Winthrop University

01/22/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 01/22/2025 09:29

Macfeat School Selected as a Grow Outdoors South Carolina Site (1/22/25)

Macfeat School Selected as a Grow Outdoors South Carolina Site

January 22, 2025

HIGHLIGHTS

  • With the designation comes professional landscape design, valued at $15,000, and planning assistance from the National Wildlife Federation's Early Childhood Health Outdoors (ECHO) initiative to rework the Macfeat playground into a naturalized outdoor play and learning environment.
  • The school will benefit from training and ongoing technical support from ECHO and the Natural Learning Initiative at N.C. State University. Macfeat is one of 23 sites selected in this cycle.

ROCK HILL, SOUTH CAROLINA - Winthrop University's Macfeat Early Childhood Laboratory School was recently selected as a Grow Outdoors South Carolina 2025 site, which is a joint initiative of the S.C. Department of Social Services and the S.C. Department of Public Health.

With the designation comes professional landscape design, valued at $15,000, and planning assistance from the National Wildlife Federation's Early Childhood Health Outdoors (ECHO) initiative to rework the Macfeat playground into a naturalized outdoor play and learning environment. Additionally, the S.C. Department of Social Services, Division of Early Care and Education, awarded Macfeat $23,000 to use for the installation of the landscape design that features best practices.

The school will benefit from training and ongoing technical support from ECHO and the Natural Learning Initiative at N.C. State University. Macfeat is one of 23 sites selected in this cycle.

Leading the initiative are Meredith Jones, an associate professor who directs the human development and family sciences program; Melanie Sanders, director of Macfeat; and Erin Hamel, associate dean of the College of Education, Sport, and Human Sciences.

Together, they are driving efforts to create a model outdoor learning space for the young children who attend Macfeat. "We are so fortunate to receive the Grow Outdoors SC grant as it will expand the uniqueness and features of Macfeat by creating an outdoor natural learning space that will inspire curiosity, foster creativity and nurture a deep connection to the natural world, " said Jones.

According to Hamel, not only will Macfeat's outdoor environment benefit its own students, but it will serve as a model training site for the hundreds of visitors, observers and students (from Winthrop and beyond) who come to the school each year. Early childhood educators from across the region will have the opportunity to visit, observe and learn about best practices in creating engaging and developmentally appropriate naturalized outdoor learning spaces.

One of the strongest predictors of children's physical activity is time spent outdoors, educators said. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, outdoor play for young children increases motor development, critical thinking skills, mood and learning outcomes. It also helps lower obesity rates and encourages children to have a better appreciation of the environment.

More than a third of South Carolina public school students ages 5 to 18 are overweight or obese and more than half aren't meeting minimum standards for heart and lung health, health officials said. Offering outside play is important to offer at an early age and will promote problem-solving, creativity and collaboration with others.

About Macfeat Early Childhood Laboratory School

Macfeat Early Childhood Laboratory School is the oldest continuously operating laboratory school in the United States. It was founded in 1895 by D. B. Johnson, the first president of then Winthrop College. Today, it operates as a training, demonstration and research center for Winthrop's College of Education, Sport, and Human Sciences offering classes for preschoolers and kindergartners while supporting teacher education programs.

More on Grow Outdoors South Carolina

Grow Outdoors South Carolina was launched in 2020 to build on the success of the Preventing Obesity by Design (POD) strategy, initiated by the Natural Learning Initiative (NLI) in 2007. This program enhances outdoor play and learning environments at licensed childcare facilities to promote healthy habits in young children. The goal is to increase physical activity, encourage healthy eating, and support social-emotional development through nature-based outdoor spaces.

DSS' Division of Early Care and Education and the Department of Public Health announced their partnership with Grow Outdoors South Carolina in 2023.

For more information about Macfeat, contact Melanie Sanders at [email protected].