Research indicates that, when children play and learn in nature, they do so with more vigor, engagement, imagination, and cooperation than in artificial environments.
Read MoreJoaquin Miller Elementary School
Site Completion
Aug 2025
Client
Joaquin Miller Elementary School
Landscape Architect
JDD Landscape Architecture and Design
Partners and Funding
Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation
KABOOM!
Oakland Unified School District
Elementary School Playground
Oakland, CA
This playground project at Joaquin Miller Elementary School is a great example of community investing in youth education and well-being. After receiving funding and support from the Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation and KABOOM!, JDD Landscape Architecture proceeded to transform the brutally hot and empty blacktop into a natural playground using the materials we supplied. The design intent was to be inspired by the surrounding Oakland Hills, forests, and creeks and bring nature back to the playground while also honoring the legacy of what used to be a Boy Scout campground.
Services
Materials Supply
Material Delivery
Products
20 Logs of Various Sizes and Lengths
30 Stumps from Various Wood Species
Wood Species
Eucalyptus
Oak
Featured
Billygoats Las Cabritas Preschool
Site Completion
Oct 2025
Client
Billygoats Las Cabritas
Landscape Architect
BASE Landscape Architecture
Prime Contractor
Headlands Hardscaping
Landscape Contractor
RDZ Landscape Evolution
Construction Management
Dorman Associates, Inc.
Nature-Based Learning in San Francisco
San Francisco, CA
Billygoats Las Cabritas is a Spanish immersion preschool that focuses on fostering the connection between children and outdoor spaces, encouraging free play and creativity. With this school's vision and goals in mind, we worked together with BASE Landscape Architecture, Headlands Hardscaping, RDZ Landscape Evolution, and Dorman Associates, Inc. to construct this new nature play playground. Now that the structures are in place, it'll really be up to the students and their teachers to make it their own through imagination.
Services
Materials Supply
Project Management
Products
Redwood Logs
Redwood Stumps
Wood Species
Redwood
Featured
Installation Photos
Featured
Ancora Place
Site Completion
Summer/Fall 2024
Developer
Satellite Affordable Housing Associates
Architect
PYATOK
Landscape Architect
PGA
Prime Contractor
Cahill
Landscape Contractor
Shooter and Butts
Ancora Place Oakland
Oakland, CA
We strive to find the most sustainable and practical uses for all harvested trees; even logs that don’t have much lumber value can be used to bring character and connection to outdoor spaces. For Ancora Place, we selected one such log that, due to the strain on the inside, was unusable as building material but would be perfect for nature exploration in the interior courtyard space. Two secondary branches were also added to the space to add character and functionality.
Services
Material Supply
Custom Site Furnishings
Products
Unique co-dominant Deodar Cedar log
Site Furnishings
Wood Species
Deodar Cedar
Featured
