Imagine….. Create……
Comprehend……
The Learning Gardens at Kradwell . . . Cultivating Success
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The
Learning Gardens at Kradwell are designed with a broader
purpose than usually associated with conventional student
outdoor activity spaces. This extraordinary creative
environment embraces the school’s history of providing
unique, child-centered learning experiences through
thoughtful design aimed at drawing the students beyond the
school’s walls into a world of infinite possibility.
Spaces are intentionally organic to free the student to mold
them to his imagination. A fresh air classroom and
amphitheater provide a venue for artistic and dramatic work.
Native gardens act as natural science laboratories where
insect and wildlife might be intimately studied. A
teaching garden and greenhouse invite students to get their
hands dirty cultivating, planting and nurturing vegetables
for their own consumption. Imagine the thrill of
taking that first bite of a carrot you nurtured to maturity,
experiencing its cool sweetness and knowing nothing in the
world has ever tasted better.
The
value of nature and exposure to natural surroundings in the
education of children is well documented. Richard Louv,
in his book, “Last Child in the Woods; Saving our Children
from Nature Deficit Disorder”(2005), demonstrates that
environment-based education dramatically improves
standardized test scores and grade point averages and
develops skills in problem solving, critical thinking and
decision-making. Louv states, “Healing the broken bond
between our young and nature is in our self-interest, not
only because aesthetics or justice demand it, but also
because our mental, physical and spiritual health depend
upon it.”
Nancy
Wells, in a 2006 Cornell University study titled, “Nature
and the Life Course: Pathways from Childhood Nature to Adult
Environmentalism,” concludes that, “Participating in
wild nature activities before age eleven is a particularly
potent pathway toward shaping both environmental attitudes
and behaviors in adulthood. Nature around a home can
help protect children against life stress and boost
children’s cognitive functioning.” Given that all
students attending Kradwell and all patients of the Aurora
Psychiatric Hospital struggle with psychological, emotional,
behavioral or physiological conditions, providing a
multi-use, environmentally rich outdoor space is
particularly appropriate.
The
nearly one half acre site available for use by Kradwell
School is ideally suited for this purpose.
Conveniently located to the rear of the school, exit doors
from both middle and secondary school programs open directly
into the Learning Gardens space. The site slopes
gently upward, away from the school and wraps around the
west and front of the school building. Two wings of
the main hospital building provide protection and privacy on
the north and west sides of the site, as well as direct
access from the hospital into the gardens. The gardens’
design takes advantage of the slope and curves, creating
distinct areas for gardening, environmental studies,
artistic work and quieter contemplative activities.
This illustration
prepared by Paragon Design Group, LLC, provides a visual
design of the Learning Gardens at Kradwell with numeric
references that correspond to the descriptions provided in
this project narrative.
Primarily designated for use by Kradwell School’s students,
the Learning Gardens’ layout, features and design afford
useful benefit to the patients of Aurora Psychiatric
Hospital as well. Over two hundred and twenty-five
(225) students attended classes at Kradwell School during
the 2007-2008 school year. It is expected the school’s
annual enrollment will remain at the same level or increase
slightly in the near future. It is our hope that the
existence of this outdoor classroom will foster connections
to the broader community through an interface with the
Milwaukee Urban Ecology Center and other like-minded
educational initiatives. In addition, the space will be
accessible for supervised activities for inpatient children,
adolescents and adults after the school day and on weekends.
Upon completion, the Learning Gardens at Kradwell will be
the only enclosed outside area available for student and
patient use on the psychiatric hospital campus.
The
Learning Gardens are rich with possibilities for outdoor
classroom activities. The design encourages teachers
to use the gardens as a fresh air classroom, outdoor art
studio, natural science laboratory, environmental ecosystem
or wildlife nature habitat. The pathways, all
wheelchair accessible, meander through the gardens, inviting
those walking the paths to enjoy the birds in the upland
prairie (#13), relax by the waterfall (#8), or experience
the rare perfumes of aromatic plants in the sensory garden
(#9). A dry streambed (#5) will come alive with the
change in weather patterns (or a well-directed garden hose)
so students can observe first hand the dynamics of water
flow and erosion.
A
gazebo (#14) offers seclusion for story telling, writing and
quiet bookwork, while the amphitheatre (#3) is ideal for
dramatic readings, plays, performances and teacher-,
student- or clinician-led presentations and discussions.
The vegetable garden and tool shed (#1& #4) provide
opportunities to work the soil, cultivating vegetables and
flowers as a class activity or just for fun. There is
even a compost bin discretely tucked aside the garden shed
(#17). Students will have the opportunity to
understand the value of organic cultivation as well as
experience the delight of eating fresh produce nurtured
through their own efforts. Rain gardens (#16) are
strategically placed to minimize the effect of run-off from
the buildings’ roofs, the slope and the hardscaped areas.
The rain gardens are planted with native, drought- and
flood- resistant plantings creating a hands-on ecology
studio. Rain barrels located upslope at the garden shed (#4)
and the gazebo (#14) will, with gravity-assisted flow, keep
the nearby gardens properly hydrated. Garden visitors
will become familiar with native flora and issues related to
water conservation and preservation through materials
provided by the UW-Extension and MMSD rainwater garden
programs
Soothing
sounds of falling water reach throughout the gardens from
the centrally placed waterfall and ornamental pond (#8).
This tiny wetland feature provides beauty and restful
ambiance while functioning as an outdoor natural science
laboratory. In the spring, summer and fall it will be
rich with water plants and critters including our very own
fish. The natural plants, rocks, bugs, birds and small
wildlife throughout the Learning Gardens will provide
realistic subjects for art and science projects alike.
Weather
station instruments strategically located throughout the
garden include a rain gauge, thermometer and anemometer.
Students will engage in meteorological activities designed
to integrate weather prediction into the school’s plans for
outdoor education activities. Daily weather reports will be
distributed throughout the school and the hospital to aid
students and patients in preparing for weather-related
needs. Many of our urban students, for example, arrive
at school on our coldest winter days woefully underdressed
for the brutally dangerous below-zero temperatures.
Daily weather reports will provide a forum for teachers to
help students make healthy decisions about self-care in
extreme weather.
The
vision for the Learning Gardens emerged with input from
teachers, students, parents, hospital staff and community
members. These important constituents will continue to
engage in events and activities related to the overall
fundraising, development, and use of the space.
Opportunities for their continued involvement may include
the selection and planting of garden material, design and
construction of the garden shed or gazebo, and day-to-day
maintenance activities.
The
Learning Gardens at Kradwell are designed to add a dimension
to our children’s educational and social experience that is
too often absent in their world today. In safety and
security, our students will be able to engage in free and
imaginative outdoor play and study. Each will have the
opportunity to deepen her understanding of the natural world
and her place within that world. Some will experience
the smell and feel of fresh soil between their fingers for
the first time in their lives. These are not luxuries.
Unstructured play is not a waste of time. Students’
ability to develop the essential executive functions of
self-regulation, problem solving and teamwork is
inextricably tied to imaginative play and outdoor
experiences. The Learning Gardens provide the rich
natural environment essential to the development of inner
confidence and control which empowers students to direct
their own learning and find success in their lives.
In
addition, the Learning Gardens invite Aurora Psychiatric
Hospital patients and staff to benefit from the healing
qualities of nature. Researchers Clare Cooper Marcus
and Marni Barnes confirm what many of us intuit; nature, and
more specifically gardens, promote relief from symptoms,
reduce stress and improve one’s overall sense of well being
and hopefulness. The simple pleasure of viewing nature from
one’s hospital window promotes improved sleep and diminished
stress. A leisurely stroll through the garden elevates
mood. Gardening itself nurtures self-esteem. Plants
respond to care regardless of who provides it and are
non-threatening and non-discriminating. Patients’
therapeutic experience will be enriched as they participate
in fresh air yoga classes, group therapy sessions in the
gazebo (#14) and opportunities for al fresco artistic
expression.
“Nature is always lovely, invincible, glad,
whatever is done and suffered by her creatures.
All scars she heals,
whether in rocks, or water or sky or hearts.”
- John Muir
Support the Learning Gardens at Kradwell
You can make a gift to the
Learning Gardens at Kradwell by going to the Aurora
Philanthropy website,
www.Aurora.org/Philanthropy
or by contacting the Office of Philanthropy at 414.454.6741.
