Bonnie Howard, Library Media Specialist at Madison Elementary School, secured a Toolbox for Education grant from Lowe’s for $4,670. CONTRIBUTED

MADISON – Madison Elementary School has received a Lowe’s Toolbox for Education grant for $4,670 to help in building an outdoor classroom.

Bonnie Howard applied for the grant with the goal of enriching the learning community at the school. To design the project, the school’s planning committee for the outdoor classroom is working with the Alabama Outdoor Classroom project.

The project is a partnership among Alabama Wildlife Federation, Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and the Alabama Cooperative Extension System.

“The outdoor classroom project will be a learning experience involving all students and will enhance our students’ ability to think critically with hands-on, real-world learning experiences,” Howard said. “We will have many investigation stations, including a butterfly garden, weather station, herp habitat (reptile living area), raised-bed flower gardens and vegetable gardens.”

“Our students and teachers will greatly benefit from this grant. We wish to thank our friends at Lowe’s for generously supporting this important project,” Howard said.

For more than 65 years, Lowe’s has supported the communities in which they operate stores. At a time when schools are struggling to support students’ basic needs, the Lowe’s Charitable and Educational Foundation recognizes the importance of financial support.

This year, the Lowe’s foundation is seeking ways to provide the tools to help educators and parent groups through educational challenges by providing the greatest impact, with basic necessities set as the priority.

Now in its eleventh year of helping build better schools and communities, the Lowe’s Toolbox for Education program has provided more than $49 million to more than 11,000 schools across the United States.

All public schools with grades kindergarten through twelfth grade in the United States are eligible for the Toolbox for Education program. For more information, visit ToolboxforEducation.com.