The outdoor projects program at University School is designed to teach students about the environment through various projects done both on campus and in nearby areas. This is possible because of the unique campus we have here at University School that provides natuaral spaces and resources for the program. Some projects are only done once while others are done annually. Annual activities include maple production, trout raising, and planting.

The two major projects that we do every year are maple tapping and trout raising and reintroduction to local streams. The maple tapping project produces maple syrup using sap from the many Sugar and Red Maples we have on campus.This project is designed to demonstrate how to run a small business and end up with a sale-able product at the end. It is an interesting project because it makes use of fallen timber on campus for fuel for the boiling and gets all of its input materials as sap from the trees. The Trout project uses local Ohio Brook Trout to provide eggs for the hatchery where they are kept protected until the young fry can be returned to the local streams. Increased building, pullution, and other human factors near streams have made it much harder for these fish to reproduce in the wild, and without help from our school these fish could disappear entirely in many areas.

There is a great plethora of other projects however. Almost every year we do some kind of planting. In the fall be usually plant bulbs on different parts of the campus to provide color in the spring. When needed we also plant trees and shrubs. Over the past thirty years that the program has been in existence many of the trees throughout the campus have been planted by outdoor projects. We currently have many young trees gowing near the maintenance barn waiting to be planted permanently. To keep them healthy we periodically split them apart to provide more space. This past fall we were quite busy planting trees and bulbs around the new sugar house where we boil maple syrup. This spring we are working on planting wetland plants for the sewage lagoon. Some of the wetland plants were first started in the nearby CWRU greenhouse while others were planted directly. In additon to planting we spend time visiting nearby streams and protected land to learn about the geology of the area and monitor changes in stream conditions and success of the local fish. Other projects include stream monitoring on parts of the Chagrin Watershed, providing fish to local ponds, and learning more about relevant environmental issues.

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