Landscape architecture for K–12 schools focuses on creating safe, sustainable and engaging outdoor environments that enhance learning, wellness and community. Key elements of M2L’s K–12 school design include outdoor classrooms, active play areas, and biodiverse, low-maintenance landscapes that promote student health, social interaction and environmental stewardship.
Creating innovative outdoor learning environments
As schools consider the overlapping benefits of time spent outdoors and flexible, interactive learning, landscape architects are designing flexible spaces that accommodate multiple uses:
- Outdoor classrooms to optimize engagement. Moving the class outside means nature becomes the teacher, and landscaping and the elements become the classroom. Outdoor spaces can serve multiple needs, providing space for dining, studying and socializing, as well as meetings and community events.
- Gardens for interactive learning. From butterfly and pollinator gardens to larger community gardens and everything in between, gardens are hands-on, outdoor laboratories that provide science, math and social learning in real time.
- Creative playscapes for sensory-rich learning. By replacing traditional playground equipment with natural elements like logs, sand, boulders and water and integrating play areas into other outdoor learning spaces, we give children a place and space to move and explore while accommodating all learning styles.
- Trails and fields for active discovery and wellness. As schools seek to do more with less — while balancing the need to build curriculum into the outdoors — intentional, future-ready design is top of mind for school planners. Beyond providing outdoor facilities for student development, schools can partner with third-party organizations to share space and drive revenue.
Protecting and preserving the school’s natural assets
For school projects of all sizes and scales, protecting and preserving existing trees and plantings cannot be overestimated. Mature trees can be an important part of a school’s history and provide numerous benefits that cannot easily be replaced. From providing shade and natural cooling to promoting biodiversity and improved air quality, preserving and showcasing a property’s valuable natural assets require deep expertise.
Environmental benefits abound
Today’s school administrators and planners must navigate an increasingly complex and complicated regulatory, municipal and interagency environment to take a project over the finish line. Landscape designers scrutinize every aspect of the project for potential benefits:
- Smart planning for longer-lasting landscapes. Native and drought-tolerant plantings, low-maintenance design, efficient irrigation and smart maintenance are baked into every project.
- LEED certification for healthier learning environments. Landscape architects can play a critical role in helping schools earn valuable LEED credits by designing for better water management, energy efficiency, green material selection and circular economy strategies.
- Green stormwater infrastructure strategies for long-term resilience. Green stormwater strategies are taking center stage in schools, from incorporating nontraditional mitigation strategies like bioswales, permeable pavements and integrated site detention concepts to finding innovative ways to apply these techniques when designing amenities.
This article is condensed from Designing for Outdoor Learning and Play, originally featured in Christian School Products magazine.