We wrapped up with our third Nature Explore family early this week. We cheated a little bit with this family, as Melissa is a landscape designer!

Melissa Sharapova and her three children were an absolute delight to work with! Since Melissa already possesses a lot of knowledge about landscape design and how to acquire resources, we got to focus on some different things with this family.

First off, Melissa let us know that she believes there is a lot of work to be done on her very large and very flat space. She explained that, though the kids enjoy being in the space, she believes there are a number of missed opportunities for learning and nature appreciation. Melissa and the kids would like to attract more wildlife, like butterflies and birds.

Before we delved into the design process, Melissa's children presented us with the designs they created for us. 

Ruslan, 10, would really like a treehouse. He emphasized his desire for a place where he and his friends can hang out and have some privacy. Melissa believes it's important for Ruslan to feel like he can build onto or modify his treehouse in some ways. He likes building things and using tools, so it's important for him to have the opportunity to use the tools and feel ownership in the space. Ruslan also told us he wants lots of brightly-colored flowers in the space, a greenhouse to grow tomatoes and a path made of tree cookies. He likes the tree cookies because they look natural. He would also like to have archways in the entrance to the space.

Ulrick, 7, also talked about a treehouse but an art space was the most important place for him. He would like a space to do art with paper, clay, pain and paintbrushes. He also mentioned he would like to have extra storage for balls and a gathering area.

Marina, 4, likes to be close to her mother when Melissa is in the garden. One thing Marina wanted is an herb garden where she can grow things like mint and edible flowers, and a play kitchen next to the garden. This way, she can play outside and be near to Melissa she is in her garden. Marina also would like a tunnel of some sort and a house on the ground with no ladders.

After the kids finished showing us their designs, Melissa took us outside into the space. It's an extremely large space, but it's also extremely flat. A garage and driveway sits to the east of the house and to the west is a busy highway. The space stretches all the way back to a fence, which separates the property from neighboring apartment buildings. These apartment buildings also added an interesting dynamic to the space. The children from the apartment complex use Melissa's yard as a thoroughfare. She calls the path the “Kids' Highway.” She has opened this space to them so that they don't have to walk or ride their bikes along the actual highway, which could be very dangerous. The Kids' Highway will have to be included in the final design. Tony liked the idea of the Kids' Highway because it gives the kids a feeling of ownership in the space and it also teaches them to respect their environment and where they can and cannot ride.

In addition, there is a chicken run to the east of the garage. Though the run could be moved, it's much easier to work around it.

Melissa told us the kids like to have campfires and they often have campfires at the neighbor's house. A fire pit will most definitely be part of the final design. Also, the kids really enjoy digging in rocks. At their old house, they had a gravel driveway and Melissa said they could spend hours going through the rocks.

Another thing that seemed to be prevalent among the kids and Melissa was the desire to have a place to work with clay. Tony suggested both the Art Studio and the Building Materials areas could both include some sort of clay area.

Another common theme was the desire for some sort of water feature, mainly a pond. Ruslan said he wants a frog-pond with lily pads.

The Music & Movement stage will be a key feature in the Sharapovas backyard. Ruslan is quite the singer and Ulrick loves to dance, dress-up and role play. Melissa thinks Ulrick and his friends would like to put on plays.

Since Melissa is a Backyard Volunteer and a landscape designer, Fred asked her to help identify some unexpected challenges people might face in creating their Nature Explore playscape. Melissa explained that it's important to observe patterns and how you move in the space. She said one mistake people might make is not understanding how they move in the space. When she started to put her gardens in, she put flags up around the yard to see how the space flowed. She found that she didn't care for the way she moved through her initial design and changed it. Melissa also said parents should encourage their kids to give input. Her children talked about wanting things she'd never thought of, so she was very grateful she asked them what they thought.

After learning about what the family liked, Tony and Fred set to work. Tony said there were four things that inspired the design he created. First, the information Melissa provided him; second, the input from the children; third, the Nature Explore idea book; and, finally, just being in the space.

Tony said it was really interesting to hear Melissa talk about the challenges with circulation and moving through the space.
Tony first made sure the Kids' Highway was accounted for in the design, then he dove into the rest of the space.

Tony put the main entry to the space near the garage. Melissa said the kids normally go out the front door when they go outside to play, so the entrance near the garage is perfect. The Art Studio is the first area the kids will come to when they enter the space. Tony believes the Sharapova children will need a little extra space for art. He envisioned a large roll of paper and walls made of clay cob. The space will be semi-enclosed by a knee-high wall. He thinks this space will be one of the most used spaces and putting it next to the garage will allow for possible later expansion into the garage. This allows the space to evolve and grow with the children.

The Building & Construction area fits well with the Art Studio space. This space will have lots of loose parts and a storage area. Ruslan's tools can be kept in this area.

A gathering space with a fire pit will sit close to the house. This gathering space will be for both children and adults. Logs will be buried in the ground to be used as seating. Melissa wants to take the seating a step forward and get creative. She had some thoughts about backrests and different seating.

Ruslan will get his greenhouse. A hoop house will sit next to Melissa's keyhole garden.

Tony thought there might be a way to reroute the downspouts to feed a small frog pond. Though ponds aren't appropriate for public spaces, the rules are a little different for private spaces. Melissa said she saw an aquaponics demonstration and would like to incorporate some of what she learned into the pond. Using aquaponics will prevent the pond from becoming stagnant.

There are safety issues with a pond, which is why water features are not included in Nature Explore spaces. Drowning and stagnant water are two things that have prevented water features from being part of the Nature Explore project. Tony reminded Melissa to look at what will happen with her homeowners insurance should she build a pond.

Next Tony looked at the sand trap area. The soil that is pulled out of the sand trap area could be used to create a berm. The berm would help channel visitors around and discourage them from cutting through the space.

Since Ulrick loves to sit and listen to the trees, Tony is leaving the space between Melissa's large trees open.
A willow hut will serve as Marina's “house on the ground.” There will be two willow huts, one of which will be near the garden so she can be near Melissa.

Logs and stumps will serve to delineate the messy materials area. The Music & Movement are will be at the back of the space, along the fence.

The treehouse will be about 6 to 12 inches off the ground and could be two or even three levels. A rope ladder will connect the levels. This encourages motor activity, which is one of the important features of Nature Explore. Tony noted that Melissa will have to find a soft surface to go under the climbing structure. He suggested engineered wood fiber.

Melissa and Fred will work together on the planting plan. The planting plan enhances the space. They're going to focus on edible landscaping and attracting wildlife. Marina likes to eat flowers, so edible flowers will be high on the list.

Tony and Fred said it's important for the kids to be able to organize things the way they want them once the areas have been implemented. This helps them take ownership in the space.
Since all 10 of the Nature Explore areas must be implemented in some way by next spring, Tony and Fred suggested that Melissa and the kids walk the space and prioritze. The sooner the spaces are implemented, the sooner Melissa can see the kids interact with the space and see what they like, what they want and what they need.