Irving ISD honors a teacher with more than 42 years of dedicated service to the district by naming The Outdoor Learning Center in her memory. The Elise Walker Outdoor Learning Center dedication ceremony is at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, November 2, at the new facility (4611 N. MacArthur Blvd., Irving, TX 75038), which can be accessed from the parking lot of Singley Academy. Tours will be available following the dedication ceremony.
About the Elise Walker Outdoor Learning Center
The Elise Walker Outdoor Learning Center (OLC) is a unique facility born out of collaboration between Irving ISD, the City of Irving and Dallas County Community College District. In 2015, the three entities partnered to realize Irving ISD’s vision for a center where hands-on, environmental education is made possible for the next generation.
The OLC is designed as a natural classroom sprawling across 25 acres of grasslands, wetlands and marsh. Its transparent structure and open landscape houses numerous nature trails, an amphitheater and an indoor museum-style space for interactive exploration. Using the surrounding ecosystem and natural habitat, students visiting the OLC have the opportunity to observe and dissect the elements of nature intimately. From studying food chains and plant life, to conservation and water reclamation, students’ textbooks will come to life as they learn state-mandated science requirements through firsthand experiences.
The Elise Walker OLC welcomed its first group of students on October 17, and the facility has constantly hosted classes of second and fifth graders from Irving ISD since. Photos of the students exploring the Outdoor Learning Center as well as sights they may see, can be found on the district Photo Gallery – www.irvingisd.net/photogallery.
