“In every walk with nature, one receives far more than he seeks.” John Muir
Project Green Schools is challenging schools across the country to develop and implement a meaningful outdoor classroom and learning space for a chance to win a Grand Prize of $10,000 to further enhance an existing space or build a new space.
All U.S.-based schools Pre-K – 12 are eligible to apply.*
Schools will submit a formal write-up, proposed budget, and design of their outdoor learning classroom/space. Project Green Schools will invite the top five designers to pitch their ideas to a panel of judges to determine the $10,000 winner.
This challenge will honor, collaborate with, and recognize outstanding school groups in a virtual pitch event.
To date, the Outdoor Classroom Challenge has awarded nearly $60,000 to support and empower schools to create outdoor spaces that enhance learning and connect students with the natural world.
The Outdoor Classroom Challenge will not be offered in 2027 but may return in the future. Stay tuned for updates!
*Project Green Schools Outdoor Classroom Challenge is limited to schools based in the United States only.
2025 Outdoor Classroom Winners
1st Place — $10,000 Winner
Readington Middle School
Whitehouse Station, New Jersey
Readington Middle School, the Grand Prize winner of the 2026 Outdoor Classroom Challenge, is transforming an outdoor fitness area that has gone unused for more than 15 years into a student-designed Tiny Forest | Living Lab. Developed by the school’s EcoAmbassadors, the project combines ecological restoration, outdoor learning, student wellness, and accessibility to create an inclusive space where all students can learn and connect with nature.
Their winning proposal features 212 native trees across three interconnected learning zones: a Sensory Grove, Climate Resilience & Phenology Zone, and Miyawaki Habitat Zone. Accessible pathways will connect the spaces to a central Canopy Pavilion, while raised horticultural therapy beds, flexible seating, and a solar-powered environmental monitoring station will support hands-on learning. Students will use the living lab to study biodiversity, climate resilience, forest ecosystems, and environmental data while developing real-world skills and serving as long-term stewards of the space.
Check out their winning design here!
2025 Outdoor Classroom Winners
1st Place — $10,000 Winner
Austin Waldorf School
Austin, Texas
Austin Waldorf School, the Grand Prize winner of the 2025 Outdoor Classroom Challenge, is nestled within 30 wooded acres in the Central Texas Hill Country, where outdoor learning is an integral part of the school experience. Their existing community garden and outdoor classroom provide students with hands-on opportunities to grow food, explore plant and animal life, and learn about composting, permaculture, and environmental stewardship. The garden also serves as a certified Monarch butterfly waystation and habitat for bees.
Their winning proposal focused on expanding these well-loved spaces to accommodate more students and provide greater opportunities for learning throughout the year. The design features a new cedar pergola for shade, expanded seating for up to 30 students, a weather-protected dry-erase board, a new storage shed, native plantings, solar power, and a rainwater catchment system. Students will also help bring the project to life, with woodworking students assisting in the construction of the pergola, benches, and other site improvements.
Check out their winning design here!
2nd place
Deep Creek Middle School
Chesapeake, VA
Deep Creek Middle School is a community-centered school with a large courtyard that has remained largely underutilized due to limited seating, shade, and opportunities for outdoor learning. Their proposal focused on transforming the courtyard into a welcoming and functional extension of the classroom where students can learn, collaborate, socialize, and reconnect with the outdoors throughout the school day.
The redesigned space will feature tables, seating and shade structures, a community garden, native plants, pollinator habitat, and trees. Through partnerships with Healthy Chesapeake and the Elizabeth River Project, students will learn about growing healthy food, biodiversity, composting, pesticide-free gardening, rainwater collection, and environmental stewardship. The space will also include areas for games, hammocks, and reading, while produce grown in the community garden during the summer will help support a food pantry at a neighboring church.
2024 Outdoor Classroom Winners
1st Place — $10,000 Winner
River Valley Charter School
Newburyport, Massachussetts
River Valley, the Grand Prize winner of the 2024 Outdoor Classroom Challenge, is a shining example of student involvement and empowerment. The school is working towards revitalizing their school grounds to create an outdoor space that utilizes the surrounding natural environment in an effort to provide students with the ability to learn, play creatively, collaborate, and explore interests. Their proposal focused on building a new outdoor classroom space as their existing pavilion deteriorated and required removal. Prior to embarking on the redesign, River Valley held a design session with their students to ensure they created a new outdoor learning space that can be utilized by all levels in their school for outdoor lessons, exploration, and small group work and projects. The Massachusetts-based charter school worked hand in hand with their students to design their unique outdoor classroom, featuring a gazebo, stump seats, shade sail, and native plants, all situated near their school garden and playground.
Check out their winning design here!
2nd place — $6,500 Winner
The Compass School
Kingston, Rhode Island
The Compass School has integrated environmental sustainability and social responsibility into its core. The Rhode Island school is situated on 20 acres of historic farmlands and has prioritized outdoor educational opportunities. They have introduced an organic production farm featuring pollinator gardens, farm animals, a greenhouse, and vegetable gardens. The school also installed an outdoor amphitheater for school gatherings. Their proposal focuses on enhancing their outdoor space by adding shade structures to allow students to enjoy the area throughout the day rather than only in the early morning before the sun floods the space.
3rd place — $3,500 winner
German International School
White Plains, New York
German International School New York (GISNY) has been actively connecting their students to nature since 2020, when they first established a nature program for their Pre-K and Kindergarten students. Now, they are working to expand their program for additional grade levels to help children connect with the natural world around them in a safe, stimulating bilingual environment, incorporating outdoor learning into their lessons. Their proposal focused on expanding into a space on their grounds that had not been utilized by creating a fenced-in garden space with vegetable beds and a greenhouse. Their proposed community vegetable garden would provide hands-on opportunities for students to learn about plant life cycles and sustainable agriculture, strengthen school camaraderie, and provide an outdoor space for community gatherings post-COVID. Produce from the community garden would be harvested and shared with the school’s kitchen team as well as packaged and shared with families in the community.
2023 Outdoor Classroom Winner
1st Place — $10,000 Winner
Upper Dublin High School
Fort Washington, Pennsylvania
Upper Dublin High School was looking to transform their school’s green spaces. The school’s Project Based Learning (PBL) Environmental Science Class of 2023, a student-driven class that takes on a local environmental issue each year, determined that their school’s students needed more opportunities to get outside and reconnect with nature after discovering teens spend less than 20 minutes outside each day. The students wanted to provide a space to reconnect the school community to nature throughout the school day to improve educational productivity and creativity. Their proposal focused on enhancing the school’s history wing courtyard, which had become overgrown during the COVID-19 pandemic. The winning design featured two unique outdoor classroom spaces, a rain garden to promote responsible use and reuse of water, a rain barrel and rain chain to capture stormwater for irrigation, benches and chairs made of 98% repurposed plastics, solar-powered charging stations, an upcycled butterfly mural made of bottle caps, upcycled glass mosaic path, and flags from around the world.
Outdoor Classroom Challenge in the news
New outdoor classroom in Saco is a breath of fresh air – Saco Bay News
Project Green Schools Unveils Finalists for $10,000 Outdoor Classroom Challenge – CW 39 Houston
Project Green Schools Unveils Finalists for $10,000 Outdoor Classroom Challenge – Yahoo! Finance