Elementary schools in the Upper Valley of Vermont have integrated outdoor learning in schools long before the pandemic.  Six years ago, Newbury Elementary School started using a nearby parcel of land as a space for outdoor education on a handshake agreement with the previous owner.  For the past few years, the land has been on the market, and thus, off limits for the school to use.

In mid-August of 2021, residents in the Oxbow Unified Union School District voted 50-38 to approve the plan to purchase this 10-acre parcel of land as an outdoor learning space for the schools in the district.

This vote gives the district the approval to spend $68,000 on the parcel of land, using money from the Oxbow Unified School District surplus, which currently stands at $281,000.