The Philip center features a Living Classroom which provides a meeting place for outdoor activities, as well as a gathering place for students and visitors. The Living Classroom is a pergola (an enclosed arbor-like structure) covered with vines to form walls and a roof over the structure. Bird feeders and bird houses were installed to improve habitat. Two perennial butterfly gardens were planted in the spring of 2002 at both the Philip site and the Ottumwa Rural Attendance Center Outdoor Classroom. The gardens, shaped like a butterflies, provide food and water for native butterflies and their caterpillars.

Students received hands-on experience by assisting with planting the gardens at the Outdoor Learning Center. Teachers at Philip Elementary have incorporated the features of the learning centers into their daily curriculum. Students can learn about the environment that they live in and watch different species of birds out their classroom windows.