North Carolina Outdoor Classroom Symposium, Workshop, and Field Day

The “No Child Left Inside” legislation currently before Congress once again raises the issues of the role of US school grounds and school siting to the forefront. Are school grounds solely places for children to let off steam during recess (if it still exists) or could they serve a broader function as interdisciplinary educational resources to extend the classroom outdoors? If the latter, how should school grounds be designed to serve this expanded purpose? How can the environmental value of school grounds be reinstated? Typically, the natural ecosystem along with its educational potential is “scraped off” as the first step in new school construction. Thousands of such sites need natural restoration to improve their environmental quality to support No Child Left Inside programs – indeed restoration could be part of this new educational initiative.

Visit this link for more information about the symposium (Friday, October 23):

In partnership with CLH Landscape Architects, Cary, NC:

On Thursday, October 22, NLI will present an intensive, one-day workshop to help participants understand how naturalized school grounds can support healthy child development and motivate learning across the curriculum. Cost effective design strategies will be introduced for both new construction and retrofitting of school sites in urban and suburban contexts. Creative design responses to financial and regulatory constraints will be discussed. School sitting issues such as walkable/bikable access, eco-conservation, and implications for meaningful physical activity will be addressed. Effective approaches and arguments for selling progressive school ground ideas to school system staff and elected officials will be shared. Management, maintenance, and liability issues will be discussed.

On Saturday, October 24, a field study day will offer participants opportunities to visit local examples of best practice in school ground development and discuss issues of design, implementation, and curricular benefits.