NEW OUTDOOR CLASSROOM ON THE HORIZON: Nature-based learning at Stratham site

Exciting things are happening inside — and outside — at Waypoint at The Richie McFarland Center in Stratham! Plans are already underway for an amazing outdoor experiential learning classroom that will more than double the amount of space available for the children and families Waypoint supports. The agency plans to break ground on this project in spring 2023, with sights set on finishing the outdoor classroom space in the fall.

Waypoint is pursuing this unique space because there are so many benefits to an outdoor classroom. Studies show that children who play outdoors regularly are happier and healthier, have stronger immune systems, and experience improved sleep patterns. Outdoor play and exploration increase creativity, imagination and a sense of wonder, as well as a child’s ability to focus and pay attention. Children learn by engaging all their senses, and the outside world offers sights, sounds, smells and tactile experiences that are not available indoors.

Positive outdoor experiences also play a part in how children will value and care for our environment throughout their lives.

The Waypoint at The Richie McFarland Center campus in rural Stratham is the perfect location for an outdoor classroom. The site has an abundant outdoor space and gently rolling terrain for features such as water play and other sensorybased stations, a garden, a story circle, windchime fencing, a gazebo and so much more.

Thanks to an innovative and accessible design that is integrated into our natural surroundings, the fun of adventure and exploration in the fresh air will entice children of all abilities to play, explore and learn.

THANK YOU TO NASCAR, NEW HAMPSHIRE CHARITABLE FOUNDATION, AND ELIZABETH BAUMAN, FOR SHARING WAYPOINT’S VISION FOR THE OUTDOOR CLASSROOM AND FOR THEIR GENEROUS CONTRIBUTIONS TO HELP BRING IT TO LIFE.