BKW gets $5K grant for outdoor classroom

Enterprise file photo — H. Rose Schneider

Berne-Knox-Westerlo Elementary School students learned about farm animals in front of the school’s high-tunnel greenhouse at one of the district’s agricultural fairs. BKW has now gotten a grant to build an outdoor classroom.

BERNE — The Berne-Knox-Westerlo Central School District has received a $5,000 grant for an Outdoor Wild Learning Space; the classroom will be located near the community garden and high tunnel on the Berne campus.

Eight schools were awarded grants by the Albany County Soil and Water Conservation District as part of its 2022 School Assistance Program.

The goal at BKW “is to create an inviting outdoor classroom space that is accessible to all students and shaded from full sun,” according to a release from the conservation district.

The area will be used during many outdoor events, including at the Annual Ag Day hosted by the BKW Future Farmers of America.

More Hilltowns News

  • Newly released testing data from New York state shows Berne-Knox-Westerlo making strong headway in its core subjects, outranking the district’s neighboring “chase schools” in most categories. 

  • Alex Giebitz, of East Berne, is a certified Kobelco mechanic for Robert H. Finke and Sons and was invited to participate in Kobelco’s international technical service contest as part of the North American team last month. 

  • First responders arrived at 1545 Thompsons Lake Road in Knox early Tuesday morning to find the home there completely engulfed in flames. Two bodies were recovered. 

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