Beaver Lodge Fort provides a shady nook for little ones at Evergreen Brick Works, Toronto, ON. (Photo: Lyle Sadavoy)

Here in Learning Grounds, we work hard to get kids outside, and shade is a big part of keeping them safe while they’re there. Escaping to shade not only feels good, it is becoming increasingly important for children’s health. According to the Canadian Dermatology Association, people born in the 1990s have a 2 to 3 times higher lifetime risk of skin cancer than those born in the 1960′s. To put it a different way, if you’re currently between 11 and 20 years old, you have a 1 in 6 lifetime risk of  skin cancer, compared to those between 41 and 50 years  old, whose lifetime risk is 1 in 20.

The good news is that anyone can create shade at home and or on school grounds. Shade structures can range in price and complexity, from a straight-forward tarp or tent to a vine-covered pergola or gazebo. Read on for inspiration and links to our free shade resources.

Inspired by cultural or natural elements, these provide shady places to gather, play, hide, or sit quietly:

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Left: Teepee at Manglerud School, Oslo, Norway. Right: Pergola at Argyle Primary School, London, UK. (Photos: Cam Collyer)

A simple tarp can be installed and removed in minutes, and provides an effective and low-maintenance option for shading an outdoor classroom:

Neumark-Grundschule, Berlin, Germany. (Photo: Cam Collyer)

Please note: Installation of permanent shade sail does not guarantee dramatic temperature drop as pictured below!

Avalon Public School, Ottawa, ON. (Photo: Jeff Kaster)

Could your local school use a little more shade?

Even though school is out, now’s the perfect time to begin planning for a shade project at your school. School shade shelters are eligible for Evergreen funding.

Learning Grounds also has free resources to help you on your way. Download the chapter on Shade Shelters in Design Ideas for the Outdoor Classroom for tips on building both permanent and temporary shade shelters like the ones you see here.

If you’re burning for more information on shade, here’s a list of Learning Grounds’ shade resources:

Shade for Kids Workshop-in-a-Box

Design Ideas for the Outdoor Classroom

Designing for Shade and Energy Conservation

Shade for Kids: A Policy Primer for School Boards

Before You Go Outside: Tips from the Teacher’s Corner



Black-Eyed Susan pops up at Evergreen Brick Works (photo: Geoff Cape)

A note from Geoff Cape, Evergreen’s executive director.

In an urban environment, nature can be found in the most unusual places. Artist Ferruccio Sardella has toyed with this concept in his 15 years of work with Evergreen and made a big statement during this past Doors Open weekend. His installation, a particularly large Black-Eyed Susan, bursts from an abandoned warehouse. Measuring 16 feet across and facing south across the lower Don River, this native plant smiles upon downtown Toronto. It is the first in a series of nearly 20 window installations that will populate the site later this year.

Sardella’s work brilliantly celebrates the idea of nature in the city and speaks playfully about how it will find its way through cracks in the pavement, and in third story windows. Stop by the site any time to see it for yourself.

Learn more about art at Evergreen Brick Works.

Agnew H. Johnston Public School, Thunder Bay, ON (left); Alex Ferguson School, Calgary, AB (right).

If you’re like me, you have an excess of energy for spring DIY projects. I’m always looking for easy ways to make my space feel fresh and revived after a long winter. One of the easiest things you can do to renew your outdoor space on a budget is to incorporate art.

Creating hand-written signs, murals, mosaics, and other garden décor can instantly add a new pulse of life to an existing garden. Let these photos of school grounds from across Canada inspire you!

Brother Andre Catholic School, Ottawa, ON (top); Westwood Elementary School, Prince George, BC (bottom)

Furtle the Turtle is born! (Photo: Morgan Zigler)

What do turtles, bread and art all have in common?

The new and improved “Furtle” the Turtle Bread Oven, of course! This summer, I worked with Sketch, a working arts organization for street-involved youth, to complete the beautiful bread oven we had started last year.

Led by Evergreen’s Artists in Residence Shannon Crossman and Morgan Zigler along with the Sketch Artist Co-ordinators Kerry Boileau and Sue Cohen, youth participants learned about sustainable shelter, and together we experimented with cob to insulate and decorate the wood-fired oven.

Finding a home for our oven was the next phase. We decided a mobile cart would enable us to roll the oven around the site. After taking into consideration the weight of our oven – more than half a tonne! – we had to order a custom built metal chassis to support it.

Youth artists from Sketch also designed and installed a shingled roof with green roof panels, a rain water collection system, mosaic work surfaces as well as storage for wood and utensils.

The finished product was toasted with a community celebration when we fired up the oven and made bread together. All season long the oven played a part in Sun-Ripened Saturdays activities at Evergreen Brick Works, when families and children would make and share delicious edible creations together.

Please feel free to visit Furtle next time you’re down at the site.

A local resident shows off his hard work. (Photo: Alex Hume)

When children from the school next door got out of class, they rushed over to our table to get a little crafty. The wind chimes, made from recycled household items and used 45’s, were destined for nearby balconies of the many high-rise towers overlooking the park. As Alex sees it, in an urban setting the wind chimes are a great way to be reminded that the forces of nature are all around us!