SEED CLASSROOM
Montgomery Parks opened the SEED Classroom at Black Hill Regional Park in May 2024.
SEED is an acronym for Sustainable Education Every Day. The building is a net-zero energy user. It produces all the water and power it needs to function with a rainwater cistern that waters a living plant wall inside the building, a composting toilet, and solar panels on the roof to generate electricity.
The classroom is a living lab space. It showcases how an environmentally friendly building functions and serves as a hands-on teaching tool for children. The large open classroom and covered deck will be used for a park-based nature preschool program, school field trips, private and public events.
The Montgomery Parks Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting Montgomery Parks, coordinated efforts to provide funding for the project.
Major financial support for the SEED classroom has been provided by:
- Maryland General Assembly bond bill
- Green Mountain Energy Sun Club
- Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation
- First Energy Foundation
- Wegmans
- Friends of Black Hill Nature Programs