North Callaway High School will soon have an addition of an outdoor classroom.
The MFA Oil Foundation awarded a grant to the North Callaway R-1 District to help build the outdoor classroom. It awarded the grant to assist with purchasing outdoor supplies.
The foundation provides support to non-profit organizations that are working to improve communities where MFA has a significant concentration of members and employees.
Melissa Leisinger, North Callaway High School teacher, applied for the $1,000 grant.
As a class, Leisinger said, the students were thinking about projects to help the community and came up with the idea to build an outdoor classroom.
The class had read an article out of the Missouri Conversation magazine about native birds being in jeopardy and how Missourians could help with native plants and building homes, she said. Students they could build a sanctuary to do their part while providing an outdoor classroom for the student body, she said.
Leisinger said her class plans to plant native flowers/plants and birdhouses for everyone at the school to enjoy. There will also be picnic benches and flowers added to the outdoor classroom. The classroom will be located by the courtyard on campus.
"We want everyone to have full use of it," Leisinger said.
The goal is to keep expanding on the classroom, she said. It will be completed sometime in the fall.