Most botanic gardens, nature centers, and related nonformal education centers offer a variety of educational programs relevant to outdoor classrooms, including staff development, student field trips, hands-on curricula and lesson plans, and, of course, expert advice, assistance and ideas regarding plants and design.

Other schools in your area may also be valuable sources of information and ideas. There is no central listing of schools with outdoor classrooms, although many Georgia schools do have outdoor classrooms, nature trails, gardens, and other landscape features they use to provide hands-on educational opportunities to their students. Some organizations that may be able to help you find outdoor classrooms in your area are: the county extension service; the Georgia Forestry Commission; the Georgia Parent Teacher Association, the Georgia Wildlife Federation; and the Geosphere Environmental Education Training Center.

Atlanta Botanical Garden
(404) 876-5859 x 226
Contact: Education Department

Thirty acres of outdoor display gardens (Japanese garden, herbs, bog garden, vegetables and more), a woodland with certified wildlife habitat; the Fuqua Conservatory with rare tropical and desert flora as well as a poison dart frog exhibit. Also sponsors the Plant Hotline (404) 888-GROW, which you can call 24-hours a day (voice mail) with questions for master gardeners; field trips and Plantmobile.

Bass Recreation Center
(404) 658-6381
Contact: Judy Dorman

Urban Tree House; "Art Using Natural Materials" program; assists with ideas and building.

Callaway Gardens
(706) 663-2281
Contact: Education Department

A 2,500-acre display garden; butterfly center; vegetable garden; trails; and lakes.

Chattahoochee Nature Center
(770) 992-2055
Contact: Madeline Reamy

A 127-acre environmental education center; guided nature hikes; wildlife programs; live animal exhibits; guided canoe floats down the Chattahoochee; summer camps and after-school programs for kids ages 4 through 11.

Davidson-Arabia Mountain Park
(770) 593-5864
Contact: Mary Terry

Environmental curriculum; animal care and gardening information; nature center development.

Dunwoody Nature Center
(770) 394-3322
Contact: Deron Davis

Pre-k through 8th grade classes can explore the meadow and trails of Dunwoody Park for hands-on environmental learning experiences with DNC educators. Field visits are academically-based and correlated with Georgia QCCs.

Fernbank Science Center
(404) 378-4311
Contact: Georgann Schmalz

Field visits for hands-on environmental learning; Schoolyard Wildlife Habitats Workshop for teachers; on-site school grounds consultations for DeKalb County schools.

Georgia's Stone Mountain Park
(770) 498-5600

A 3,200 acre park that is home to many rare and endangered plant and animal species; wildlife trails; outdoor nature classes.

Hightower Educational Forest
Dawson County Unit of the Georgia Forestry Commission
(706) 216-2713

A 142-acre mountain-side educational forest; programs on soils, trees, water conservation and forestry practices (correlated with Georgia QCCs).

Outdoor Activity Center
(404) 752-5385

A 26-acre, 200 year old nature preserve; classes on conservation and ecology; research library. The center also operates the 134-acre Cascade Springs Nature Preserve, an area with a beautiful waterfall and springs about three miles away from the center.

State Botanical Garden of Georgia
(770) 542-6156

Display gardens, educational programs. With the Garden Club of Georgia, sponsors the GardenEarth program. Also offers staff development seminars and participates in the Georgia Endangered Plant Stewardship Network (a school site endangered plant propagation project, begun in 1996). Through this project, your students propagate and care for unusual, rare, threatened, and endangered wildflowers on your school site. An educators workshop (2 SDUs) is required prior to joining the network -- workshop fees are covered by a grant from The Eisenhower Plan for the Improvement of Math and Science Education.

ZooAtlanta
(404) 624-5693
Contact: Laura Bryant/Angela Tolbert

Teacher kits; ZooMobile and Wild Encounters.