School Garden or play area Design?
My children's school is in an urban area and has no play ground. There is a small spot behind the building that could be used but it will need some work. Its really too small for a traditional playground, but maybe a reading garden or outdoor classroom would be nice? I would love to have some help in designing but have no idea where to go, a professional landscape architect will cost too much. Does anyone know where to go about finding volunteers for this kind of thing?
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the Japanese have an interesting approach. before building a place like this. they level it and leave it like that for a while. they may cover it with sand or dirt. then they observe traffic pattern of how people or kids use it. then they mark those natural lines and build, landscape, create accordingly.
you need to sit and observe how kids or adults move about that area. then mark the footpaths so that you do not obstruct the natural flow of the space. if you do not, the visitors will routinely trample your carefully planted area.
Most areas have some sort of agriculture structure, urban farmers, farmers markets, community gardens, master gardeners etc. Ask around at hardware stores that sell plants or planting supplies or at farmers markets. There is a huge network of people who are willing to help with these types of projects, it's just hard to find them sometimes.
Contact your local master gardener office. They are the community outreach branch of your local cooperative extension. They are not only volunteers themselves, but usually have great resources for these matters. See this map to find your local MG office, http://www.ahs.org/master_gardeners/
Go for garden :)