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Kaplan

November 7, 2024

Five Attainable Steps for Your Outdoor Space

Time outdoors makes children happier, healthier, and equips them with the skills they need for life.
– Outdoor Classroom Day

In today’s message, Jeff Lindstrom, Senior Outdoor Classroom Designer with Nature Explore, describes five things to focus on when designing thoughtful, nature-rich outdoor spaces for learning and play:

Generate community buy-in

  • Help everyone feel heard and increase their sense of ownership in the design process
  • Mindfully incorporate local skilled labor and professionals
  • Set volunteers up for success by choosing doable projects

Be Cost-conscious

  • Introduce nature without breaking the bank
  • Phase a project to avoid wasteful spending
  • Use local and native materials
  • Focus on function and play-value

Plan for for the long-term

  • Establish a plan for continued and regular staff development / training
  • Consider the lifespan of an outdoor classroom and how to keep engagement high
  • Establish a maintenance plan

Cultivate a Community of Learners

  • Supporting research and anecdotal examples
  • Seek out field-tested products and natural materials
  • Provide an abundance of evolving/changing/manipulatable elements
  • Make outdoor spaces adult-friendly, too (storage, seating, visibility, etc.)

Design Thoughfully

  • Consider activities that make ‘good neighbors’ and a gradient of activity
  • Incorporate your team’s skillsets into your design and process
  • Responding to the site (drainage, wind, sun/shade, etc.)
  • Incorporate stories, culture and elements of significance

Today is Outdoor Classroom Day! This is a global movement to make time outdoors part of every child’s day. Learn more, access resources, and share how you are connecting children to nature on your favorite social platforms using #outdoorclassroomday.

Share with the hashtag #ExchangeEveryDay

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