Nurturing Landscapes: Creating educational rainwater management systems on school grounds
Date
2015-09-28
Authors
Orr, Catherine
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Abstract
This research poses two questions: How, through collaboration and thoughtful design practices, can rainwater management systems on school grounds be developed as resources for learning? And, what can these systems contribute to the development of more sustainable urban rainwater management? The research was conducted through a literature review, the analysis of three case studies and a pilot project. The research points to the potential for schools to act as a centralizing figure, enabling a community collaboration to occur, with the aim of implementing shared goals. This process generated knowledge, spread awareness and built relationships among the community. The school’s participation in this process was key to creating place-based, engaging solutions. The rainwater systems must be multi-functional and contribute to the learning environment by building on the school’s educational philosophy. The four projects offer different scenarios for creating rainwater management systems that engage students through both hands-on learning and play.
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Keywords
Landscape architecture, Greening school grounds, Environmental education, Rainwater management, Urban ecology