Whole Foods Helps Raise Money for Sheehan Outdoor Classroom

Want to help educate a group of Westwood students learn the ways of a healthy lifestyle? If you're a customer of , you can.

Customers who shop at Whole Foods on Tuesday from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. will be lending a hand to raise funds for the Outdoor Learning Center (OLC) at .

Dubbed a "5-percent day," the store will host a special in which 5 percent of the net sales for Tuesday will be donated to help the project, which involves transforming an unused area of Sheehan's property into a teaching garden and outdoor classroom. 

Shoppers at the store on Tuesday can visit an information booth for more about the elements of the OLC, which is expected to include raised bed gardens for each grade at Sheehan, as well as a garden to benefit local food pantries.

A rock and fossil garden, compost bins and a weather center will also be available at the OLC, as will outdoor seating for up to 24 students. 

"Many school systems throughout the country and abroad have come to discover the power of school gardens as a teaching tool," Sheehan Principal Kristen Evans said in a news statement. "In addition to increasing academic achievement, our Outdoor Learning Center will teach our students about healthier nutritional attitudes, environmental stewardship, ecological literacy, and lessons in community and social development."

The overall goal for the OLC is to help Sheehan students for future generations, not to mention the Westwood community through recreation programs, fairs and other events, according to a news release. A number of Westwood residents have already begun to help with the project, including teachers, parents, and Eagle Scout candidates. 

Through use of the school grounds, the OLC aims to enhance student education by integrating science, language, literacy, social studies, math and visual arts. But through the OLC, Sheehan administrators are also hoping to promote healthier nutritional attitudes and ecological literacy.  

"We are grateful for the opportunity Whole Foods has given us to propel the Outdoor Learning Center's progress forward," OLC Co-Chair Linda Walter said in a statement. Walter is also the landscape designer who developed and donated the original plans for the project to Sheehan. 

"We appreciate Whole Foods sharing their commitment to healthy foods, the environment and the community with us," she said.

Meanwhile, families are encouraged to stop at Whole Foods between 12 and 2 p.m. on Tuesday, when they can plant vegetable seeds in recycled yogurt cubs in order to start their own gardens.  

"We are committed to teaching kids, from a young age, the difference fresh, healthy foods make, as well as finding ways to respect our planet's resources," Lauren Klatsky, Whole Foods Marketing Team Leader, said in a statement. "We believe in supporting innovative ways of learning these lessons, which is why we decided to share our experiences with the Sheehan School's Outdoor Learning Center."