The latest release from the American Society of Landscape Architect’s (ASLA) Technical Information Series (LATIS) looks at ways landscape architecture can support educational development of elementary and high school students.

     The study, Design for Learning: Values, Qualities and Processes of Enriching School Landscapes uses three Seattle case studies to illustrate how school landscapes can be used as teaching aids, and how the design qualities and processes may enrich these landscapes for children and the community. Conclusions focus on the conditions needed to make enriched landscapes an integral part of children’s learning and community life.

     “Learning is the most meaningful when it engages our senses fully, when it is grounded in daily life, and when play is part of the process,” says Julie M. Johnson, author of the study and professor of landscape architecture at the University of Washington, Seattle, and ASLA member. “The design of the school land­scapes holds boundless opportunities to foster these experiences, and simultaneously enhance landscapes’ values for the ecology of natural and community systems.”

     Design for Learning can be viewed at www.asla.org/latis/latis_toc.html, along with three other LATIS publications. A self-study exam is also included, which can be turned into the ALSA for grading.

     For more information, contact the ASLA at www.alsa.org.