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Lower Merion School District

Off-Canvas

Curriculum

Students assist a member of the LMSD Operations department in planting flowers at one of the district's facilities.

From kindergarteners' first field trips to a local arboretum to experience nature first-hand (Project Change) to our high schools' unique curricular offerings (Meteorology, Geology, Oceanography, Environmental Science, Landscape Architecture & Horticulture), students engage in a variety of learning opportunities related to environmental sustainability. Many students choose to extend their learning beyond the school day, through environmental clubs and service projects.

  • AP Environmental Science is equivalent to a one-semester introductory college course utilizing an interdisciplinary approach combining elements of earth science, biology and chemistry to understand interrelationships within the natural world.
  • Landscape Architecture/Horticulture is the art of planning the appropriate use of land and designing the built environment based on an understanding of natural and cultural site characteristics, human need, and sound artistic and technical competence. Horticulture deals with the creation, production, and distribution of fruit, vegetable, ornamental greenhouse, turf and specialty crops.
  • Organic vegetable gardens have been established at Cynwyd, Penn Valley, Welsh Valley, Lower Merion and Harriton and serve as a teaching tool, providing students with hands-on learning experiences and collaborative learning opportunities across disciplines and schools. Other features throughout the District used in environmental education include chicken coops, koi ponds and  an aquaponics system – a process in aquaculture in which the waste produced by farmed fish or other aquatic animals (in the case of Harriton, tilapia) supplies nutrients for plants grown hydroponically, which in turn purify the water.
  • Over the years, the Lower Merion Township Environmental Advisory Council has awarded several LMSD schools and District-related groups the "Go for the Green" Educational Award, recognizing focus on sustainability and school-wide efforts to make the Lower Merion community a better place for future generations.