ECO-PEDAGOGICAL LANDSCAPES

Will Shrader

Eco-pedagogical landscapes explores design solutions at Northgate Elementary, an under served school in North Seattle with a highly diverse immigrant population as well as high rates of poverty. The current national education standards create a barrier especially for EngIish language learners through its inflexible curriculum and standardized test-based model. Students at Northgate would benefit from an outdoor space that facilitates learning opportunities for all abilities and supports cultural diversity.

I propose short term and long term design solutions for a readily implementable framework for Northgate Elementary to shift the paradigm of education to a more dynamic pedagogy accessible to every child and customized to local context. This is achieved through interactive outdoor learning spaces throughout the neighborhood that highlight natural processes, facilitate cultural exchange, and invite play.

CRITICAL STANCE : SHIFTING CULTURAL PERCEPTIONS OF NATURE

UNMITIGATED RESOURCE USE

POPULATION GROWTH

CULTURAL PERCEPTIONS OF NATURE

INCREASING ENVIRONMENTAL DISTURBANCES

DEGRADATION OF NATURAL SYSTEMS

UNINHABITABLE PLANET

STANDARDIZED TEST BASED EDUCATION

FUNDAMENTAL SHIFT IN EDUCATION SYSTEM

CONTEXT ECO-PEDAGOGICAL LANDSCAPES

ACTIVATED CITIZENS

PEDAGOGY

SUPPORTING

ECOLOGICAL LITERACY

CULTURALLY RELEVANT EDUCATION

COLLABORATIVE PROBLEM SOLVING

BUILDING

RESILIENT URBAN SYSTEMS

For the last 20 years ecologically-focused, pedagogical theory has cited the importance of prioritizing human conservation of the environment for long term heath of the planet. David Orr’s seminal writing on ecological literacy in the early 1990’s emphasized the connection between the environment and education, stating: “built on the recognition that the disorder of ecosystems reflects a prior disorder of mind, making it a central concern to those institutions that purport to improve minds. In other words, the ecological crisis is in every way a crisis of education.... All education is environmental education… by what is included or excluded we teach the young that they are part of or apart from the natural world”. 1 To improve and maintain environmental health, we must have individuals and communities that intimately understand and connect with it. Ecopedagogy, a theory that emerged from Paulo Freire’s ideas of critical pedagogy, calls for “an alternative global project” concerned with making changes in economic, social, and cultural structures ultimately for the wellbeing of the environment.2

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DESIGN GOALS :

TO SUPPORT...

CULTURAL DIVERSITY & LEARNING

ECOLITERACY

COLLABORATIVE LEARNING

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COMMUNITY source: http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/sidewalkrepair.htm

Sources: http://2035.seattle.gov/draft-urban-village-maps/ and Google Maps

NORTHGATE ELEMENTARY: EXISTING CONDITIONS

The outdoor spaces connected to Northgate Elementary present several opportunities and constraints important to my design decisions. The grass field (blue) is shared with the community as ball fields and open space; however, the public is restricted from using the space during school hours for safety reasons. The 10’-16’ retaining wall adjacent to the field and asphalt play court aggressively fragments the space and inhibits sight lines. Unifying these spaces creates grading challenges; however, it is a great opportunity to better connect the school and the community and expand children’s everyday play and learning experiences. In terms of the spaces immediate to the school, there are also several opportunities (shown in red) to improve play spaces and provide infrastructure for learning.