Ford Elementary School is located in Northwest Cobb County, one of the fastest growing areas of the region. It sits on 20 acres and is surrounded by a wooded buffer on all sides. The school has approximately 900 students. The mission of Ford’s EE program is to bring awareness of environmental issues such as habitats, pollution, and conservation of resources to the classroom by using Ford’s outdoor classrooms

Ford began its Environmental Program with one Kindergarten teacher and a 4’ x 4’ raised garden bed in 1995. After winning an Atlanta Journal-Constitution award in 1996, the program has grown to encompass every class and the grounds include a Children’s Garden, individual raised classroom beds, a Nature Trail, a Native Garden, aquatic features, amphitheaters and a raised outdoor classroom platform. Each spring, we have an Evening in the Garden celebration that brings the environmental program and the fine arts together.

The school’s focus has been on environmental education. An Earth Parent Program was implemented in 2001 consisting of parent volunteers conducting an environmental/science lesson for each class once a month. In 2008, the school became a Cobb County Green School at the Gold level for lessons taught in the classroom.

Beginning with the 08’-09’ school year, with the help of Keep Cobb Beautiful, a full recycling program will be put into place. The 5th Grade Student Council will be responsible for the program.

Age/Grade Level Served:
Kindergarten, 1st Grade, 2nd Grade, 3rd Grade, 4th Grade, 5th Grade

EE Programs:
Celebration or Special Event, Committee to Support School-wide EE Efforts, Environmental Service Learning Projects, Field Trips and/or Outreach Programs for Students, Professional Learning Opportunities for Teachers, Teaching Materials or Kits for Teachers

Earth Parent Program: Earth Parent volunteers are recruited at the beginning of each school year to teach 6-7 environmental/science lessons in their child’s class. These lessons correlate with the GPS and are an extension of what the students are learning in class. The volunteers are provided training in how to conduct an outdoor lesson and are encouraged to attend the Outdoor Classroom Symposium in the fall for additional training. Many of our Earth Parents return year after year which helps provide consistency in the program.

Evening in the Garden: Student artwork is displayed throughout the garden while student musicians from Ford, middle and high school play during the evening. Student poetry readings are held in the wooded amphitheater while environmental lessons are showcased. The evening ends with students from all grades performing an environmental related program of song and dance.

Service Learning Projects:
Except for the Children’s Garden, other gardens, trails, and outdoor classrooms have been Eagle Scout Projects. Local scout groups fill bird feeders, adopt garden areas, and provide litter patrol for the school. Each year, we have several 5th Grade classes’ plant vegetable gardens for Plant a Row for the Hungry. In the summer of 2007, a Service Project camp at the Northwest Cobb YMCA built a new outdoor classroom in the Children’s Garden and is handicap accessible.

Recycling: Beginning in the 2008-2009 school year, the Student Council will oversee the recycling program at Ford.

Earth Day Activities: School wide Earth Week activities have included litter prevention and air quality awareness, a contest for Earth Day Posters and Recycled Art, and coloring Earth Day pictures on Publix grocery bags for Publix to use on Earth Day.

Partnerships: Ford participates in a partnership between the Chattahoochee Nature Center, Cobb Cty Parks, and Cobb Cty Schools that provides 5 environmental lessons per year for 3rd and 5th graders.


Green and Healthy School Features and Activities:
Composting, Litter Prevention, Natural Learning and Play Area, Recycling (1-2 material types), Water Pollution Prevention, Wildlife Habitat Restoration

Ford is a NWF Certified School Yard Habitat. We have pollinator and butterfly gardens and a nature trail with a stream that runs through the area. We have a tracking box near the trail that is used to identify the different varieties of wildlife in the area. All materials from the gardens are composted in bins made by an Eagle Scout. We use the compost in the spring in our classroom beds. Through Earth Week Activities we have stressed the importance of litter prevention. We currently recycle ink cartridges and cell phones. Beginning in 2008, the school will start a recycling program with the help of Keep Cobb Beautiful. There are several 4th and 5th grade Earth Lessons that deal with water pollution and erosion and what to do to prevent them. With the drought conditions, we started collecting water from the air conditioners on the portable units on the grounds to help water our gardens.

Outdoor Classroom Features:
Amphitheater, Bird Feeding Station, Compost Bin or Area, Garden - Butterflies / Insect Pollinators, Garden - Hummingbird Pollinators, Garden - Special Needs / Accessible, Garden - Theme, Garden - Vegetables or Herbs, Native Plant Landscape, Nature Trail, Pavilion, Gazebo or other Sun Shelter, Picnic Tables, Benches, or other Study Sites, Stream, Creek, or Pond, Sundial, Supplemental Water Source for Wildlife, Trees, Forest or Arboretum, Weather Station

Ford is fortunate to have many Outdoor Classrooms. They are used for a variety of things, from Earth lessons, teacher lessons, journal writing, art lessons, and quiet reading time.

Children’s Garden: This is our main garden. It contains a butterfly and a pollinator habitat, a small pond, a sensory garden, and the individual Kindergarten beds. In the spring, the Kindergarten classes choose a story book and base the theme of their gardens around it. As the school has grown, we’ve extended these gardens to include the pond and the entrance garden. Some of the stories that have been used are, In the Tall, Tall Grass, Tops and Bottoms, Peter Pan, Pooh’s Sweet Dream, Green Whilma, Curious George and the Pizza and Hello Goodbye Window. Also in the Children’s Garden is the raised platform outdoor classroom. This classroom gives the teachers a place to conduct a lesson in the Children’s area where the students can be seated in one place. The west side of the school contains the 1st Grade Individual garden beds. These gardens are planted as butterfly habitats.

Nature Trail: The trail has several elevation changes and has a wide variety of trees and wildflowers. It’s also home to a variety of animals including hawks and owls. This area contains picnic tables, an amphitheater, and a platform overlooking the stream. It also has a tracking box.

Native Garden and Arboretum: The Native Garden has a pond and contains plants native to Georgia. The Arboretum was part of the Adopt a Tree program when the Children’s Garden was being built and contains trees native to Georgia.

Amphitheaters: Besides the nature trail amphitheater, there is a small wooded one next to the playground, and the hillside one that overlooks the playground.


Recognition for Excellence in EE:
2008, First Place, 9th District GA PTA for Education Enrichment for Environmental Education
2005, Second Place, Scotts Classroom Gardener Award to Catherine Padgett, Ford Teacher
2005, VIVA Gardens Most Creative Design Award for one of our Kindergarten raised beds
2005, 2002, 2001, 1st Place, 9th Distract GA PTA for Environmental Education
2003, 1997 Outdoor Classroom Grant awarded by the EEA of GA
1996, Atlanta Journal Constitution Honor Teacher Award to Catherine Padgett, Ford Teacher
1996, Kroger Good Neighbor Award for Excellence to Catherine Padgett for establishment of the Children’s Garden
1996, Regional Third Runner Up President’s Environmental Youth Awards Program
NWF School Yard Habitat Certificate #14460

Presentations of EE Program
2008, Cobb County Master Gardeners Teacher Training
2007, Regional Atlanta Recreation Forum hosted by US Forest Service
2006, Outdoor Classroom Council Symposium
2006, GA Science Teachers Conference
1996, Georgia Leadership Academy

EE Strengths and Needs:
We think we have a unique program at Ford. Through the implementation of the Earth Parent Program, we are involving students, teachers and parents in hands-on learning experiences which enhance the overall education of our students, especially in the sciences and environment. Our program brings about an awareness which leads to an appreciation of our natural resources by preserving and respecting them.

Our Outdoor Classrooms are outstanding. There are many places to take the students to do all kinds of things from environmental lessons to art, reading, and journaling. By having these spaces available and using them with the Earth Lessons, the staff has become comfortable using the outdoor classrooms for their own activities.

Now that our environmental education program is easily sustainable, our biggest need is for the school to become greener in its recycling and conservation methods. Keep Cobb Beautiful will be helping in the recycling area. We’ve made an effort to educate our students and staff on the need to conserve water and how to do it at home, but the school could be more efficient at the facilities level in conserving water.

Community Partners in EE:
Cobb Cty Parks, Rec and Cultural Affairs, Chattahoochee Nature Center, and Cobb Co Schools - Ford was selected as a pilot school for the initial EE program consisting of 3 in school lessons and 2 field trips for 3rd graders. The program has expanded to include 5th graders.
Keep Cobb Beautiful – After becoming a Gold School its first year as a Green School, Ford has asked KCB to help start a recycling program at the school.
Pike Nurseries – Ford was instrumental in starting the Pike Greenback Program for schools.
Lost Mountain Nursery – Worked with the school to help design the original Children’s Garden and has given discounts on plant materials over the years.
Northwest Cobb YMCA – Built the newest Outdoor Classroom in the Children’s Garden
Partners in Education – A Cobb Cty Chamber of Commerce program that partners local businesses with schools. Ford has many partners and they support the EE Program by providing in kind donations for hosting community events in the gardens.


EE Professional Organization Membership:
GA - Environmental Education Alliance (EEA) of Georgia

Ecoregion(s)
Piedmont (Ecoregion 45)

Riverbasin(s)
Coosa River Basin