Landscapes for Learning

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. —Landscape architecture students at the University of Arkansas have dreamed up playground plans that go way beyond the usual swing sets and sandboxes. Nature trails, a corn maze and sculptured land forms are among their strategies to bring learning outdoors at the new campus for the Benton County Sunshine School, which serves toddlers, preschool children and adults with disabilities as well as children without special needs.

“The playground is vital,” said Leta Shockley, executive director of the Sunshine School. “It’s an extension of the classroom — they work on goals and objectives out there.”

The students will present their ideas this Wednesday, Nov. 15, at the new 40,000-square-foot facility, located on a 17-acre parcel of land that presents an ample if daunting canvas for the young designers.

“They’ve got a metal building, a parking lot and raw landscape,” said Dwight Callaway of Scott and Goble Architects, the Bentonville firm that served as architects for the new school facility. A 1993 graduate of the UA School of Architecture, Callaway approached the school’s landscape architecture department to generate fresh ideas for the Sunshine School campus.

“What you’re providing for them is a vision for the future — what the space can be,” he told the students at a recent design review session.

Under the direction of professor Judy Brittenum, the students developed a wide range of environments that promote play and learning. Native American arrowheads and rock tools unearthed during construction shaped one group’s design scheme.

“We wanted to honor the history of the Osage Indians who traveled through this area,” said Shannon Wallace, a third-year student. Tribal weavings inspired the geometric patterns of a corn maze and the purple, gold and turkey red colors of a shade structure, and a handprint motif favored by the Osage provides peepholes through the playground fence. Red oak trees, corn, squash and other plants sacred to the Osage would be planted on the grounds.

Another group expanded the concept of nursery building blocks into landform sculptures where children could climb and play. The cubic forms echo throughout their design, showing up in a fountain, plantings and a viewing deck for the pond, transforming the landscape into a three-dimensional geometry lesson. Students also proposed nature trails, stables and parkland on site to promote hippotherapy, or therapeutic work with horses.

Before they put pencil to paper, the students carried out extensive research on the site, analyzing the movement of the sun, winds, drainage and soils. They also spent several mornings watching the children at play.

“It was interesting to see where they would run first,” said Neill Sloan, a third-year student. “Most kids used every single thing on the playground.”

“We tried to find activities and equipment that would engage and challenge both children with and without disabilities,” student Julie Russell said. To meet this goal, the students researched accessible playground equipment and carefully sited various amenities (in one design, for example, the sandbox is embedded beside a stone wall on a higher level of the playground so that kids in wheelchairs can roll up to play).

Shockley was impressed by the students’ early design work.

“There were some good ideas,” she said. “We’re excited to see how they have expanded on them.” The Sunshine School has raised $200,000 for furnishings and playground equipment. They need to secure an additional $300,000 in funds. To learn more about the school, visit http://nwabcss.org/.

Landscape architecture faculty and students at the University of Arkansas have completed several community service projects, including a pavilion at Happy Hollow Elementary School and a wetlands observation deck at Bryce-Davis Park, both in Fayetteville; trail planning for downtown Bentonville, Ark.; and design concepts for Heifer International’s Global Village II near Perryville, Ark.