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CASE STUDIES

The Naturalized Playground

WEXFORD ACADEMY
LANSING, MICHIGAN

PROJECT SUMMARY

Wexford Montessori Academy is a public, K-8 Montessori school in Lansing, Michigan.  During the 2014–15 and 2015–16 school years, students set out to reestablish animal habitat on their playground, which includes a vernal pool, and to make plans for an undeveloped woodlot adjacent to the school.  After researching various options, students worked with local community partners and their teachers to lay new trails, clean rubbish, remove invasive species, and replace them with native plants.

The project was supported by the GRAND Learning Network, one of nine regional hubs that comprise the Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative.

“Place-based education is the way teaching and learning is supposed to be—stimulating, lively, purposeful, relevant, educational, and connected to the real world.”

Dr. Nancy Lubeski
Principal, Wexford Montessori Academy