February 2011

Mesquite Rotary’s Support Makes Nationally Recognized Project Possible

The Lawrence Homestead Outdoor Classroom in Mesquite, Texas, recently earned the national designation of a certified Nature Explore Classroom from the Arbor Day Foundation and Dimensions Educational Research Foundation. The space is a collaborative effort between Keep Mesquite Beautiful, Inc. and Historic Mesquite, Inc.  

The national certification places the Lawrence Homestead Outdoor Classroom in a select circle. It is the first certified Nature Explore Classroom located in Mesquite, first Keep Texas Beautiful Affiliate to be certified in the state of Texas and the first to be constructed at a historical park in the United States. The first Nature Explore Classroom is located in the Tree Adventure attraction at Arbor Day Farm, the Arbor Day Foundation’s interactive conservation venue in Nebraska City, Neb.

Nature Explore Classrooms are part of the Nature Explore program, a collaborative project of the Arbor Day Foundation and Dimensions Educational Research Foundation. Developed in response to the growing disconnect between children and nature, certified Nature Explore Classrooms are designed to help fill the void by educating young children using research-based principles for integrating nature into their daily learning.

The Mesquite Rotary Club donated $24,500 to underwrite the cost of restoring and reconstructing the Webb-Crownover log cabin for the Lawrence Homestead Outdoor Classroom project. The cabin is being used as a classroom and trailhead to allow visitors to step back in time to the 1840’s, and to allow them to imagine what life was like on the prairie in the 1800’s as they travel down a nature trail.  The cabin is one of the oldest buildings in the area, and was used in the 1840’s by Captain A.W. Webb of the Texas Volunteer Army, and his wife Lucinda Crownover.

The trail itself includes a compacted, yet natural path through the trees and grasses on the park grounds.  It includes study guides to allow walkers to identify the natural plants and animal life, and colorful signage to engage participants in thoughtful comparisons of yesterday to today.  The Outdoor Classroom trail is wheelchair accessible, and designed to be enjoyed by adults and children alike.  Regular field trip visits to the facility by Mesquite I.S.D. third graders began this school year.

“Keep Mesquite Beautiful, Inc. and Historic Mesquite, Inc. have taken an important leadership role in a profoundly needed initiative to connect young children with nature, setting a wonderful example for education centers across the country,” said Susie Wirth, Nature Explore outreach director for the Arbor Day Foundation. “Everyone at the Arbor Day Foundation and Dimensions Educational Research Foundation appreciates the commitment these two organizations have made to the Nature Explore program and to providing nature education opportunities for young children.”