March 2011 Blog Posts (4)

I'm so excited to see that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has created the Schoolyard Habitat Guide and made it available for download online. I was just starting to work my way through it when I ran across this fantastic picture and just…

This design for a vertical farm looks a lot like the climbing web I saw in Paris (in the previous post). It got me to thinking, if you can create a vertical farm that needs fresh air and sunlight so the plants can grow in a crowded urban area, why couldn't you create a vertical playground that needs fresh air,…

If a child is learning something is it still play? Absolutely! Kids love to tinker with things, but how often do they get the chance? Kids love working with grown-up tools, but how often are they allowed to do so? Teach kids a few basic rules about handling tools safely and let them take apart something that is gathering dust in the attic...a coffee pot, an old radio, a hairdryer...  You…

I find it very, very encouraging that this is the woman who designs playgrounds for the City of Atlanta's Parks Department. Pat Katz (who will probably never speak to me again for posting this!) has not lost the playful spirit one hopes a playground designer still has. Recently Pat and I spent a little time…