Joaquin Miller Elementary Nature Areas

Supported by a grant from Stephen and Ayesha Curry’s Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation, our studio partnered with the Joaquin Miller Elementary community to weave a series of nature areas throughout their campus. Honoring the site’s deep-rooted history within its wooded Oakland Hills setting, the design is a direct response to the vision of students and staff, whose collaborative input called for more shade, greenery, and spaces for imaginative play.

The resulting landscape brings wild nature into the schoolyard through a network of flexible learning environments. These include a dry creek bed for stormwater treatment and interactive play, gardens of California native plants, and a fruit orchard with vegetable beds for hands-on education. In partnership with Bay Area Redwood, sustainably reclaimed logs and stumps are integrated throughout as unique seating and play elements. The design fosters a comfortable, beautiful, and sustainable campus where students can connect with their environment.