The Harvard Kent Elementary School's transformation was funded by the Boston Schoolyard Initiative, a public-private partnership among the city of Boston, Boston Public Schools and the Boston Schoolyard Funders Collaborative. Launched in 1995, the mission of the program is straightforward: to revitalize outdoor play and learning spaces in public schools across Boston. By the end of 2013, every feasible public elementary school in the city had been transformed.

Like every schoolyard designed as part of the Boston Schoolyard Initiative, Harvard Kent Elementary is the result of thoughtful collaboration among parents, teachers, the principal, students, neighbors, the landscape architect, city and school officials and funders committed to providing urban students with safe, inviting outdoor spaces to learn and play.

The gate and chain link fencing (Stephen Pipe and Steel, Russell Spring, Ky.) separates the outdoor classroom from the old basketball court. The gate is designed so that just the "porthole" opens, requiring the children to slow down as they enter the outdoor classroom. The benches, storage space and planters are all made from recycled plastic. They were designed by the landscape architects, and constructed by the contractor (Aqua Line Utility).

Harvard Kent Elementary is located in Boston's Charlestown neighborhood, Boston's oldest neighborhood. Charlestown is just north of downtown Boston on a peninsula between the Charles River and the Mystic River. Charlestown is the northern end of Boston's Freedom trail, which passes by the USS Constitution, and culminates at Bunker Hill. The school is just a couple blocks east of Bunker Hill. The Harvard Kent schoolyard was a sea of broken asphalt spread among multiple levels, including a large depressed area near the school's entrance. CBA Landscape Architects, parents, teachers and neighbors had three main goals: create an entry plaza for children and parents to use at the beginning and end of school days; develop a vibrant playground where the kids could run, play and exercise in a stimulating, safe environment; and design an outdoor classroom to give these urban children an opportunity to experience plants and nature.

The entrance plaza was created at the primary access point to the schoolyard and the school. Children and parents walk through the plaza on their way to the main door. Parents wanted an inviting outdoor space to wait for their children and meet and visit with other parents. Before the redesign, the space was a narrow walkway, with a large sunken area whose original purpose was a mystery. Children would walk down a wide band of steps into the sunken space and jump rope or play tag, but they were invisible to recess monitors while they were down there. CBA brought the sunken space up to the grade of the adjacent sidewalk, added a raised planting area for shade trees and ornamental grasses, and placed brightly colored benches in a semi-circular pattern. The redesigned plaza has entirely changed the perception of the school for students, parents and visitors, and has become a favorite spot for conversation and socializing.

The design of the large, expansive play area was shaped by the community's desire to have a theme for the schoolyard. Given the near proximity of the Charlestown Navy Yard and the historic USS Constitution, a wooden-hulled, three-mast frigate built in 1795, said to be the "world's oldest commissioned naval vessel afloat," the school adopted the ship and Navy Yard as the theme. Three flagpoles were erected on the terraced level above the playground to represent the ship's masts; they are decorated with nautical flags. The terrace walls were painted to look like the side of the ship. Benches were designed to look like dinghies, and the asphalt was enlivened with painted graphics: a ship's anchor, cod and flounder, mussels, and lobsters – all realistic representations which are proportionally sized to one another. Two ropes with sailors' knots are painted in long lines. The knots are numbered to mark the distances between them, one in feet and one in yards.

The outdoor classroom path is "chip and seal" (asphalt with adhered gravel). The landscaping along the path includes a red maple (left), Witch Hazel (largest shrubs in the back), with Bayberry Myrica and pink New England asters (left). Oakleaf hydrangea and some Black-eyed Susans are right of the path. The wood composite pole supports a weather vane.

The playground was previously devoid of any greenery. A variety of ornamental grasses were planted in beds along the side of the ship to represent the tall grasses that one sees along the shore. These grasses are protected by an ornamental mesh fence that is quite transparent to the eye, but protects the plants from children running into them. The dinghies/benches were placed adjacent to the grasses as though the boats had been rowed ashore. The old playground had one large play structure, which was repaired and painted, with a new poured-in-place rubber safety surface installed beneath it. A smaller structure, a net climber, was installed at the opposite end of the playground. It is reminiscent of a ship's crow's nest.

Parents wanted an inviting outdoor space to wait for their children and meet and visit with other parents. The school's old entry led children down steps to sunken space, often playing out of sight of recess monitors. CBA Landscape Architects raised the space up to the grade of the adjacent sidewalk, added a raised planter, planted three honey locust shade trees, sedges (Pennsylvania, Berkeley, Gold Fountains and blue) and grasses (Blue Oat and Hakone). These amenities and brightly colored steel ribbon Dumor benches have humanized the space. It's now a place where parents like to socialize when bringing kids to and from school.

The outdoor classroom is located to the rear of and separate from the active play area, and enclosed by chain link fencing. The outdoor classroom at the Harvard/Kent School represents a culmination of lessons learned over the 18 years that the Schoolyard Initiative was active. One of that program's major goals from the beginning was to let urban children experience nature and to learn from it. From this goal, the outdoor classroom evolved into a garden of trees, shrubs, perennials and grasses that represent the New England landscape. The outdoor classroom has a rich palette of native plant material, gathering places, paths, walkways and scientific teaching tools. An armature with pulleys is used to illustrate simple lessons in physics. Thermometers are located on various sides of posts to show how temperature can vary between sun and shade. Weather vanes and sundials are also in the garden. Three raised planting beds allow children and teachers to plant seeds and study their development. One planter has a viewing window where students can view the root structure of what they plant.

Among the outdoor classroom's educational features is a planter with a root-viewing window.

Throughout the garden/classroom there are various stones and stumps to sit on, arranged in groups and as single elements to foster different learning styles. A whiteboard with benches is located near the entrance to the classroom, where the teachers can gather the students into one large group to give general lesson instructions. A large storage container built in the shape of a ship's bow accommodates tools and supplies for the classroom. The entry gate, designed to resemble a porthole, marks the transition from the active playground to a classroom environment where play is more directed and classroom curriculum implemented. The gate is designed so that just the porthole can be opened, requiring the children to slow down as the enter the "classroom."

Funding for transformation of the Harvard Kent Elementary School in the historic Bunker Hill area of Charlestown, Mass., was funded by the Boston Schoolyard Initiative. Previously, the school had no greenery and zero wimsy. Among the graphics that delight the children are some Massachusetts critters that are state symbols: the black-capped chickadee, Boston terrier, the orange and white tabby and the two-spot ladybug.

About CBA Landscape Architects LLC: For the last 25 years CBA has specialized in public urban spaces. In particular, the firm is known for its schoolyards and neighborhood parks. For these projects a series of public meetings are used to promote community involvement and guide the design. Notable examples include Harriet Tubman Park in Boston's South End, Box District Park in Chelsea, Mass., featured in the March 2013 LASN, and the Eliot Schoolyard in Boston's North End. CBA's work has also been published Landscape Architecture Magazine, Garden Design, and various regional publications. Ms. Batchelor received her MLA at the Harvard University's Graduate School of Design.