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26 / BUILDING DIALOGUE / DECEMBER 2016
T here’s one universal constant at any
school: the raucous noise-filled school-
yard – the byproduct from the comings
and goings and children at play. But there’s
been an important evolution on these school-
yards and it’s enriching educational opportuni-
ties and creating safer, healthier environments
for children.
Over the past 35 years, I’ve watched and partic-
ipated in the evolution of schoolyards for many
public and private schools. I’ve seen this evolution
change philosophies and as a result, what were
once large expanses of harsh asphalt and rock, to-
day, these same schoolyards are vibrant extensions
of the educational program.
35 Years Ago
For the most part, schoolyards were simply
thought of as places for before- and after-school
gathering and short breaks for recess and lunch.
They typically had an athletic field for traditional
gym classes during school and sports activities after
school.
Unfortunately though, a great majority of those
schoolyards had sites that were not hospitable and
lacked consideration of alternative uses. Often they
used inadequate and sometimes unsafe materials.
Typically, they were plagued with the following:
• Large expanses of asphalt.
• Playgrounds surfaced with sand or pea gravel,
often at an inadequate depth.
• If there was sod, it rarely had an automatic irri-
gation syste.
• Play equipment was typically bare steel and the
most basic climbers or obstacle-course type equip-
ment.
• Little to no accessibility throughout the site.
Making Change
Thirty-five years ago, our firm began working
with architects and school districts to reconsider
the schoolyard – the evolution has been ongoing
since.
We pushed for safer and healthier sites. We advo-
cated for connections to nature, low-maintenance
sites and smarter uses of water. These ideas were
implemented by incorporating the following:
• Low-use areas planted with native grasses that
required no irrigation in the long-term.
• Native and adapted plant materials.
• Efficient automatic irrigation systems for all
schools.
• Age-separated and easily observed play areas
with upgraded equipment.
Today’s Schoolyards as Learning
Landscapes and So Much More
Since those early years, we have figured out how
to incorporate nature and learning into school-
yards. We participate in the continually growing
national design discussion intertwining nature and
play, incorporating learning into schoolyards, and
design of inclusive playgrounds. Today, 35 years later,
schoolyards often incorporate: outdoor classrooms,
gardens, native plantings, riparian or rain garden
plantings, informal track/trail systems, imagination
play elements, activities or theming that play off of
the curriculum, neighborhood or other elements
that have significance to the school and neighbor-
hood, colorful/imaginative play equipment, play
surfacing that meets accessibility guidelines and
fall attenuation requirements, activities and equip-
ment that is inclusive of all abilities, shade shelters,
both for student and after-hours use by the com-
munity, many configurations of seating areas for so-
cial opportunities, and environments and activities
for students on the autistic spectrum to play and
socialize more comfortably
Real Examples of Change
and Areas Still Lagging
While embraced by private schools like the Mon-
tessori and Waldorf models, the adoption of using
the schoolyard for outdoor education has been at
a slower pace. Although the concept is highly sup-
ported and accepted, for many school districts the
curriculum, maintenance and funding necessary to
support it have been slow to fully develop.
In Colorado, Denver Public Schools has provided
support and funding to implement its innovative
Learning Landscape Schoolyards in each of its 98 el-
ementary schools. Other highly regarded programs
around the nation include the Boston Schoolyard
Initiative and the New York City and Trust for Pub-
lic Land’s Schoolyard to Playground Initiative. Like
these, many other districts and individuals schools
havemade breakthroughs in elementary school-lev-
el outdoor learning opportunities and reconnecting
schools with their communities.
Yet, middle- and high school-level programs have
lagged behind. In Colorado, entities such as the lot-
tery-funded Great Outdoors Colorado and the Colo-
rado Health Foundation have stepped in to provide
sources of funding for outdoor learning initiatives.
Between 2013 and 2016, GOCO has offered a School
Play Yard Initiative grant that “creates safer, more
active play areas and environments for outdoor
learning at schools,” (Our Grant Programs, www.
).
Championing Schoolyard Learning
and Connections to Nature
I’m proud that we have been champions of ex-
panding the boundaries of learning opportunities
in the schoolyard. In the 1980s, we saved one of the
last sections of undisturbed native prairie for a Jef-
ferson County, elementary school outdoor learning
area and created native learning areas to transition
between the mountainous forest at a new elemen-
tary school in Nederland. In the 1990s, we turned a
Carol Henry,
PLA, ASLA
Principal/
President,
Design
Concepts
ELEMENTS Schoolyard Design