Reshaping How We View School Campuses with Dr. Sharon Bradley

Dr. Sharon Bradley, founder of Bradley Site Design and a landscape architect with four decades of experience, joins Matt Rogers to explore how school campuses can become powerful teaching tools rather than just backdrops. Sharon shares how her childhood in the English countryside shaped her belief in "environment as teacher," and explains her curriculum integration model — mapping specific lesson units directly onto campus features like whisper walls, bioretention gardens, and stormwater "raindrop journeys." She also discusses how early collaboration between landscape architects, building architects, and educators leads to campuses that are both cost-effective and deeply engaging for students and communities. Takeaways: Environment as teacher — Childhood immersion in nature shaped Sharon's belief that outdoor spaces can teach as powerfully as classrooms. Curriculum drives design — Mapping existing lesson units onto campus features makes outdoor learning easy for teachers to adopt. Necessity sparks creativity — Required elements like retaining walls and stormwater systems can double as engaging teaching tools (e.g., "whisper walls"). Bring landscape architects in early — Involving them from the start, not as an afterthought, leads to better-integrated, more functional campuses. Natural design saves money — Native plantings and bioretention areas cut irrigation and maintenance costs while boosting engagement. About Dr. Sharon Bradley: Through her practice and her research, Sharon has developed a unique design methodology that addresses social, economic, and ecological issues on educational campuses and in residential communities. With 40 years of experience creating immersive learning landscapes, her Curriculum Integration techniques and impact assessment frameworks have become models for campus design. Her unique approach results in sites that invite exploration and discovery, with elements created for specific learning units and general biophilic engagement. LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/sharon-bradley-phd-pla-27a4274 Website https://www.bradleysitedesign.com/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/BSD4Impact/ Episode 352 of the Better Learning Podcast For more information on our partners: Association for Learning Environments (A4LE) - https://www.a4le.org/ Education Leaders' Organization - https://www.ed-leaders.org/ Second Class Foundation - https://secondclassfoundation.org/ EDmarket - https://www.edmarket.org/ Catapult @ Penn GSE - https://catapult.gse.upenn.edu/ Want to be a Guest Speaker? Request on our website