image: Clint Mickel via Flickr
This post is a heads-up for educational opportunities for members of the Children’s Outdoor Environments PPN and for all ASLA members with an interest in this practice area. We would like to remind our members of an upcoming webinar and sessions that will be of interest at the Annual Meeting in Denver.
Upcoming ASLA Online Learning Presentation:
Risk Management at Nature Play and Learning Areas: A Risk Analysis Approach
Wednesday, September 17, 1:00 – 2:00pm (EDT)
1.0 PDH (LA CES/HSW)
Presenter: Allen Cooper, J.D., M.P.P, National Wildlife Federation
Risk management is a paramount issue in the design of nature play and learning areas. This presentation provides background on the dominant standards-based approach to risk management in children’s play areas, considers its application to nature play areas, then presents an alternative approach to risk management based on analysis of actual risk. The presenter is a coauthor of the recently released guide for the design of nature play and learning areas, Nature Play & Learning Places: Creating and Managing Places Where Children Engage with Nature.
Children’s Outdoor Environments at the Annual Meeting:
November, and the Annual Meeting in Denver, is just around the corner. There is a field session, numerous education sessions and several networking opportunities that will be of particular interest to members of the Children’s Outdoor Environments PPN.
PPN Events
PPN Networking Reception
Friday, November 21, 5:15 – 7:15pm
Meet with the Children’s Outdoor Environments Co-Chairs and other PPN members. Take the opportunity to make connections and share stories. Please note that this is a ticketed event and tickets must be purchased in advance.
Children’s Outdoor Environments PPN Meeting at the EXPO
Saturday, November 22, 12:45 – 2:15pm
Join us for our annual PPN meeting, which will include a lively PechaKucha-style series of presentations on children’s outdoor environments. The presentations are sure to inspire, and will look at a range of topics, from broad issues like universal design, safety, emerging health issues for children, etc. to focusing on a specific project. We will get to learn from and know each other better, and have some fun in the process.
Field & Education Sessions
Denver’s Schoolyard Learning Landscapes (FS-015)
Friday, November 21, 1:00 – 5:00pm
Robby Layton, FASLA, Design Concepts; Darin Delay, The Kitchen Community; Andy Nowak, Slow Food; Lois Brink, Affil. ASLA, University of Colorado
Completed in 2012, Denver elementary schools now boast 96 learning landscapes. The $50 million redevelopment project is one of four nationally. Bring your own focus, up close and experientially, to see great design with an emphasis on student learning and engagement with sustainability, especially through stormwater infrastructure and urban farming. Please note that this is a ticketed event and tickets must be purchased in advance.
Evidence-Based Landscape Design: Pilot Study of Children with Developmental Disorders (FRI-A01)
Friday, November 21, 8:30 – 10:00am
John McConkey, Landscape Structures; Lucy Miller, The STAR Center Foundation
More than just through play, children with developmental disorders benefit from strategically designed sensory playgrounds and sensory gardens. This study evaluated outcomes of outdoor play using a multiple baseline research design. The lessons are applicable to future sensory gardens and play areas within broad fields of architecture and landscape architecture.
Playful Cities: Kids and Design in Urban Environments (FRI-D03)
Friday, November 21, 3:30 – 5:00pm
Christopher Nolan, ASLA, AIA, Central Park Conservancy; Tori Derr, University of Colorado, Boulder; Julian Richter and Peter Heuken, Richter Spielgerate GmbH; Jane Chermayeff, Architectural Playground Equipment
This panel for landscape architects, city planners, and advisers will explore the design of play spaces in urban environments. Special consideration will be given to developing comprehensive plans for play, effectively engaging children and youth in the design process, and understanding the essential childhood need for challenging play environments.
Playing by the Rules: Making Artful, Innovation Playgrounds that Meet Standards (SAT-B05)
Saturday, November 22, 2:30 – 4:00pm
Christopher Nolan, ASLA, AIA, Central Park Conservancy; Marc Hacker, Rockwell Group; Matthew Urbanski, ASLA, Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates; Daniel Jost, ASLA
Designing innovative playgrounds that are artful, fun, and even have ‘loose parts’ may seem hopeless with all the federal regulations, industry standards, and liability concerns in the U.S. It is possible, however. A panel of playground designers will discuss the great places they’ve created for kids within the American context.
Ensuring Sustained Value in Therapeutic Gardens and Children’s Landscapes (MON-C03)
Monday, November 24, 1:30 – 3:00pm
Marni Barnes, ASLA, DeVa Designs; Jena Jauchius, ASLA, Art + Environment; Daniel Winterbottom, FASLA, Winterbottom Design; Jack Carman, FASLA, Design for Generations
Therapeutic gardens and children’s landscapes must meet specific needs, goals, and objectives. Designers need to know requirements are being met. To ensure the design integrity of these special environments, topic experts will address post-occupancy evaluations, project monitoring, short- and long-term maintenance, and other therapeutic gardens and children’s landscape issues.
The Wilds: Integrating Natural Systems and Outdoor Learning Environments (MON-C09)
Monday, November 24, 1:30 – 3:00pm
Jamie Phillips, ASLA, CMG Landscape Architecture; Emily Bello, EHDD Architecture; Alice Moore, Katherine Delmar Burke School
Exposure to nature during childhood is essential for healthy development, yet self-directed outdoor discovery is waning. Presenters have collaboratively designed campus environments that create learning opportunities and inspire stewardship of nature through indoor-outdoor spaces that integrate natural systems and interdisciplinary curricula, thus cultivating a campus culture of outdoor learning.
by Jena Jauchius, ASLA, Founder and Past Chair of the Children’s Outdoor Environments PPN