Entries by Landartista

Children Being in the World

I ran into this beautiful film and deep concept today. I wanted to share it with you. I am so ingrained in modern, western culture that this is simple and intriguing and feels completely out of reach somehow.   Every living being posses existential biological knowledge, the knowledge of nature, the ability to sustain life. […]

Natural Building In Playscapes

I have always been a fan of natural building. While participating in a few community built benches and kiosks I fell in love with this easy and fun construction process of cob. One of the mast amazing parts is that young people can help build. With very little skill and training even the youngest kids […]

Harper’s Playground: Inclusive Playgrounds Part Two

This is part two of my inclusive playgrounds posts. I will highlight a few of my favorite projects. These sites peaked my interest as inclusive and incorporating lots of nature elements. They had elements or imagery that really seemed to click for the design work I do. Most of them elegantly (in least some part) […]

Inclusive Playgrounds: Part One

I wanted to do a few posts in playgrounds that are designed and function to be inclusive of all users. I have been doing a little research and wanted to share some interesting points I have found and struggles I am battling.   Accessible Design vs. Universal Design The days of accessible playgrounds are over, […]

Nature Sculpture with Kids

Art with Nature I can attribute one of my life’s many twists and turns to Andy Goldsworthy. An environmental artist, sculptor and photographer that builds temporal sculptures that make me look at nature in a new light. If you don’t know his work do a quick Google search, it is spectacular.     Kids and […]

Cutting Edge Schools

I share a lot about cutting edge educational design on the blog. Today I wanted to talk about cutting edge education programs. In an educational reality full of tests, budget cuts, growing class sizes and increased homework.  I am always excited to see schools that really get the connection between play, project learning and student achievement. […]

Wondrous Willow Sculptures Link People to Place and Nature

Will Beckers, the Dutch artist know as willow man, has absolutely inspired me! I have seen a lot of woven willow art work through my nature and education searches. But his incorporation of education and various materials to tell stories is remarkable. He strives to create an experience where people are swept away from the […]

Toys vs. Trees

As this years holidays season appears in the distance, a new and very interesting rivalry between toys and trees, or nature in general, has been launched. You may have seen the Toys-R-Us advertisement featuring a bus full of kids that get surprised by a trip to the toy store instead of a ‘boring’ nature field […]

Nature Play Recipes

I LOVE the idea of a nature play recipe. I love even more that someone has already created them, and they are great. I ran into Play England’s Nature Play Activity Recipes today and had to share them. What could be better then having a fort making contest where you get to pour water over […]

Franciscan Earth Montessori: Earth History Path

The Gresham Outlook published a nice article on the Franciscan Earth Montessori: Earth History Path. The stations are starting to be installed along the path. It is exciting to see this unique project take shape; physical exercise, earth history, nature play and community building all it one! Check it out here.   

Kids and Bikes

Bikes = Freedom and Challenge to Kids Even if they are just used to ride to the end of the block or zoom past a friends house. Bikes offer those first few moments of independence. I have been involved with many park redevelopments that had ‘volunteer installed’ dirt bike courses. A summers worth of hard […]

*****PLEASE VOTE FOR US*****

We have launched a grant campaign through the Chase Mission Main Street Project. Please vote for us and help us achieve our dreams. Here is our plan: Learning Landscapes Design LLC is passionate about providing natural play spaces for ALL children, not just those that can pay our fees. With this grant we will engage with three […]

150 Days Of Play Campaign : Playground Ideas

ABOUT PLAYGROUND IDEAS Playground Ideas is one of my favorite organizations using play to do good in the world. I first highlighted their amazing work in this post a few years ago. They have continued to add amazing projects to their portfolio, including the one pictured below at the Ruben Centre School in Nairobi. Playground Ideas is […]

Play Fort

I ran into this amazing play fort yesterday at Kiyokawa Family Orchards. It was a great way to let the kids burn off some steam while you wait in line to pay for your apples. Here is what I like about it. – The rustic wood look and feel. – The size, it was big and […]

Playground Surface Testing

Falls on playgrounds cause 75% of playground accidents. It makes sense, playground equipment gives kids the opportunity to climb and test their abilities. Some times they find they were moving too fast or the apparatus was a bit too challenging for their skill level. For this reason ASTM (American Standard for Testing and Materials) requires […]

Removing Asphalt -Depave

I have done a previous post on the benefits of removing asphalt in school yards and some tips for work days. I recently attended a Depave event at Lewis School in southeast Portland. Depave is a Portland OR non profit that promotes the removal of unnecessary pavement from urban areas to create community green spaces […]

Closing Streets for Play: Play Out!

Closing the streets for play, I love this idea! There is a new organization called Playing Out that is letting kids take back the public realm of their streets. I wish this was a US initiative. But, I can see it working anywhere where kids live and motorists usually dominate the street. Check out the […]

Creativity Crisis – Encouraging Innovation in Students

Creativity and problem solving in our young people is on the decline. Forward educational thinkers say we can improve innovation in education by using the design process. The country’s top design thinkers are developing a design process that works. Groundbreaking educational approaches are putting these ideas into action with great success. This week’s post will walk through […]

10 Playgrounds That Make You Wish You Were Still A Kid

Wow! I just had to report this. To see the original post on Architizer follow this link. The Water Playground Designed by RS+ Robert Skitek Tychy, Poland Learn more about this project in the Architizer database. The Brumleby Playground Designed by Monstrum Copenhagen Learn more about this project here. Woods of Net Designed by Tezuka Architects Hakone, Japan […]

What does Green School mean to you?

When I meet with people in the Pacific Northwest they often have a picture in their mind of what green school means to them; innovative classroom layout, recycled materials, passive heating and cooling, natural light, rainwater harvesting, learning gardens and solar panels. Below I feature what a green school looks like in the Pacific Northwest, […]

Pearl Street Pedestrian Mall

We visited family in Boulder last year and I was pleasantly surprised by the Pearl Street pedestrian mall. The pedestrian friendly street design invites families and young kids to the space, which makes it a dynamic space, full of life and a great urban center. I think it is a great example of bringing play […]

MUD Party!

I don’t usually blog about my personal life or family. But, I wanted to share a few photos and ideas from my daughters second birthday party. She loves mud and bugs (go figure). We had a mud party for her. It was a big hit! Enter and grab an apron…it is going to get muddy […]

12 Schoolyard Greening Tips

I recently attended the Sustainable Oregon Schools Conference. There was a great mix of speakers and topics. The host school, Trillium School of West Linn was amazing! (More on that soon) It was nice to see many familiar faces and some new ones too. I wanted to share a portion of my presentation that focused […]

Guest Post on Nature Play

One of my favorite Portland, nature and kids bloggers asked me to do a guest post for him on nature play. Michael Barton writes the Exploring Portland’s Natural Area’s blog. The blog is a great collection of ideas and photos of his kids playing throughout the regions natural areas. The post that I helped write […]