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Assignment 1C: Creekside Class-‘roam’

Exploring the Pedagogy in Community & Place

Land Acknowledgement

I would first like to acknowledge that the site I was investigating takes place on the traditional and stolen territories of the  xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) nations. If this project were further developed, meaningful collaboration with these nations would be necessary to proceed with integrity to the site’s cultural significance and history.

The Where – Site Location

The site I chose to investigate was what is known today as China Creek North Park.

A couple preliminary observations…

This park is a hub for young families, schools, and educational institutions.

Lots of design features everywhere around the park, except in this Southeastern patch.

There used to be an actual creek here! (Photo courtesy of Vancouver Board of Parks & Recreation.)

A sign located on the western side of the washroom near the chosen site.

Cube diagram illustrating some of these key findings in my site analysis.

The Why – Health Issue Research

I chose to focus on neurodiversity in learners and more specifically, learners with ADHD, as my health issue of focus.

I chose this because:

• The site’s location – situated in between VCC, Emily Carr, a preschool, and Queen Elizabeth Elementary School
• The site’s history – with its historic shoreline, the intervention could give opportunities to augment histories that have been erased/learn through place-based learning
• Personal experience as a teacher and a learner

Key Takeaways from Research:

• Bronfenbrenner’s ecosystem model – greater community connection fosters stronger social strategies and more well-rounded learning
• First People’s Principles of Learning – learning through the land is more holistic and encourages inquiry led learning, which is more accessible for diverse learners
• Creating spaces of quiet, transition, and gathering
• Movement breaks!
• Non-institutional feeling design is important for neurodiverse learners, and especially learners with ADHD, to feel in the best environment for learning

Noteworthy articles:

• The Influence of Nature on a Child’s Development: Connecting the Outcomes of Human Attachment and Place Attachment
  • https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-3-319-67286-1_10
• A Place in Public Space: Redesigning Recreational Open Space for Adults with ASD
  • https://www.proquest.com/docview/2874715182/fulltextPDF/98FFBBF713F8448EPQ/1?accountid=14656&sourcetype=Dissertations
• How Movement-Based and Sensory-Based Interventions Impact Emotional and Academic Success in Students with Disabilities (Autism/ADHD)
  • https://spark.bethel.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1955&context=etd
• Ecological Models of Human Development
  • https://impactofspecialneeds.weebly.com/uploads/3/4/1/9/3419723/ecologial_models_of_human_development.pdf
• Naturally Connected Neurodiversity – A Sense of Perspective
  • https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Katrine-Callander/publication/369787221_Naturally_Connected_Neurodiversity_-A_Sense_of_Perspective_Late-identification_autistic_female_sensory_interactions_with_natural_environments_as_refuge_from_societal_expectations/links/642c82024e83cd0e2f8de2d7/Naturally-Connected-Neurodiversity-A-Sense-of-Perspective-Late-identification-autistic-female-sensory-interactions-with-natural-environments-as-refuge-from-societal-expectations.pdf

The How – Process & Iteration

I went through numerous iterations to get to my final design. Here is the highlights reel.

Concept A: “Garden Circle”

Plan

Sections

Perspective

Concept B: “Community Modules”

Plan

Section

Perspective

Pattern Study
Bench Concept

Final Design – “Raindrop Garden” Concept

Concept Statment:

 This garden intends to create a space where learners of all ages – Emily Carr and VCC students, preschoolers, and the broader community as a whole – can come together and enrich each other’s social, emotional, and intellectual well-being.

With a focus on neurodiverse learners, it aims to create spaces of gathering, spaces of serenity, and spaces of exploration and curiousity.

Site Plan

• Tactile, multisensory place-based teaching opportunities
• Quiet spaces, spaces of transition, louder community learning spaces
• Risky place and body break features
• A sense of safety and quiet nestled in the garden
  

Isometric – S.E. View

• De-institutionalizing form and adding a sense of playfulness to the experience

And now, for a sensory journey…

Perspective 1: Creekside Walk

• Stones & rain garden: Smell – the water and of the flowers in bloom, touch – jump along rocks and dip your hands into the water, sight – calming ripples on the water’s surface surface
• Ferns: Touch – the ferns as you walk past them
• Quiet Cove: Taste – salal berry, touch – the leaves you lie back on, sound – of rain on the roof, of the leaves of the beech tree, of a lack of it

Perspective 2: Outdoor Theatre

• Theatre: Sound – performers, conversations, leaves of large trees, rain on the roof
• Hill: Touch – Grass against your back as you roll down the hill
• Stone Steps: Touch – Anticipation as you roam up the hill, sound – change in noise level once you are no longer buffered by the hill, tulip poplar leaves, touch of salal leaves and ferns as you brush past them

Section A: Entrance, Quiet Cove & Rain Garden

Section B: Rain Theatre

Planting Design

Materials

Conclusion

This project is inspired by those of us who learn best by playing in the dirt, rolling down hills, and getting our sneakers wet in puddles. I hope you enjoyed roaming in this creekside classroom with me!

Thank you for listening!