Lowell — There were giggles, swinging and lots of serious reading recently in the new Murray Lake Hammock Garden.
On a sunny Wednesday afternoon, reading buddies in third-grade teacher Katherine Wills’ and first-grade teacher Denise Washburn’s classes settled in on the dozen or so new hammocks that are the main feature of a new outdoor classroom.
‘This is a good school for having hammocks.’
— Murray Lake third-grader Hayden Kohl
“It’s the first-graders’ first time out here, so we thought it would be good for our third-graders to show them where the hammocks are (and) how to hang them, and then they are just going to enjoy reading together,” Wills said.
Third-grader Hayden Kohl was so focused on reading and first-grader Maizie Barle on listening that they barely looked up from their spot nestled in a comfy hammock during the half-hour outside.
“I like how we are able to read, and this is a good school for having hammocks,” said Hayden after finishing a chapter.
First-grader Rome Severts, however, was OK with looking up from his pages and enjoying the great outdoors all around him from his swinging hammock.
“We can take a break and look at the nature,” he said to his buddy, third-grader Landon Carter.
Murray Lake’s hammock garden is a brand new addition to the school, installed this summer by volunteers after receiving funding from the Lowell Education Foundation and contributions from various other sources. Along with the hammocks that hang from wood posts over wood chips, the garden features rock seating and, come fall when the leaves are bare, will have a view of the lake. Principal Molly Burnett said future plans are to add a chalkboard or whiteboard, plant trees and bushes and possibly add a sun shade.
Burnett said she wanted to add the area because many teachers love to go outside for lessons, but the school lacked a dedicated outdoor learning space. She learned about a hammock garden in Texas, and shared the idea with Murray Lake’s librarian, Aly Farnham, who is an interior designer. After that, the plans came together.
“We are using it for lessons, for silent reading and for buddy reading,” Burnett said, adding that classes can use it for other subjects as well, with students sitting in the hammocks and writing on clipboards. “It can be a space for anything.”
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