The goal of the constructed wetland of the Alewife Reservation in Cambridge, MA, completed in 2013, is to clean storm water before it enters Boston Harbor. For more information see City of Cambridge Public Works, The Friends of Alewife Reservation Brochure and The Friends of Alewife Reservation Website.

Many teachers consider outdoor education important because it provides students a chance to take what they’ve learned in books and compare that to what they see in the world around them. In Boston, the Boston School Yard Initiative has been instrumental with bringing outdoor classrooms to schools across the City since 1995! In my town, most of the schools have been able to incorporate Science Gardens on the school grounds. This spring, the third grade classes study the history of colonial times culminating in a full-day event called Colonial Day. One activity the students enjoy as part of Colonial Day is to learn about the importance of the home garden during colonial times; an introduction of plants used for medicine, for the home and for food was shared.

Starting in January 2013, I began teaching grading courses to undergraduate and graduate students at the Boston Architectural College in Boston. The courses I taught, “Grading I: Landforms, Earthwork and Grading” and “Grading II: Principles of Hydrology and Stormwater Management” presented students with both technical and aesthetic considerations of moving earth and making landscapes. An important part of the teaching was taking students outside the classroom so they could see real-life applications of issues discussed in class.