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Recreation Northwest

We promote outdoor recreation and bring people together to enjoy, preserve and improve the places where we play

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Outdoor Classroom

Native Plant Garden and Amphitheater

We are currently UNDER CONSTRUCTION. 
No, not the webpage. The actual outdoor space. 

Check out our Outdoor Classroom Site Plans! 

Siteplansp1 Siteplansp2

Outdoor Classroom Construction Timeline

we will (do our best to) update as we progress. 

Week One 

Week One – Outdoor Classroom Construction Timeline

Week Two

Week Two – Outdoor Classroom Construction Timeline

 

Week Three

Week Three – Outdoor Classroom Construction Timeline

 

Week Four 

Week Four – Outdoor Classroom Construction Timeline 2023

 

Week Five 

Week Five- Outdoor Classroom Construction Timeline 2023

 

Week Six

Week Six – Outdoor Classroom Construction Timeline 2023

Week Seven

https://www.recreationnorthwest.org/recreation-northwest/week-seven-outdoor-classroom-construction-timeline-2023/

(don’t know why this is like this.te)

Week Eight 

Week Eight – Outdoor Classroom Construction Timeline 2023

Week Nine  

Week Nine – Outdoor Classroom Construction Timeline 2023

Weeks 10 – 13 – Waiting for building permits. Office Work! 

Week 14 – Spring Break

Outdoor Classroom Background

This project is a partnership with Recreation Northwest and the city to create an Outdoor Classroom at the entrance to the Hundred Acre Wood. Amenities will include Native Plant & Invasive Species identification signs displayed in the existing Native Plant Garden. On the north side of the trail, an Amphitheater with public benches, a stone stage, and covered pavilion are in the process of being built during winter of 2023.

There are many formal groups that use Fairhaven Park trails and 100 Acre Wood urban forest for their outdoor activities and environmental education programs, including Recreation Northwest. There are also informal groups and individuals who utilize the available spaces to be outside. Having dedicated places for people to connect with one another and with nature is core to an outdoor education program approach. The use of our Rock Bench & Native Plant Garden area as meeting spaces demonstrate the community need and interest in dedicated space for small groups to gather in our parks.  

The most recent blackberry clearing will be used to host an Outdoor Amphitheater with public benches, a stone stage, and covered pavilion with access trails from both sides of the open space.

The primary purpose of the project is to transform our trail and boardwalk mitigation planting site into a public outdoor classroom for active and passive use for our community. The primary goal is to create an outdoor classroom learning environment with dedicated spaces and interpretive signage to connect the community to nature that is open to the public.

Our secondary goal is to reflect our Parkscriptions philosophy of the public-health benefit of spending time in nature to help serve as a pilot model for creating similar Outdoor Classroom projects in Bellingham Parks and our region.

 Recreation Northwest Outdoor Classroom Project Overview-Fairhaven Park (PDF)


Check out the Native Plant & Invasive Species Identification signs in our Native Plant Garden area. 

Read the complete Outdoor Classroom Project Overview (PDF) 

 

Outdoorclassroomhoritzbrown

Coreenconcept

There are many formal groups that use Fairhaven Park trails and 100 Acre Wood urban forest for their outdoor activities and environmental education programs, including Recreation Northwest. There are also informal groups and individuals who utilize the available spaces to be outside. Having dedicated places for people to connect with one another and with nature is core to an outdoor education program approach. The use of our Rock Bench & Native Plant Garden area as meeting spaces demonstrate the community need and interest in dedicated space for small groups to gather in our parks.  

Above is our first conceptual drawing from our volunteer Landscape Architect, Coreen Schmidt to bring these visions to life. 

 

Background. 

In December 2021, we hosted a Focus Group with fellow members of the Whatcom Coalition for Environmental Education (WCEE) who use Fairhaven Park. Led by Hannah Newell, WCEE, we received community input from representatives of Bellingham Parks, North Cascades Institute, and Wild Whatcom to help provide direction with planning for the needs of our outdoor education community. 

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Mailing Address:
Recreation Northwest
PO Box 2771
Bellingham, WA 98227

Recreation Northwest

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Recreation Northwest is a 501(c)3 charity. All donations are tax deductible to the full extent of the law. Our non-profit federal tax-exempt number is 46-1774882.

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