PS 101 Vying For Outdoor Classroom Grant

Parents, teachers and students at in Forest Hills are trying to earn $25,000 for a new project at their facility, and they need your help to do it.

More specifically, they need your vote.

The school has entered a proposal into the Pepsi Refresh Project, a corporate sponsored nationwide program that allows community organizations to compete for over $1 million in grants for programs that will change their neighborhoods for the better.

Proposed projects include things like youth soccer programs, an Eagle Scout project to restore a public library and more.

In Forest Hills, P.S. 101, The School in the Gardens, is trying to make that name a bit more literal — by building a $25,000 "kinder-garden," an outdoor classroom where students interact with nature outside a traditional indoor class setting.

According to the project description, younger students and older students alike would get a great deal of use out of the "kinder-garden."

"The goal is to use the garden as an alternative learning site that creates an enriching outdoor learning environment instead of an all day confined classroom model," the description reads.

The voting ends Dec. 31, and as of this writing, the project ranked 107 out of hundreds of different projects nationwide, in categories like "education," "arts and culture," "neighborhoods" and more. The top 10 projects in each financial category — from $5,000 to $250,000 — will receive at least some funding.

To vote for the school's project, click here.