Talk of the Town

From Monkey Bars to Monkey Business Building Better Outdoor Playgrounds

Fri. Mar. 11, 7:30 - 9:00 pm

With: Susan Herrington, Landscape Architect UBC

You get a pretty clear idea of what Susan Herrington thinks about current approaches to designing playgrounds from the first sentence of her introduction to Schoolyard Park. The book chronicles an international design competition that challenged landscape architects, architects, industrial designers and planners to explore the schoolyard as a site for ecological rejuvenation, expression, and education. She wrote: “The 13-acres international design competition was motivated by the question, why are we designing schoolyards that could barely entertain a chimpanzee?”

And when it comes to preschool playgrounds there is much they can provide beyond entertainment: opportunities for social interaction, creative and imaginative play and development of motor skills. At a preschool the playground is an extension of the learning environment. Susan Herrington and her team of graduate students have videotaped children at play in preschools for hundreds of hours. And they are analyzing the elements that seem to be critical in enhancing children’s pleasure and learning experiences on the playground. Some of those factors include, context, connectivity, chance, clarity and challenge. Susan Herrington will bring video clips that illustrate the insight she and her team have gained when she appears at Talk of the Town.

The discussion will take place at UBC Robson Square. Attendance is free of charge, but please pre-register at info.talkofthetown@ubc.ca or phone 604.822.5675.

Biography

Susan Herrington is an associate professor of landscape architecture and environmental design at the University of British Columbia. She received her MLA from Harvard University and her BLA from the State University of New York.

Her research concerns the history and theory of designed landscapes and the culture of childhood. Susan has conducted research concerning kindergarten gardens in Germany with support from the German Academic Exchange, in Boston through a visiting research position at Harvard University, and in Toronto through SSHRC. She has lectured throughout the United States and in Europe. She orchestrated the 13-acres international design competition, and wrote Schoolyard Park (2003). In 2003 she began a five-year study called Outside Criteria, which studies the outdoor play spaces of childcare centres in Vancouver as part of the MCRI funded CHILD project. She was also awarded a UBC TLEF with Rick Kopak of UBC's Library and Information Science for Claude Glass: Creating A Digital Library. In 2004 her chapter "Taster Buds: Cultivating a Canadian Cuisine" was published in Eating Architecture (Paulette Singley and Jamie Horwitz, editors) from the MIT press.

She was also asked to return to the International Garden Festival, Les Jardins de Metis in Quebec. Susan brought MLA and ENDS students with her in June 2004 to build her garden, Hip Hop.

Bibliography

Schoolyard Park (13-acres International Design Competition), Susan Herrington, Centre for Landscape Research UBC, 2002

Links & Readings

Links

Consortium for Health, Intervention, Learning and Development

The Consortium for Health, Intervention, Learning and Development (CHILD) is a multi-disciplinary, academic-community partnership project established to undertake research that responds to identified community needs and interests for the health of children 0 to 6 and their families. Susan Herrington’s research into preschool playgrounds is funded by CHILD.

No More Cookie Cutter Parks

This is an editorial by Jay Beckwith the author of three books and dozens of articles of play environments for children.

Beyond Playgrounds

This site has an article about attempts in Illinois to improve playgrounds.