Palm Beach Day Academy unveiled its new outdoor learning space and garden Oct. 30 during a ceremony at the school’s Seaview campus.
Located on the East Field, the new area — funded by PBDA parents through the 2025 Feather Ball Gala — gives students a hands-on place to learn outside the classroom, Head of School Fanning Hearon said.
The new space gives students the opportunity to explore ecosystems up close, grow plants, and watch science come to life.
“We made a healthy investment in the childhood of our students, because everyone loves recess,” Hearon said.
Created by the Upper School Science Team with input from students, faculty, and landscape architect Michael Pflaumer of Annco Services, the new space features several themed garden areas.
These include a Florida Native Garden featuring sabal palmetto and saw palmetto; a Butterfly Garden with milkweed and coontie; a Succulent Garden with a dry riverbed, barrel cactus, yucca, spineless cactus and agave; and raised garden beds for science classes that will be filled with a variety of herbs and vegetables.
The space’s design was inspired by the Ann Norton Sculpture Garden in West Palm Beach, and incorporates stone stadium seating to encourage outdoor learning.
Along with the new garden, the East Field will include an all-weather ping pong table, giant lawn games, and more seating.
For more information on Palm Beach Day Academy, visit https://www.pbday.org/.
Jodie Wagner is a journalist at the Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach her at jwagner@pbdailynews.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Palm Beach Day Academy unveils new outdoor space and garden for hands-on science learning
Reporting by Jodie Wagner, Palm Beach Daily News / Palm Beach Daily News
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