Six Keys to Useful Outdoor Spaces

As outdoor learning spaces become more and more incorporated in school design, one can’t help but ask, what needs to be considered when designing them to ensure that they’re useful? The experts have several thoughts.

1. Ownership
Two pieces of creating successful outdoor learning spaces that are often ignored are: 1) engaging the maintenance staff, parents and teachers in the planning process; and 2) providing teachers with support, resources and training to know how to adequately use the space and, therefore, help the children use it.

2. Maintenance
Having a maintenance plan is extremely important and should be discussed from the beginning, because everything requires maintenance: asphalt, concrete, plant materials, etc.

3. Community
Connect the outdoor learning spaces to the community. Recruit parents who know a lot about plant materials who are willing to contribute, or the Boy Scouts, a local garden club or the Lions Club can make a contribution.

4. Shade
Provide protection from the elements. The use of shade trees can protect people from the sun and provide a covering from the rain.

5. Storage and Connection
There are going to be materials that the teachers and students will need, and they should be stored next to the area where they will be used. Outdoor learning space won’t be used if it is not located close to the building. It Is important to look at outdoor and indoor learning spaces as connected, rather than segregated.

6. Variety
A successful outdoor learning space includes a lot of different resources, like as a play area, a gathering/teaching space and free space.

This article originally appeared in the issue of .

Featured

  • Springfield Breaks Ground on $53.7M Pipkin Middle School Rebuild

    Construction is underway on a new, state-of-the-art Pipkin Middle School in Springfield, Mo., a major step in Springfield Public Schools’ (SPS) long-term facility improvement plan, according to local news. The $53.7-million project officially broke ground in early June, following years of planning and community input aimed at modernizing aging infrastructure and addressing student capacity concerns.

  • ProTeam Launches GoFit 6 HEPA Backpack Vacuum

    Technology leader Emerson recently introduced the new ProTeam GoFit 6 HEPA backpack vacuum, according to a news release. The vacuum was designed to capture 99.97% of particulates down to 0.3 microns—including atmospheric hazards like lead dust, mold spores, and other particulates—through an advanced filtration system.

  • California High School Starts Construction on New CTE Building

    Analy High School, part of the West Sonoma County Union High School District (WSCUHSD) in Sebastopol, Calif., recently broke ground on a new Career Technical Education (CTE) Building, according to a news release. The 15,000-square-foot facility will offer specialized facilities for students in engineering, welding, culinary arts, agricultural sciences, and design thinking.

  • modern college building with circuit and brain motifs

    Anthropic Introduces Claude for Education

    Anthropic has launched a version of its Claude AI assistant tailored for higher education institutions. Claude for Education "gives academic institutions secure, reliable AI access for their entire community," the company said, to enable colleges and universities to develop and implement AI-enabled approaches across teaching, learning, and administration.

Digital Edition