The Future of the Public Realm

FRI-D11: School’s Outside! Cultivating Biodiversity and Environmental Justice Through Community Schoolyard Design

Friday, September 18, 2026

3:00 PM - 4:15 PM PT

1.25 PDH, LA CES/HSW

Speaker(s)

Anna K. Callahan (she/her/hers)

Associate Director, Minnesota Parks and Schoolyards
Trust for Public Land
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Ben Waldo, ASLA, PLA

Associate Principal
SWA Group
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Jordan Hedlund, ASLA (he/him/his)

Landscape Designer
HKGi
Richfield, Minnesota

The typical American schoolyard is comprised of large swathes of lawn and asphalt, but these sites are opportunities for critical green infrastructure that provides environmental benefits and access to nature for students and neighbors. Learn how to transform underserved educational landscapes into rich, nature-based spaces through co-creation and community-led design.

Learning Outcomes:

Identify the environmental, educational, and health benefits provided to students and community neighbors by nature-based schoolyards.
Apply different types of community partnerships to support and facilitate the co-creation and success of nature-based schoolyards and other youth-centered spaces.
Achieve success through opportunistic funding and phased implementation by taking a work-in-progress approach.
Incorporate youth and other voices not traditionally included in design and environmental decision-making.