The Intertwine Alliance is bringing author and movement leader Sharon Danks from the Bay Area to Portland for an evening lecture on the topic of children and nature. Sharon is CEO and founder of Green Schoolyards America, an organization that leads the national greening of schoolyards movement and empowers individuals to become stewards of their school and neighborhood environments.

A plethora of research shows a direct connection between healthy school environments and a child’s achievement and physical and mental health. Traveling the world to study hundreds of school sites and understand best practices, Sharon has turned that knowledge and experience into her inspiring and informative book, Asphalt to Ecosystems: Design Ideas for Schoolyard Transformation. Sharon speaks around the country about the need to create nature-focused environments that support thriving children.

This talk will be of interest to educators, school administrators, environmental and natural resource professionals, health care providers and the general public concerned about the health and well-being of the children in our region.

Sharon’s visit is part of a larger regional Greening of Schoolyards Planning Project that The Intertwine Alliance is facilitating on behalf of dozens of community organizations and school districts. Its goal is to diminish the barriers and catalyze the development of school gardens, nature play areas and outdoor classrooms in all schools throughout the four-county region. This project has received support from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and FamilyCare Health.

More information about Sharon:

Sharon Danks is an environmental planner from San Francisco and is CEO of Green Schoolyards America. Over the last 15 years, her professional work and passion
have focused on transforming school grounds into vibrant public spaces that reflect and enhance local ecology, nurture children as they learn and play, and engage the community. An accomplished school-yard researcher and an advocate of ecological design, Sharon has traveled the world to study hundreds of school facilities and properties. She applies this international experience to her work and celebrates it in her book, Asphalt to Ecosystems: Design Ideas for Schoolyard Transformation. A trailblazer in the green schoolyard movement, Sharon has shaped school district approaches to schoolyard greening, and facilitated green schoolyard master planning processes for more than three dozen schools.

Sharon is a founding principal of schoolyard design firm Bay Tree Design, Inc., and co-founded the International School Grounds Alliance, a global network of organizations and professionals working to enrich children's environments. Sharon is a member of the Bay Area Children in Nature Collaborative's Leadership Group and an Advisory Council member of the Green Schools National Network. Sharon is co-author of the Green Schoolyard Resource Directory for the San Francisco Bay Area and has written many published articles. She holds an MLA-MCP from UC Berkeley and a BA from Princeton University.