Staff member 1, a school staff member, said the school secured a grant through the New Albany Education Foundation to create an outdoor learning space for students.

The outdoor classroom was designed "to allow the space to be more involved with learning and the school community," Staff member 1 said, adding it gives students a break from being inside four walls and "the opportunity to breathe some fresh air, to get some sunshine, to move about a little bit more." The staff member said the change has enabled teachers to get students outside more.

Staff member 2, a school staff member, said they were surprised by how many students wanted to help care for the space. "I've had a lot of kids ask if they can help me refill the bird feeders, plant flowers, water. They really have taken on the job of caring for this space and taking care of this space," Staff member 2 said.

Both staff members described the outdoor classroom as a different environment that "would provide some of our students with the opportunity to kind of, like, reset their day," Staff member 1 said. No dollar amount or other funding details for the grant were specified in the remarks.

Discussion in the meeting focused on the grant-funded project's educational uses and student involvement; there were no formal votes or policy actions recorded on the topic in the provided transcript excerpts.

School staff described the space as already being used for hands-on activities and caretaking by students and said they plan to continue using it as a classroom alternative.