for funding assistance with our project. We welcome and appreciate your attendance at this meeting to show support and strengthen our chances of success.
Also, we are always looking for volunteers to help us with this worthwhile project. Please let us know if you would be willing to donate time, labor, resources, or materials to this project by completing the bottom portion of this letter. If you cannot help at this time a letter of support before March 9th would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
Cole School Council and Cole Steering Committee
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