Our projects range in size from .5 acre micro-parks, to 2+ acres, but even the smallest projects have Tens of thousands of plants, dozens of trees, and a ton of life.
Davis Elementary
Our first large scale project started as an overhaul of the kindergarten play space—a dirt-and-gravel area with a chain-link fence and not much else—before an angel donor allowed us to think bigger. We took down the fence and expanded into an adjacent field overgrown with invasive grasses, more than quadrupling the original space. We needed to stretch our budget across just over an acre, meaning that we would have to transform the landscape for less than $2/sf, about the cost of new sod. We spent the budget on 800 linear feet of gravel paths, about 10 Million seeds, and 120 trees, plus about 3 weeks of labor.
BEFORE
Gullett elementary
Our first school project converted the 4th grade garden into a wildflower meadow with gravel paths and seating areas for the kids. We also put stone bridges over an existing dry creekbed with a bench carved into the plantings on the far side. Butterflies now come in swarms, with wild rabbits and birds visiting frequently.
Ojeda Middle School
[IN PROGRESS]
Middle Schoolers have very different needs from outdoor spaces than the elementary schoolers we had designed for in the past. Spaces for science labs and group projects are spaced throughout the area. A woodland backdrop screens off the street and apartment buildings out the windows, and flowering ornamental trees near the windows bring birds and butterflies in close view to turn dull, flat views into vibrant, living paintings for the kids in class.
BEFORE
HillCrest elementary
[IN PROGRESS]
Other than an existing playground there wasn’t much here for the kids other than a half-dead tree, a deep drainage swale, and tightly mown weeds. With a few boulders we spanned the drainage swale so the kids could cross over, and drew paths into the landscape. Some open areas below the playground are wrapped with young trees that will shade the space in a few years, with a wide swath of meadow sweeping around.
BEFORE
