Other Books of Note

Abstract

 2014 Children, Youth and Environments Children, Youth and Environments 24(3), 2014 Other Books of Note Nature Play and Learning Places: Creating and Managing Places Where Children Engage with Nature Moore, Robin C. (2014). Raleigh, NC: Natural Learning Initiative, and Reston, VA: National Wildlife Federation, 169 pages. ISBN 978-0-9907-7130-2. Published online at http://natureplayandlearningplaces.org These guidelines created through a partnership between Natural Learning Initiative and the National Wildlife Federation are “for those who create, manage, or promote the development of nature in the everyday environments of children, youth and families, especially in urban/suburban communities.” They provide a comprehensive reference, from assembling strong reasons for landscaping for children’s nature play, through design choices, to implementation and maintenance. The opening chapters explain why nature play is important and how natural settings support children’s learning and development. A range of possible sites for nature play spaces are suggested, including parks, state and federal lands, school grounds and gardens, childcare centers and preschools, nature centers and museums. The largest section of the text provides detailed recommendations for site design. Once a space is constructed, there is advice on managing access, maintenance, and risk. The chapter on risk management is contributed by Allen Cooper, and the chapter on balancing risks and benefits by Linda Kinney. Final chapters discuss implementation, from initial planning through participatory design processes. Eleven inspiring case studies complete the text, showing a range of sites that include the grounds of an urban apartment building, schools, a museum, a nature center, and a public park. The book is beautifully and lavishly illustrated. A print copy of this online guidebook will be available soon. Readers can preorder print copies on the website. Designing the Sustainable Site: Integrated Design Strategies for Small Scale Sites and Residential Landscapes Heather Venhaus (2012). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons, 235 pages. $59.58; ISBN 978-0-4709-0009-3. Other Books of Note 252 This is a guidebook for the design of sustainable sites of all kinds for all ages. If its recommendations were implemented, the result would be a better world for children in all the settings of their lives and the protection and restoration of the natural world that is children’s legacy. Sustainable site design values nature and safeguards and enhances ecosystem services, including cleansing air and water, sequestering greenhouse gases, regulating temperatures, retaining and storing water, maintaining soil fertility, and providing habitat for wildlife, as well as providing basic goods such as food and raw materials. Sustainable site strategies increase vegetation and biodiversity, build soil, retain and purify water, and reclaim and reuse materials. A chapter on “Human Health and Well-Being” reviews research that links the physical environments of cities and neighborhoods to the well-being of children and adults and suggests how to create neighborhoods for increased physical activity, mental restoration, and social interaction. It includes recommendations to immerse children specifically in nature. Throughout the book, short illustrated cases show how to create inviting, sustainable sites for multifamily housing developments (including affordable housing), playgrounds, green schoolyards, water play, children’s gardens, and green facades that can be adapted for schools, housing or other buildings. One of the book’s main goals is to provide meaningful and educational experiences that connect people to nature, reveal ecological processes and cycles of nature, and provide restoration. The authors see opportunities for children’s hands-on interaction and exploration in nature as an essential part of this goal. Everyone working with this aim will find this book a useful and attractive guide. The Living Landscape: Designing for Beauty and Biodiversity in the Home Garden Rick Darke and Doug Tallamy (2014). Portland, OR: Timber Press, 352 pages. $39.95 (hardback); ISBN 978-1-6046-9408-6. Bringing Nature Home: How You Can Sustain Wildlife with Native Plants Douglas W. Tallamy (2009). Portland, OR: Timber Press, 360 pages. $19.95 (paperback); ISBN 978-0-8819-2992-8. To understand how to make green school grounds or childcare centers or home landscaping for nature as biodiverse as possible, these books are a good guide. In Bringing Nature Home, the entomologist and wildlife ecologist Doug Tallamy explains the links between native plant...