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Montgomery Parks recently opened the doors to its new SEED classroom — which stands for Sustainable Education Every Day. The modular learning space is at Black Hill Regional Park, in Boyds, Maryland.

“We basically turned the classic Joni Mitchell song, ‘Big Yellow Taxi,’ on its head, ripping up the pavement at an old maintenance yard and creating a paradise for learning,” says Jennifer Scully, who came up with the idea for Montgomery Parks’ SEED Classroom while managing Montgomery Parks’ Black Hill Discovery Center. The impetus was a shortage of classroom space at the discovery center, which is visited by an estimated 35,000 people each year.

Addressing the Need

“The 25-person auditorium was falling short of the demands. We were being inundated with requests for school field trips,” says Scully.

Maryland has an environmental literacy requirement for high school graduation, and schools look to parks departments like Montgomery Parks to provide hands-on learning opportunities to meet this requirement.

Scully first considered adding a yurt adjacent to the center, but the site work was too costly. That’s when she learned about the SEED Classroom at the Phipps Conservatory in Pittsburgh and decided to visit with her then-6-year-old son. “Everything inside the building was exposed, and seemed to come alive when we opened the door,” says Scully.

Unfinished Business

SEED Classrooms are intentionally unfinished, providing students with a close-up view of the many systems that support the classroom and how they work.

“The inside of the building isn’t like most buildings,” says Andrew McCarthy, Montgomery Parks SEED Classroom manager. “You’re not greeted with drywall and the smell of fresh paint. The building strips off the excess to the smell of freshly cut wood. All the little things that are out of sight and out of mind in most buildings are on display in the SEED Classroom. This is all by design.”

At the Black Hill SEED Classroom, a section of one of the walls is left open to showcase the building’s insulation. The plumbing and electrical systems are also exposed, and a monitor displays the electricity savings. The classroom includes a rainwater cistern, a living plant wall, a composting toilet and solar panels. It functions as a net-zero living lab space, which means the building produces all the water and power necessary to function.

The SEED Classroom was made possible through generous donations to the Montgomery Parks Foundation, the nonprofit arm that cultivates financial support for park projects. “We are so grateful to the many donors who supported this project — including The Friends of Black Hill and The Friends of Ten Mile Creek,” says Katie Rictor, executive director of the Montgomery Parks Foundation. “The Montgomery Parks Foundation exists to support special projects like the SEED Classroom, and we are thrilled to see this unique place come to life.”

Green Mountain Energy Sun Club provided significant financial support. “Our Sun Club grants are designed to promote sustainability and support important causes in the community,” says Johnny Richardson, program manager of Green Mountain Energy Sun Club. “The addition of the 6.5kWh solar array and rainwater capture system allows the SEED Classroom to meet net-zero goals and serve as a hands-on teaching tool for children.”

Come Together!

As the funding for the classroom came together, park and recreation staff from a variety of disciplines realized they would need to work collaboratively. The team included engineers, architects and landscape architects, naturalists, electricians, and heavy equipment operators.

“Building the SEED Classroom turned out to be a great group project for staff across the department and gave them the opportunity to get to know and understand what their peers do,” says Miti Figueredo, director of Montgomery Parks. “It is a privilege to manage a parks department with so many talented people working together to help educate the next generation of environmental stewards.”

The SEED Classroom will be used for students of all ages. “The classroom is conveniently located close to a variety of park amenities, like creeks and trails, so we can bring what we learn from the hands-on experiences back into the classroom,” says McCarthy.

Students will also learn how to analyze graphs and charts from the output of the solar array to calculate usage rates and compare them at different times of the year to see the impact of seasonal changes.

Kara Constantine’s son goes to the nature preschool program at the Black Hill Discovery Center. “I love the new SEED Classroom,” Constantine says. “I hope it inspires visitors to think about our own part in creating a sustainable future, starting with what we can do at home.... I think the many kids who enjoy the new space will recognize the connection between how we live indoors and its impact on the environment. That awareness sets the foundation for them to become good stewards and champions of our Earth.”

Melissa Chotiner is Media Relations Manager at Montgomery Parks.