The primary goal for establishing a nature trail at Fairville Friends School has been to create opportunities for children to discover and appreciate the many wonders of nature that are right before us within our 2 ½ acres of play yards. The Nature Trail promotes a more in-depth appreciation for and understanding of the specific trees, shrubs, and plants on the school property, the four seasons, and the effects of weather.

Fairville’s property is divided into several separate play spaces: the Gazebo Yard, the Chime Yard, the Taxi Yard, and the Farm Yard. The Taxi Yard holds our Children’s Garden, a 500 square foot space where we plant vegetables, herbs, and flowers with the children. This school year we added a new fence and gate and raised beds to the Garden. During the summer of 2007 we added a very large addition to our 100-year-old farmhouse school building. Prior to the construction we relocated some plants and shrubs around the property. With our Friends Council Nature Trail Grant we funded the relocation of some plants, and added a bat house, a butterfly house, a toad house, and several new birdhouses. This spring we engaged artist and teacher, Erika Temple, to create and draw a map of our play yards, outlining a trail around and through the different yards. A local nursery, Waterloo Gardens, provided at no charge a site map for us to work from on which they identified many of our plantings and trees. This site map provided a guide for Erika as she created the map. The map has been professionally printed for all in our community to use and enjoy. It displays seventeen markers that coincide with numbered stakes around the school grounds. The reverse side of the map lists the numbered markers with the name of each item (plant, tree, etc.) and includes a brief description and a few facts about the item. This simple map is colorful, fun, and user-friendly for teachers and young children. Our intention is to encourage exploration of and increased appreciation for the exquisite resources we enjoy on our school property and to thereby instill a sense of stewardship among all.

We are grateful to Friends Council for providing the funds to make the Nature Trail a reality. With the funds we have been able to, not only create and reproduce the map, but to also add additional natural interest to our yards in the way of the bat, bird, butterfly, and toad houses. The remainder of funds not yet spent will be used to continue to enhance our Children’s Garden, add additional bird and butterfly houses to the grounds, and to replenish our supply of maps as needed.