Each year, the College of Environment + Design (CED) welcomes local 10th graders for two field trips through the Experience UGA program. This partnership between the Clarke County School District and the UGA Office of Service Learning aims to bring every local PreK-12th grade student onto UGAʼs campus every year for a curricular-based field trip. Led by the CED Center for Community Design & Preservation and the Georgia Student Landscape Architecture Association (GSLA), the trips introduce nearly 400 students to the fields of landscape architecture and environmental design while offering a glimpse of college life.
A core tenant of design-thinking was used to develop the field trips – first, empathize with the user. In other words, think like a tenth grader! They are most interested in being with friends, being outside; they enjoy a little competition; have a new sense of independence in driving; and would like to hear from college students, not grown-ups. They would appreciate learning how an interest in art and creative expression could be a career.
Using these guiding principles, three modules were developed that highlighted the best aspects of landscape architecture studies:
Studio Life – A tour of the Jackson Street Building studios to see projects in progress, learn about the LEED features of the building, and participate in a group design competition.
Hand Graphics – Learn to draw like a landscape architect and redesign a neglected part of their high school grounds.
North Campus – A walking tour of UGA’s north campus to learn fun facts about plant species, campus quad design, architectural history, and UGA traditions.
Teachers say that their students enjoy the hands-on activities, the expertise and engagement of the CED student volunteers, the active learning, and the team-building aspects of the field trip.
Our experiential learning field trips are made possible by our CED undergraduate student leaders and other CED student volunteers, who always make the trips creative, fun and engaging!
