Student volunteers from the University of Florida's Student Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects recently convened with local 7th grade students at P.K. Yonge Developmental Research School in order to discuss improvements they would like to see in their outdoor spaces.

This all started when the middle school's faculty contacted the university and asked for assistance in developing and improving the outdoor spaces found in the school. Student representatives from the ASLA student chapter then met with the members of the Middle School Science and Society Club and discussed what the outdoor space could look like.

During the most recent meeting, the students from the middle school were asked to draw or write what they would like to see built in those open spaces. Some of the suggestions were a large seesaw for group balancing, a swimming pool with a lazy river, a rock-climbing wall and a running track.

A news post by the university states that interactions such as this one allow the school to meet one of its main goals, "recruitment and outreach to potential future landscape architecture students."

Dr. Brenda Breil, P.K. Yonge's 7th grade science teacher, was quoted as having said that the experience was wonderful for her students, and "the greater their exposure to real-world opportunities and practices, the more they become engaged in learning."