Sharon Gamson Danks is an American environmental planner and landscape designer known for her advocacy of environmentally friendly schoolyards.
[October 13, 2010, Amanda Marrazzo, Chicago Tribune]
Nature's classroom: Eco-friendly schoolyards a space for teaching everything from poetry to nutrition
Accessed June 16, 2014, "...schoolyards are perfect settings for composting, learning about insects...."[Anita Merina, National Educational Association]
Accessed June 16, 2014, "..says Sharon Danks, author of Asphalt to Ecosystems..."[Elizabeth Manning, October 2011, Alaska Fish & Wildlife News]
Schoolyard Habitats Inspire Outdoor Learning
Accessed June 16, 2014, "...Sharon Danks’ book about schoolyard habitat projects are so awe-inspiring.."[Sarah Elton, Nov. 21 2013, The Globe and Mail]
A look at five schools that are taking learning back to nature
Accessed June 16, 2014, "..says Sharon Danks..."[9 March 2011, School Garden Weekly]
Asphalt to Ecosystems: Design Ideas for Schoolyard Transformation
Accessed June 16, 2014, "..Danks takes readers on a tour of successful green schoolyards..." In 2013, she founded the nonprofit ''Green Schoolyards America'' to promote ecologically healthy city schoolyards.
She designed outdoor playgrounds with blooming gardens, shaded ponds and nature trails.
[Soumya Karlamangla, Staff Writer, February 24, 2011, Daily Californian]
Green Playgrounds Spring Up Around Bay Area
Accessed June 16, 2014, "...Sharon Danks, a Berkeley-area environmental planner..."[Stevanne Auerbach, PhD, September 26, 2011, Berkeley Daily Planet, reen Schoolyards: Creating A Greener Generation http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/issue/2011-09-27/article/38471?headline=Green-Schoolyards-Creating-A-Greener-Generation---By-Stevanne-Auerbach-PhD Accessed June 16, 2014, "...As conference director Sharon Danks writes .."] Her book ''Asphalt to Ecosystems: Design Ideas for Schoolyard Transformation'' describes ways to transform the "traditional school ground’s slab of asphalt into edible gardens"
[February 27, 2011, Clearing Magazine]
Asphalt to Ecosystems: Design Ideas for Schoolyard Transformation
Accessed June 16, 2014, "..transforming the traditional school ground’s slab of asphalt into edible gardens,..."[Nov. 17, 2010, Princeton Alumni Weekly]
Asphalt to Ecosystems: Design Ideas for Schoolyard Transformation By Sharon Danks ’93
Accessed June 16, 2014[EE Week]
EE Week Suggested Reading for Educators: Sharon Danks
, Accessed June 16, 2014, "...A resource for educators interested in designing and building natural schoolyard environments.."[Elizabeth Cooper, January 30, 2011, Vermont Today via the Rutland Herald]
Learning outside of the box
, Accessed June 16, 2014, "..Sharon Danks, author of “Asphalt to Ecosystems.” ..." and it received an
American Society of Landscape Architects
The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) is a professional association for landscape architects in the United States. The ASLA's mission is to advance landscape architecture through advocacy, communication, education, and fellowship ...
award in 2012.
[Nicholas Pevzner, Aug 28, 2012, Scenario Journal]
Landscape Urbanism Wins ASLA Communications Honor Award
Accessed June 16, 2014, "..ASLA’s awards... Sharon Danks’s wonderful book Asphalt to Ecosystems..."[American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), 2012]
Accessed June 16, 2014, "..Sharon Gamson Danks, ASLA..."
In May 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Danks, along with ''Green Schoolyards America'' and several other organizations, founded the ''National COVID-19 Outdoor Learning Initiative'' to help American K-12 schools move into fresh air spaces to reduce virus transmission.
She helped create an online resource called the ''National Outdoor Learning Library'' to help educators plan their outdoor learning efforts. The online library features templates for constructing outdoor classroom spaces and lesson plans.
She is based in the
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...
.
Publications
* ''Asphalt to Ecosystems: Design Ideas for Schoolyard Transformation'', New Village Press (November 1, 2010)
References
External links
National COVID-19 Outdoor Learning Initiative
{{DEFAULTSORT:Danks, Sharon Gamson
Princeton University alumni
Environmental planners
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)
Ashoka Fellows
Ashoka USA Fellows
UC Berkeley College of Environmental Design alumni