Now that you have a clear understanding of where you would like to create your Habitat Learning Lab site, you can now develop your master plan that includes the committee’s short-term and long-term goals, faculty survey results, list of prioritized projects, and estimated budgets and timelines for each project. In addition, your master plan should include a site map of your Habitat Learning Lab that demonstrates where the various learning stations will be located once the Habitat Learning Lab is completed. Click on orange links to learn more.

Master Plan Details
Your Habitat Learning Lab planning committee should work together to create a detailed master plan using the free online Master Plan Checklist on the Alabama Wildlife Federation (AWF) website which includes the following information:

> Long-term Goals – Discuss the long-term goals for your Habitat Learning Lab before you begin to develop any learning stations to help your planning committee prioritize your projects and guide your plans for years to come. Common long-term goals include the following:

• Meet Alabama Department of Education course of study objectives
• Utilize Science, Technology, Engineering, Art & Math (STEM/STEAM) activities
• Use hands-on, outdoor activities
• Provide inquiry-based learning opportunities
• Increase standardized test scores
• Teach about conservation
• Get students outdoors
• Make learning fun
• Develop wildlife habitat

If you wish to receive support through the Habitat Learning Lab Program, then your long-term goals must include providing hands-on, outdoor activities and developing a schoolyard wildlife habitat. For more information about how to develop a wildlife habitat, visit the Schoolyard Habitat Tips section of AWF’s website.

> Purpose Statement – Write your purpose statement in a concise message that can be posted in your Habitat Learning Lab and used on grant applications to educate others about why your school wants to develop, use and sustain an Habitat Learning Lab.

> Current & Proposed Outdoor Learning Stations – Review the list of preferred outdoor learning stations in your school’s faculty survey results with your Habitat Learning Lab planning committee, and create a list of the learning stations you would like to include in the completed Habitat Learning Lab site. These are the learning stations that will be included on the Habitat Learning Lab Site Map created by your local Habitat Learning Lab (OC) Consultant. See the “Tips for Choosing your Outdoor Learning Stations” textbox on the following page.

> Short-term Goals – Meet at the beginning of each school year to discuss your planning committee’s short-term goals as these will change from year to year as you develop, use and maintain your Habitat Learning Lab. Example short-term goals include the following:

• Begin developing our Habitat Learning Lab
• Expand our current Habitat Learning Lab
• Increase the number of classes utilizing the Habitat Learning Lab as an educational tool
• Increase student participation in the maintenance of the Habitat Learning Lab
• Expand the learning opportunities in our Habitat Learning Lab
• Increase community involvement in the Habitat Learning Lab
• Provide service-learning opportunities for students
• Increase the number and diversity of wildlife visiting the Habitat Learning Lab

> Prioritized Projects – Your prioritized projects will change from year to year depending on what you hope to accomplish during the school year. These projects should help you accomplish your short-term and long-term goals, address any faculty needs expressed in the Faculty Survey, and include projects that need to be completed from the previous year. Remember, be careful not to take on too much!

Example Habitat Learning Lab projects include the following:

• Learning Stations (ex/ pitcher plant bog garden or songbird sanctuary)
• Construction Projects (ex/ benches or educational signage)
• Activity Kits (ex/ educational resources such as field guides and magnifying loupes)
• Educational Signage (ex/ sign with info about carnivorous pitcher plants or Habitat Learning Lab rules sign)
• Communication Projects (ex/ bulletin board or newsletter articles)
• Fundraising (ex/ grants or fundraisers)
• Maintenance (ex/ HLL Work Day or Learning Station Adoption Program)
• Special Events (ex/ HLL Activities Day or HLL Certification Ceremony)

> Project Coordinators, Budgets & Timelines – For each of your projects, be sure to discuss who will coordinate each project (from your planning committee or faculty), what the estimated cost of each project is (if any), and when each project will be completed. Example “project plans” that include a list of materials needed and estimated budgets for various learning stations, construction projects, activity kits, and educational signage can be found on the AWF’s website. In addition, you can find a list of grant opportunities, maintenance tips, and planning materials for events like an Habitat Learning Lab Work Day on AWF’s website as well.

> Habitat Learning Lab Partners & Sponsors – List the names and contact information for your local HLL Consultant, volunteers, Master Gardeners, businesses and/or agencies along with an explanation about the type of support and assistance they provide for your school and your Habitat Learning Lab.

> Annual Tasks Checklist
The following tasks should be included in your committee’s “To Do List” each year to help you and your Habitat Learning Lab planning committee sustain your Habitat Learning Lab from year to year:

> Habitat Learning Lab Webpage & Records Hub – Update your school’s Habitat Learning Lab (HLL) webpage photos and information including your planning committee’s email addresses (in your HLL Records Hub at the bottom of your Habitat Learning Lab webpage) so that everyone will receive the Alabama Wildlife Federation (AWF) Habitat Learning Lab E-newsletter which includes activity ideas, grant tips and workshop opportunities. To review and update your school’s HLL webpage, visit the interactive Habitat Learning Lab Schools Map on AWF’s website.

> Wildlife Habitat Assessment – Assess the wildlife habitat resources (food, water, shelter & places to raise young) available in your Habitat Learning Lab using the tips and activities found on page 21 of the Habitat Learning Lab Planning Guide and in the Schoolyard Wildlife Habitat Tips section of the AWF website.

> Habitat Learning Lab Site Map – Contact your local Habitat Learning Lab (HLL) Consultant so s/he can create a map showing where the different learning stations will be located in the Habitat Learning Lab once it is completed, so that you can see how the learning stations fit together to create your school’s Habitat Learning Lab site. Before the HLL Consultant begins the layout of your Habitat Learning Lab, s/he will email you a Site Approval Form, which must be signed by your principal and your school system’s Buildings and Maintenance Supervisor. Once you provide the signed Site Approval Form, the map of your school’s utility lines in the outdoor classroom area, and a list of your planning committee’s outdoor learning station preferences, your HLL Consultant will create the Habitat Learning Lab site map. Each year, review your school’s Habitat Learning Lab site map(s), and work with your HLL Consultant to update the site map(s) if needed.

> Maintenance Plan – Utilize the Habitat Lab Maintenance Tips on AWF’s website to help establish an effective, sustainable maintenance plan for the year. Each year, review your Maintenance Plan from the previous school year and summer, and discuss what worked and what did not. Encourage teacher and student participation in the maintenance by creating an “Outdoor Learning Station Adoption Program,” and by utilizing student clubs for weekly maintenance needs such as picking up litter or watering plants. Teachers who help maintain the Habitat Learning Lab with their students are more likely to use the Habitat Learning Lab as an educational tool.

> Faculty Update – Provide an update about the Habitat Learning Lab to the faculty at the beginning of each semester and throughout the year on an as-needed basis. Keeping key people like the principal, faculty, and maintenance staff informed and involved are vital to the success and sustainability of your Habitat Learning Lab.

> Faculty Survey – Contact your local Habitat Learning Lab Consultant so s/he can set up a free online survey for your faculty at the beginning of each school year. The faculty survey will help you gather feedback such as which learning stations the teachers would/do use the most, what resources they may need to use the Habitat Learning Lab as an educational tool, and who would like to serve on the planning committee.

> Parent Update – Present an update about the Habitat Learning Lab to the PTA/PTO each school year. Parents can provide valuable volunteer and financial support. Keep them involved!

Master Plan Tips…
Your master plan will help you stay organized and focused, and will help you create a sustainable Habitat Learning Lab site that is an effective educational tool.

• Using your Habitat Learning Lab Records Hub at the bottom of your school’s Habitat Learning Lab webpage, you can create your Master Plan by entering and storing data that you and your Habitat Learning Lab planning committee can use to manage your Habitat Learning Lab from year to year. In addition, you can use this data in grant applications or donation solicitations. Update your school’s HLL Records Hub info at anytime using your email address and your school’s HLL ID #.
• Review and update your online Master Plan Checklist each August to help you create a comprehensive “game plan” for the upcoming year.
• Create a master plan that can be implemented in phases from year to year with realistic timelines.
• Gradually introduce more Habitat Learning Lab learning stations and projects at a rate that equals the support your planning committee receives.
• Be flexible as you carry out the projects in your master plan since funding sources and plans can change.
• Be patient and allow excitement and interest to grow as teachers begin to see the possibilities of what their Habitat Learning Lab could look like and how it can be used as an educational tool.
• Make sure that all faculty members, even those not serving on the Habitat Learning Lab planning committee, know your long-term and short-term goals and understand the purpose of your Habitat Learning Lab.
• Have a long-term maintenance plan that includes what types of maintenance will be required for each learning station during each month or season, including summertime.
• Make sure that you have the future time, money and resources to maintain the Habitat Learning Lab as you have designed it.
• Keep copies of your master plan, project plans, and receipts in a Habitat Learning Lab binder for future reference.
• Remember—Keep It Simple and Have Fun!