Healthy Home Landscaping

Learning Landscapes www.learninglandscapes.org Ninety-three schoolyards and counting! Through the generous support of Denver voters, foundation grants, and grassroots efforts, Denver’s children have great places to play. Our mission is to build public places that support the wellness of children – through increased exercise, open space, community gathering places, gardens, and more. “By bringing together diverse groups, a civic process—not a design project— is created.” ~ Lois A. Brink, MLA, professor Learning Landscapes History The first Learning Landscape was built at Bromwell Elementary School in 1998 as the result of a six-year collaboration of parents, students, staff, faculty, neighbors, local businesses and University of Colorado Denver (UCD) landscape architecture graduate students. What began as a vast expanse of asphalt and pea gravel on the Bromwell playground was transformed into an active and aesthetically pleasing place for learning and physical activity. Bromwell’s schoolyard renovation project coincided with the end of mandatory busing at Denver Public Schools (DPS), which lead to a renewed interest in Denver neighborhood schools, allowing the Bromwell Learning Landscape project to evolve into a citywide urban initiative evoking social change and physical transformation of public grounds. UCD encourages faculty to connect the campus to the community, and Landscape Architecture Professor Lois Brink’s Learning Landscapes course proved to be a tremendous …