Greening the Outdoor Classroom: Bringing Nature to School Campuses
Increased use of outdoor learning spaces is top of mind for schools due to limitations posed by Covid-19 on indoor classroom use. In addition to reducing virus risks, outdoor learning benefits students’ social, emotional, and mental well-being. Research shows that trees and gardens create better learning environments for students by alleviating mental fatigue, improving attention, and encouraging hands-on learning outdoors — all of which can bolster academic performance.
In this webinar, learn strategies for bringing trees and nature to school campuses and students of all ages. Find out how to design for success by anticipating roadblocks, identifying feasible opportunities, and engaging with key stakeholders. Certified Arborists will earn 1.5 ISA CEUs upon attending the live webinar.
Speakers
- Lauren Freels is a landscape architect at Bay Tree Design who has been pursuing her passion for living landscapes for over 20 years. She has worked throughout the Bay Area on school and community landscapes, working with districts, volunteers, and community partners to provide living schoolyards designed to stand the test of time. Along with her professional work she has volunteered with Safe Routes to School, Green Schoolyards America, and parent-led school community groups. This experience gives her an insider’s view from both the professional and volunteer side of improving the ecological benefits of schools.
- Jaime Zaplatosch is the Director of Green Schoolyards for Healthy Communities at Children & Nature Network, where she supports cities across the U.S. to develop and implement city-wide, equity-based nature connection initiatives to support thriving communities. Jaime works with partners around the world towards a vision that all communities will have access to green schoolyards by 2050. Jaime’s career has focused on engagement with residents and youth where they live to create the communities that they want. Jaime has extensive knowledge in the field of urban greening and community development projects with experience in strategy, community engagement, partnership building, program development, fundraising, and conservation.
- Devon Conley is the Board President of the Mountain View Whisman School District. Devon’s career in education spans the past nineteen years and includes working in education policy research and teaching elementary school in San Francisco, San Jose, and Mountain View. Devon’s work as a public official draws on her background in city planning and urban design as well as her time as a researcher and teacher. She was previously the Vice Chair of the City of Mountain View’s Parks and Recreation Commission and worked at the Center for Cities and Schools in Berkeley. Conley earned her B.A. in Architecture from Yale University, her Masters in City Planning from the University of California at Berkeley, and her Masters in Education from Stanford University. She is also an active PTA member and a room parent for her son’s second-grade classroom.