Certification Requirements (PDF)

There are no specific deadlines that your school must meet to apply for certification. Most schools take at least two to five years to develop their outdoor classroom to the point that they are ready for certification. To apply for certification, your school must meet with your Outdoor Classroom Consultant and complete the following requirements:

• On-site outdoor classroom evaluation meeting with your AWF Outdoor Classroom Consultant;
• A model outdoor classroom that you are ready to present to other schools across Alabama;
• An active planning committee that meets at least four times a year (twice in fall & twice in spring);
• ALL core outdoor learning stations including a sensory garden, butterfly garden, pollinator garden, frog & toad habitat, songbird sanctuary, log decomposition station, weather station, and cardinal directions sign;
• Educational learning station signs with QR Codes linked to AWF’s Ecosystem Investigation webpages for ALL core learning stations;
• Plant identification signs with QR Codes linked to AWF’s Dig Into Plants webpages;
• Teachers use hands-on, inquiry-based activities in conjunction with the outdoor learning stations;
• A year-round maintenance plan that includes weekly maintenance tasks, seasonal learning station adoption, and a summer maintenance schedule; and
• Up-to-date records in your school’s online OC Records Hub accessible through the Alabama Wildlife Federation’s website.