ASLA

DISCOVER
LANDSCAPE
ARCHITECTURE
Activity Book for Kids
 ASLA Discover Landscape Architecture
Activity Book for Kids
© American Society of Landscape Architects. All rights reserved.

Introduction
The ASLA Discover Landscape Architecture Activity Book for Kids is for anyone ages 9–12 who is interested in
landscape architecture, architecture, planning, and engineering, and for those who like to draw, doodle, and be
inspired. The book’s primary focus is landscape architecture, giving readers the opportunity to see and sketch
the many drawings, places, and landscapes created by landscape architects.

About ASLA
Founded in 1899, the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) is the professional association for
landscape architects in the United States, representing more than 15,000 members.

Vision: Leading the design and stewardship of land and communities.

Mission: Landscape architects lead the stewardship, planning, and design of our built and natural
environments. The Society’s mission is to advance landscape architecture through advocacy, communication,
education, and fellowship.

Cover: James Richards, FASLA

Kiley and Friends: Suehyun Choi, Student ASLA

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 ASLA Discover Landscape Architecture
Activity Book for Kids

Hello! My name is Kiley, and I am so excited you have joined me on a journey through
my favorite place on earth. What is this place, you ask? It’s my hometown, better
known as Oakville. I am thrilled to teach you about the great places designed by my
friends who are landscape architects.

In this activity book, you will learn about landscape architecture, see sketches
from real landscape architecture professionals, and have the opportunity to sketch
and color drawings. Before starting our journey, flip to the next page to learn why
landscape architecture is important and make sure to gather the materials you will
need to get started.

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 What is landscape architecture,
and why is it important?
Landscape architecture combines art, science, and technology. It is a diverse
profession that designs, plans, and manages the places we live and enjoy. Landscape
architects design projects that contribute to the design of healthy environments
and communities. Below are some goals that landscape architects achieve in design
projects.

Make Places for People

Parks, gardens, playgrounds, town squares, and wilderness are among the
places landscape architects design.

Health and Safety

Landscape architects design places to be safe and accessible to all people by
providing areas to walk, to sit, to play, to exercise, and to explore.

Better Neighborhoods
Landscape architects can help make sure that parks, playgrounds, schools, and
stores are a pleasant walk from home.

Cleaner Water
Landscape architects work on ways to prevent pollution from entering our
streams and rivers by providing rain gardens where water can soak back into
the ground and filter out pollution by using soil and plants.

Better Streets
Landscape architects design streets to accommodate all kinds of people—
those on foot, on bikes, in wheelchairs, waiting for the bus, and even in cars.

excerpt from Landscape Architecture Magazine’s YOUR LAND

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What materials will you need?
Now that you have learned about landscape architecture, check out some of the
materials that you will need as you work through the book. Once you’ve had a chance to
collect your materials, it’s time to join me and my friends on a journey through Oakville.

Pencils Pens Colored Markers

Pencils

Crayons

Ruler
Eraser
Pencil Sharpener

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 Welcome to Oakville!
Welcome to my home! This is the best place ever because it has amazing outdoor spaces
for me to jump around and hang out with friends. I give all of the credit to the landscape
architects and other professionals who helped design and build these spaces.

Can you think of a place in your hometown that may have been designed by a landscape
architect? If you need a little help, check out some of the fun places in Oakville that
were designed and built for our community.

gardens

ponds

Who drew that?

Gardens: Jessica Nielsen, Student ASLA
Ponds: Chip Sullivan, ASLA
Playgrounds: Richard Alomar, ASLA
Town Squares: David Sprunt, ASLA

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playgrounds

town squares

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 Discover how Oakville
was designed and built!
Oakville was not always like it is today. It took a lot
of time and hard work by landscape architects to
design the outdoor spaces, and for the builders to
follow the drawings to build the projects so they’re
good for you as a person, but also for me as a frog.

To the right is a plan drawing of Oakville. A plan

drawing is used to show the design of a place as if
you were viewing it from an airplane looking down.
So, by looking at the plan, act as if you are flying
over the town and looking down. Can you find the
following building blocks in the plan drawing?

Lily Pond

Fountain
Flowers 100-year-old Rain Garden
Oak Trees

plants Stream

soil water
Vegetable
Garden
materials
Pitcher’s
Mound

Compost
Garden
Brick Wood Tree
Paving Bridge Stumps

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 tow
ns qua
re

park

gard
ens

nd
grou
play
pond

ld
athletic fie
neig
hbo
rhoo
d

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 Now let’s learn more about the building blocks that landscape architects use!

Plants
Plants keep us alive as food and fuel. They turn sunlight
and carbon dioxide in the air into energy, and pump oxygen
into the atmosphere for us to breathe. Plants provide shade,
shelter, and food for animals. They can help clean and soak
up water and also look and feel great.

All kinds of plants, from mosses and grasses to shrubs and

trees, are important for landscape architects. In the sketch
below, a tropical garden was designed for someone’s house.

Who drew that?

Natalia Almonacid, Student ASLA
Auburn, Alabama

e
r to b ring th
lo
Add co ing to life!
draw

excerpt from Landscape Architecture Magazine’s YOUR LAND

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Who drew that?
Katarina Katsma, ASLA
Chicago, Illinois

Katarina’s three favorite things about her job are working with people to come up with a design,
problem-solving a tricky landscape, and positively affecting the lives of communities.

Can you tell the difference

between these plants? Where
are the trees, shrubs,
and vines?

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 Water
Water covers 70 percent of the earth’s surface, so it is an
important part of most landscapes, whether in the form of
oceans, lakes, rivers, or streams. There is also a lot of water,
known as groundwater, stored deep in the earth where we
can’t see it. Water helps nourish the land and is required for
nearly all forms of life.

Landscape architects use water for a variety of projects.

They design human-made water elements such as fountains
and also help restore natural waterways such as streams
and rivers. In the sketch below, water was used to design a
fountain in the town square.
Who drew that?
David Sprunt, ASLA
Littleton, Colorado

e
r to b ring th
lo
trees Add co ing to life!
draw

planting

tain
foun

sidewalk
ting
plan excerpt from Landscape Architecture Magazine’s YOUR LAND
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Who drew that?
James Richards, FASLA
Sarasota, Florida

James is a landscape architect because the profession brings together the interests and skills he
loves most. These include problem-solving, art, physical sciences, psychology, writing, and so
many other subjects that can make a tremendous difference in the world.

Complete the drawing by

adding color to the stream
and boulders.

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 Soil
Soil sustains life on land. It may be sandy like a beach
or hard like clay. It contains minerals, water, gases, and
organic matter that feeds plants through their roots. Soil
also holds billions of tiny organisms, such as bacteria and
fungi, that build a complex web of life under the surface.
Worms and bugs crawl around in the soil, eating and
moving nutrients around.

It’s important for landscape architects to understand

soils to ensure healthy plants. In the sketch below,
healthy soils were used to help grow vegetables.

Who drew that?

Shawn M. Balon, ASLA
Richmond, Virginia

carro
t

radi
sh
to
pota

l o r to b ring the
Add co to life!
drawing
excerpt from Landscape Architecture Magazine’s YOUR LAND
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Who drew that?
Dan Li, Student ASLA
Blacksburg, Virginia

Dan’s three favorite things about her job are that it keeps an exciting balance between art and
science, puts her creativity and imagination to work, and solves real-world problems.

This drawing shows four layers

belowground. Can you match
each name with the correct layer?
Complete the drawing by coloring
each layer with different colors.

Layer Names rocks topsoil clay sand

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 Materials
Landscapes are made of many different materials. They
include natural materials such as soil, plants, and water,
as well as stone, wood, and mulch. They may also include
human-made materials like concrete, brick, steel, glass,
and even fabrics.

Landscape architects use a variety of materials to build

places and landscapes. For example, concrete can be
used to build sidewalks, and wood can be used to build
a bench. In the sketch below, tree stumps were used to
create places to sit and climb.

Who drew that?

ng the
Gregory Miller, FASLA,
2017–2018 ASLA President to b r i
lor
Albuquerque, New Mexico Add co ing to life!
draw

excerpt from Landscape Architecture Magazine’s YOUR LAND

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Who drew that?
Yuki Igarashi, Student ASLA
Davis, California

Yuki discovered landscape architecture when she met the landscape architect who designed her
high school’s quad. She never put much thought into designing open spaces, and that experience
changed the way she started to understand space.

Complete the drawing by

adding materials for kids to
use for walking and playing!

stone wall

concr
ete

planting

es
ston

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 Discover the building blocks
Congratulations! You have now learned four of the building blocks that landscape
architects used to design my favorite places in Oakville. Now, let’s see how they
were used in the park. Can you find the four building blocks (plants, water, soil, and
materials) in the sketch below?

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Once you have discovered all of the building blocks in the sketch to the left, use your
creative skills to redraw them below.

plants water

materials
soil

Who drew that?

Michael Batts, ASLA
Raleigh, North Carolina

Michael’s three favorite things about his job are drawing, creating new places that no one has
ever seen before, and collaborating with different people to develop fun ideas.

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 Check your answers!

s
tree
trees

round
playgipment
equ
playg
rou
slide nd

concrete paving plant

ing

water
water
bould
ers
concrete paving

bridge

r fountain
wate
plan
and ting
soil

stone w
all

water

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Design your own park!
Now that you have learned about the different places in Oakville, it’s your turn to
design a park for the community to enjoy. Design the park around the stream below,
and don’t forget to include the four building blocks.

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 Design your own playground!
Draw a playground where kids can run, climb, and play. Design the playground
around the beautiful planting below, and don’t forget to include the four building
blocks.

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Design your own town square!
Draw a fun town square where kids and families can visit. Design the town square
around the water fountain below, and don’t forget to include the four building blocks.

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 Design your own garden!
Draw a garden with plants and artistic sculptures where communities can visit
and relax. Design the garden around the arch and sidewalk, and don’t forget to
include the four building blocks.

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Design your own pond!
Draw a fun pond with lily pads and other plants where frogs and birds can call home.
Design the pond around the plants and water, and don’t forget to include the four
building blocks.

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 Your turn!
Become a Landscape Architect
If you love the outdoors, care about the environment, love working with people, enjoy problem-
solving, and are creative, you can become a landscape architect!

Study Hard
Prepare by studying science, technology, art, math, history, and business. Landscape
architecture relies on a lot of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics)
skills you may already be learning.

Visit a Landscape Architect

Almost every community has landscape architects working in it to improve the quality of
life. Try to get to know one and pay her or him a visit. You can also contact your nearest
local chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects to ask for more information
about projects in your community.

Volunteer
Get to know your surroundings by taking part in community events. Join a cleanup day at
your local park or help clean trash from a stream. Visit nature centers and join in on nature
walks through your community—there is a lot to discover!

Prepare for College

To become a landscape architect, you will first enroll in a landscape architecture program
at a college or university. There are many landscape architecture programs in the United
States.

excerpt from Landscape Architecture Magazine’s YOUR LAND

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Thank you to the following ASLA members who shared their talents
to help develop the Activity Book for Kids:

Natalia Almonacid, Student ASLA

Richard Alomar, ASLA
Shawn M. Balon, ASLA
Michael Batts, ASLA
Suehyun Choi, Student ASLA
Yuki Igarashi, Student ASLA
Katarina Katsma, ASLA
Dan Li, Student ASLA
Gregory Miller, FASLA
Jessica Nielsen, Student ASLA
James Richards, FASLA
David Sprunt, ASLA
Chip Sullivan, ASLA

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 For more information visit:
asla.org/yourpath

© American Society of Landscape Architects. All rights reserved.