Special education students at North Fayette Elementary School will soon have extra learning space outdoors.

The Fayette Innovation and Research in Science and Technology program recently gave teacher Sarah Gauvin a $250 grant to create an interactive garden at the school. FIRST gives such grants to encourage student participation in science, technology, engineering and math fields.

Gauvin said she plans to use the funds to set up garden beds in which to grow vegetables, which will allow her students “to explore, inquire, experiment, and learn across all academic areas while developing and applying crucial life skills such as teamwork, communication, responsibility, ownership, cause and effect, and much more.”