The playgrounds at Archbishop O’Sullivan Catholic School in Kingston, Ontario will be getting a major upgrade thanks to a group of students in NC’s School of Environment and Horticulture. On Jan. 7, second-year Landscape Technician students, under the guidance of professors Carrie Zimmerman and Jesse Savage, were crowned as the winners of the 2019 Come Alive Outside Design Challenge which saw several post-secondary institutions compete to create a compelling vision for new naturalized playgrounds and schoolyard.
Come Alive Outside is a nonprofit organization, founded in 2014 that works closely with partners in healthcare, public health, outdoor recreation and the landscape profession to promote healthy living and outdoor activities. The annual challenge creates the opportunity for college, high school, elementary and preschool students to work together with landscape professionals to design and build natural schoolyards and playspaces in communities across North America.
In October, teams of students from Niagara, Algonquin and Seneca Colleges, as well as Ryerson University and the University of Guelph, participated in a design charette with students and teachers from Archbishop O’Sullivan school. Using the input and ideas generated during the charrette, the teams created and submitted detailed design proposals, which were judged by students and staff at the school, as well as landscaping professionals and Landscape Ontario.
NC’s submission, led by students Kwoo Yoyp Yoon, Shubham Shubham, Justin Sandy, Cameron Lougas, Manxi Liu, Jake Dupon, Tyler Bradley, Carla Ashbour, Morgan Cheeseman and Amrinder Singh, came out on top thanks to a warm reception from the elementary school students.
NC’s winning design sports innovative educational features like a pollinator garden and a sustainable water management demonstration areas, as well as unique playground designs like a multi-use, year-round hockey zone. But the design not only gives students new spaces to play and learn, it also helps address several major issues with the existing grounds, including poor drainage designs and compacted soil.
“The proudest part of our design is the Kindergarten area, because we spent so much time discussing not only the needs that students and the community want, but also the fitness of key factors and the limited budget,” said student Kwoo Youp (John) Yoon. “In our Kindergarten area, students will experience a more natural feeling from their new outside classroom, pollinator garden along the fences, water movement along the swale, and many other components.”
Judges noted the design’s focus on integrating educational features for students, as well as its innovative approaches to addressing drainage concerns and All the submissions, including Niagara College’s can be viewed on the Come Alive Outside website.
Yoon added that the challenge was a not only a significant test of the team to work under pressure, but was an invaluable applied learning experience. “Without my amazing peers and professors, we couldn’t have made the submission or won the prize. Our patience and hard-working mentality is what deservedly achieved our win.”
