Kolter Elementary Grassroom

The Kolter community believes that outdoor learning enhances students' educational experiences. Accordingly, Kolter developed an award-winning outdoor space starting in 2003. The initial space included a vegetable garden, pond habitat, and coastal prairie environment. 

When Hurricane Harvey flooded Kolter Elementary school with more than five feet of water in 2017, the allocated reconstruction budget from HISD didn’t include funds to rebuild Kolter’s former award-winning outdoor learning areas.

The Kolter Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) was determined to rebuild the outdoor learning space and quickly formed the Kolter Grassroom Committee, who reached out to Clark Condon about partnering probono on this project. The team at Clark Condon was eager to participate in this engaging community project.

Elizabeth Gilbert, one of Clark Condon's landscape architects and a principal with the firm, helped Kolter take our concepts and create comprehensive plans that capture the imagination of students, staff, and community alike. 

The Grassroom incorporates features from the original outdoor learning spaces including a garden, prairie, and pond. The new Grassroom includes a new orchard, outdoor covered classroom, and butterfly garden and is also wheelchair accessible.

We have Grassroom workdays on the second Saturday of every month. Come join us! 

Interested in learning more about Kolter's Grassroom? Check out what is growing in the garden on iNaturalist HERE.