A palette of indigenous plants was employed to create a series of spaces to be used as outdoor classrooms, community gathering areas, and recreational activities while negotiating significant topographical change on the 38 acre site. All of the impervious surfaces – including significant portions of the roof – are conveyed to cisterns and rain gardens used for experiential learning and to water courtyard plantings. A stepped stormwater garden adjacent to the school’s entry plaza, provides seasonal interest and conveys an important message of stewardship. In addition, wastewater is treated on site, fed by gravity to a wastewater treatment area where water is cleaned and dispersed back into soil within an area planted as a wildflower meadow. (Photos by Tom Holdsworth)

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