New Outdoor Learning Environments at Alnarp

Last changed: 12 November 2024
aerial view of a part of campus Alnarp

Starting in the autumn semester of 2024, five new outdoor learning environments will be available for booking for teaching at Campus Alnarp. These environments are open to all courses throughout the year and are part of a unique innovation project exploring how outdoor learning spaces can be designed to support planned learning activities.

The design of these spaces is based on two principles: facilitating outdoor learning activities already in place today and enabling indoor learning activities to move entirely or partially outside. The four locations are situated near Alnarpsgården, outside the Terra Nova hall in Agricum, by the annual and perennial collections, and in the lignum collection. The fifth learning environment is mobile, consisting of a cargo bike that can be booked through the room booking system and collected via servicecenter in Alnarpsgården.

Book and Contribute to Evaluation 

The design process was carried out in collaboration with teachers from various disciplines, who described how they conduct different teaching and learning activities and how they view the potential for making better use of the outdoor environment. Now, an evaluation phase begins, where everyone using these environments can contribute to the development of knowledge about outdoor learning spaces. Bookings are made through the room booking system.

Prototypes with Potential for Permanent Use 

The learning environments have been designed and constructed by SLU students as prototypes using simple materials, with the aim that successful solutions may be made permanent after the two-year evaluation period. The prototypes may also be adjusted and modified during the evaluation period based on user feedback.

Description of the Prototypes

Terrace Nova

The environment enables transitions between indoor learning activities in the Terra Nova hall in Agricum and outdoor activities in the prototype. Outdoor activities primarily involve group work at benches and tables, accommodating around 15 people. This space is booked together with the Terra Nova lecture hall. As a teacher, you book as usual through the room booking system.

A wooden deck with a wooden fence and a wooden bench

Lignum

The environment is intended to serve as a meeting point for learning activities in the lignum collection gardens, such as brief sessions to start and conclude different tasks. Group sizes of about 15 people work well here. The prototype is lockable, allowing materials and equipment to be stored while students work in the collections. As a teacher, you book as usual through the room booking system.

A wooden sheld with a clear roof on a deck.

Culina

The environment is intended to serve as a meeting point for learning activities in the annual and perennial collections, for example, short sessions to start and conclude various tasks. Group sizes of about 15 people work well here, and there is space to store equipment and materials under a shelter. As a teacher, you book as usual through the room booking system.

A wooden structure with a fence and plants

Alnarpsgården

The environment is designed to function as an extension of indoor studios and workshops, for instance, during course activities that involve full-scale labs. Learning activities take place outdoors, while equipment and materials for various tasks are brought from indoors. The space is also suitable for brief presentations to larger groups, accommodating 15 to 30 people.

One of the boxes, which also functions as a bench, contains a sailcloth canopy that can be set up when weather protection is needed. As a teacher, you book as usual through the room booking system.

Alnarpsgården.jpg

The Mobile Learning Environment

The cargo bike can be collected from the service centre at Alnarpsgården. It can carry lighter materials and equipment. When parked, it can also be used as a table or display area. As a teacher, you book the bike through the room booking system.

One of the boxes, which also functions as a bench, contains a sailcloth canopy that can be set up when weather protection is needed. As a teacher, you book as usual through the room booking system.

Facts:

Developing our outdoor learning environments becomes an important and exciting piece of the extensive work being done to transform the campus into a green meeting place for education, research, and innovation. In collaboration with Akademiska hus, an innovation project is underway, based on the question of what enables or enhances the quality of outdoor learning activities. The project is divided into three stages:

  1. The first stage involved developing a program basis for designing prototypes for various learning activities in the outdoor environment. This groundwork has been laid through a workshop process during the autumn of 2023.
  2. The second stage was to design and construct prototypes in different locations on the Alnarp campus. This was carried out by students at Alnarp during the spring term of 2024.
  3. The third and final stage is evaluation, estimated to continue until 2026.

About the Evaluation

The central aim of the evaluation is to understand how well the prototypes support learning activities that are already conducted outdoors or enable learning activities to be moved entirely or partially outside. The evaluation will also result in a description of the spatial conditions required for outdoor learning environments.

The evaluation is based on teachers and students using the prototypes and sharing their experiences, feedback, and suggestions for improvement. All teachers who book the prototypes will be contacted to participate in the evaluation study in some form.

Collaboration in Innovation

The new learning environments are part of the innovation project "Activity-Adapted Outdoor Learning Environments," a collaboration between SLU and Akademiska Hus.

Read more about the project in the program basis (only in Swedish)