Schools that Heal —
Design with Mental Health in Mind

The National COVID-19 Outdoor Learning Initiative invited Claire Latané, Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture at Cal Poly Pomona, to share her research and expertise about how to design outdoor environments at schools to promote mental health.

Professor Latané gave this presentation on October 27, 2020 during a meeting of the National Initiative's "Community of Practice” for schools and districts moving learning outside and we recorded it to share it more widely. This ongoing working group is an open public forum for schools and districts across the country that are considering taking learning outside as a response to COVID-19 and beyond. Please visit the Community of Practice page for a Zoom link for our ongoing meetings.

Click the image above to watch the video.

Guest Speaker

Claire Latané, MLA, ASLA, LEED AP, SITES AP, practiced landscape architecture for over a decade before joining Cal Poly Pomona’s landscape architecture department. Her work centers around design for mental health and well-being, equity, and resilient communities. She founded and organizes the Emergency Schoolyard Design Volunteers for the National COVID-19 Outdoor Learning Initiative to help schools bring students back safely. In 2017, the Landscape Architecture Foundation selected her as one of the inaugural Fellows for Innovation and Leadership to explore school design that supports students' mental health. Her CPP MLA studio partners with K-12 schools to co-create healing school environments and communities. Her book, Schools that Heal: Design with Mental Health in Mind, will be published by Island Press in June 2021.