PORT ANGELES — A renovated open-air classroom tucked in the trees in the northeast corner of Hamilton Elementary School’s campus will be formally unveiled Monday.
The ribbon-cutting at 1 p.m. Monday at the classroom at Hamilton Elementary School, 1822 W. Seventh St., in Port Angeles is open to the public.
More than 30 types of trees and shrubs create both a bucolic, peaceful place and prompt lessons on habitat.
The newly minted stage and benches form an area for students to study, hear presentations and find a quiet place to write, Principal Loren Engel said.
$5,000 grant
The outdoor classroom was renovated with the help of a $5,000 grant from Lowe’s Toolbox for Education Program.
The classroom was originally built in the 1980s by an Eagle Scout but had grown over to the point that it appeared to be just a grove of trees, Engel said.
“When I first got here, I didn’t even know it was here for a couple years,” Engel said.
It was originally built as a nature trail and place for students to learn about trees and bushes native to the area.
Two years ago, the Hamilton Elementary School Parent Teacher Organization submitted a proposal for the grant that the school received, said Carrie Walls, co-president of the PTO.
Since then, the group has worked toward having the area cleaned up and renovated, she said.
Local contractor helps
Port Angeles contractor John Kimmel, who owns J.K. Dirtworks Inc., has constructed a stage and new benches, cleared off the trails and spread new gravel during the past 10 days, Walls said.
“It is a beautiful trail with more than 30 different kinds of trees and shrubs,” Walls said.
“It will be great for the [National] Park Service to be able to come out and say, ‘Here are these different kinds of trees.’”
Engel said he also envisioned the area as a place for students to do descriptive writing.
Place to write
“Writing and describing the world around us is an important part of elementary school,” he said.
“This will be a great place for students to observe the seasons, watch them change, learn about native plants and also write about all of that.
“It will be a great learning experience.”
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Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladaily news.com.
