November 14, 2024 – By Isabelle Strouble
SILVER SPRING, MD – Over 600 Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) students gathered on November 9th at A. Mario Loiederman Middle School to commemorate Veterans Day (November 11th) and National Outdoor Classroom Day (November 7th), the event collectively brought together over 600 MCPS students and adult volunteers from partner organizations including Habitat for Humanity Metro Maryland, The Mission Continues, and Carpenters Union Local 197, as well as several Montgomery County agencies and MCPS offices. This is the county’s first Resilience, Education, Action, Climate, and Habitat (REACH) Hub. This gathering brought together students, staff, and community members to work towards building a climate-resilient, community-centered outdoor learning space. The Charles Koiner Conservancy hosted the volunteer day.
The REACH program, a new climate resilience initiative by MCPS, is designed to offer hands-on environmental education opportunities. Led by MCPS in partnership with the Charles Koiner Conservancy (CKC) and Montgomery County Government, the REACH hub will feature an urban farm, outdoor classrooms, energy-saving innovations, and community programs. The hub aims to empower students from elementary through high school to learn about and engage with sustainable practices, all while benefitting local communities.
“It is remarkable to watch the transformation of the [LoiedermanMiddle School] REACH Hub in only a few hours. Collectively, MCPS students and the adult volunteers are helping to build lasting infrastructure to support the school, the community, and the environment as well as providing MCPS students hands-on demonstrations of a variety of green career skills. This is possible through these remarkable partnerships with Habitat from Humanity, The Mission Continues, The Carpenters Union Local 197, and the Montgomery County Government.” said Harris Trobman, MCPS Live Infrastructure Manager, Division of Sustainability and Compliance (DSC). It was Harris vision to offer events for students to volunteer and learn about sustainability. He partnered with Jennifer Strouble, MCPS, Out of School Time Coordinator to invite students to earn Student Service Learning hours.
Student Volunteers Build the Foundation
“The turnout was amazing,” said MCPS senior JJ Steinberg. “We’re excited to make a difference in our community.”
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