Creating Outdoor Classrooms

Schoolyards have come a long way from the barren playgrounds that many people remember. Today’s school campuses often feature gardens in which students can learn about native plants and wildlife, grow vegetables and fruit, explore cultural traditions, practice reading and math skills, and use their imaginations to create fun play spaces. And for a growing number of urban students, these schoolyard gardens offer the best, if not the only, opportunity to experience the natural world firsthand and enjoy its many benefits. This book is a practical, hands-on guide for creating a variety of learning environments in the arid Southwest. Filled with clear, easy-to-use information and illustrated with photographs, drawings, and plans, the book covers everything necessary to create schoolyard gardens:• An introduction to schoolyards as outdoor classrooms and several types of habitats, including art gardens, cultural history gardens, ecological gardens, literacy gardens, and vegetable gardens• Design theory, including a history of garden styles, and design principles and design elements• Beginning the design process, including identifying participants and writing a design program that sets out goals and requirements• Conducting site research and synthesizing design elements to arrive at a final design• Design essentials, including project funding and design features, maintenance, accessibility, safety, and project evaluation and revision• Wildlife ecology, including elements needed for survival such as food and shelter• Creating gardens for pollinators and other wildlife, including hummingbirds, butterflies, bees, moths, bats, and flies, as well as pest control• Lists of native plants for various kinds of habitats and nurseries that sell native plants, as well as books, web sites, and other resources for learning more about native plants and wildlifeThis guide will be essential for landscape architects, school personnel, parents, and students. Indeed, its principles can be used in designing schoolyard habitats across the country, while its information on gardening with native plants and wildlife will be useful to homeowners across the Southwest.

A practical, hands-on guide for creating schoolyard gardens using native Southwestern plants, fully illustrated with photographs, drawings, and design plans.

LAURI MACMILLAN JOHNSON is Professor in the School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture at the University of Arizona, as well as a consulting landscape architect in Tucson and Denver.

PrefaceAcknowledgmentsIntroduction by Kim DuffekAbout This BookMaking Outdoor Classrooms a RealityThe Need for Wildlife Habitat and Native GardensBioregions of the Arid SouthwestChapter 1: SchoolyardsThe Schoolyard as an Outdoor ClassroomOverview of Schoolyard Environments Introduction History of Playground Design with Applications for Contemporary Playground Design Nature and Play Adult Memories of Valued Play Places Implications for DesignLearning and the Natural Outdoor ClassroomSchoolyard Garden Types Art Gardens Cultural History Gardens Ecological Gardens Literacy Gardens Vegetable GardensChapter 2: Design TheoryIntroductionHistory of Garden Styles Prehistoric “Gardens” (20,000-3300 BC) Ancient Egyptian Gardens (3300-500 BC) Ancient Mesopotamian (3500-538 BC), Sumerian (3500-900 BC), Assyrian (900-625 BC), and Neo-Babylonian (611-538 BC) Gardens Ancient Persian Gardens (539-331 BC) Ancient Greek Gardens (700-136 BC) Ancient Roman Gardens (510 BC- AD 476) Ancient Chinese Gardens (1600 BC- AD 1279) Japanese Gardens (AD 575-1600) Medieval European Gardens (AD 476-1350) Islamic (Moorish) Gardens, Spain (AD 700s-1400s) Italian Renaissance Gardens (AD 1350-1765) French Grand-Style Gardens (AD 1495-1750) English Romantic Gardens (AD 1715-1840) Spanish Colonial Gardens (AD 1492-mid-1700s) Colonial and Early American Gardens (AD 1630-1840) American Romantic Gardens (AD 1830-1930) Victorian Gardens (AD 1820-1900) Classical Beaux-Arts Gardens (AD 1893-1930) Modern Gardens (AD 1930-late 1970s) Postmodern and Contemporary Gardens (AD mid-1970s-present)Design Fundamentals Design Principles Design ElementsChapter 3: Beginning the Design ProcessIntroductionA Design Process for Planning Outdoor Classrooms, Wildlife Habitats, and Gardens Identify Participants Write a Design ProgramConclusionChapter 4: Site Research and Design SynthesisReview and Evaluate Previous StepsSite Research Site Selection Site Inventory Site AnalysisDesign SynthesisConceptual Design Zones, Spaces, Design Features, and Spatial Sequencing Circulation Patterns Testing Design ConceptsPreliminary DesignFinal DesignChapter 5: Design EssentialsIntroductionProject Funding Grants and Cash Donations In-kind Donations Organization of the Fund-raising ProcessDesign Features Earthworks Ponds Plants Shade Structures Storage Areas Pathways Seating Walls SignsMaintenance Weeding Fertilization Pruning Bird Feeders and Bird BathsAccessibility RequirementsSafetyProject Evaluation and RevisionOutdoor Classroom and Schoolyard Habitat Assessment CriteriaChapter 6: Ecological Principles and Wildlife by Kim DuffekIntroduction to Wildlife EcologyElements for Survival Food Resources Water Availability Providing Shelter Space to SurvivePollinator Gardens and Wild Visitors Introduction Hummingbird Gardens Butterfly Gardens Bee Gardens Moth Gardens Bat Gardens Fly Gardens Wildlife GardensCompleting the Web Pest Control Decomposition Unwanted VisitorsSeeds for ThoughtWords of InspirationAppendix: Regional Plant Tables by Kim DuffekReferences and Additional Reading