Cultivating the Next Generation of Environmentally-conscious Citizens: Playful Public Education Design Framework

Abstract

What kind of built environment can we create if we can equally love white storks and blue angel super hornets? How can we acknowledge and respect both the natural world and human aspirations, without compromising the two seemingly contrasting interests and priorities? How can I as a burgeoning landscape architect help local communities to cultivate the next generation of environmentally-conscious citizens to confront the unending extractive economy mode of standardized mass-production, and instead echo the world-wide Child-Friendly Cities initiatives? Ecological literacy begins in childhood. This thesis focuses on how a natural school, with emphasis on mycoremediation and playful edible landscape, can be layered onto Seattle’s post-industrial Georgetown neighborhood as a ready-made laboratory for innovation. I explore this potential using a tangram as a framework of interrelated themes: ecological literacy, effective altruism, emotional awareness, play, waste & reuse, mycofiltration & biodegradation and edible landscape. Chapter 1 provides an overview of my thesis scope, goals and concepts. Chapter 2 dives into the books that support the playful public education design framework. Chapter 3 presents an analysis of Georgetown, the chosen site, my active engagement experience with the community, and conveys my design proposal for this site and incorporating the tangram framework. In Chapter 4, I introduce graphic novels to engage and educate youth about the ecological systems and processes found in my site design. In Chapter 5, I conclude with reflections on the effectiveness of my tangram framework in creating my design and communication approaches, and its potentials for application in other contexts. I also identify future opportunities to bring my multimedia works to life, beyond this thesis.