Landscapes for Well-Being

UTS landscape architecture and architecture students were tasked with master-planning, designing, and physically installing a sustainable landscape within a high school, whilst responding to significant social, environmental, and economic challenges. Students aimed to address inequalities in landscape access, enhance biodiversity, and improve the school's climate resilience, while reshaping public perceptions. Stage 1 focused on transforming an unsustainable, high-water-use turfed area at the school’s colonial entry. Stage 2 addressed a central, underutilized space that was inaccessible to wheelchair users, lacked seating, and offered minimal biodiversity. Both stages sought to create an inclusive, engaging environment that fosters community connection and long-term sustainability.

Twelve months of planning enabled over 1,000 plants from the critically endangered Eastern Suburbs Banksia Scrub (ESBS) to be propagated by local Indigenous nursery IndigiGrow. This plant palette became central to teaching students and the community about ecosystem restoration, cultural connection, and biodiversity. Stage 1 was installed by students and volunteers in 40°C heat; Stage 2, during flooding rains. Undeterred, students embraced the climate extremes as part of the learning. Accessible paths, outdoor classrooms, and yarning circles were built to accommodate entire classes, including support-unit students—creating inclusive, educational spaces that deeply respond to Country and the brief’s intent.

The LFWB project restored cultural and ecological value to the school grounds through ESBS rehabilitation and collaboration with community and local Indigenous partners. Key milestones included site analysis, student and community masterplan co-design, and installation day. Despite a lean budget and extreme weather, the project delivered climate-positive outcomes, increased biodiversity, and reconnected students to Country. Enrolments tripled from 2023 to 2025, with a 25% increase across all year levels. Gardening/landscape architecture became a school sport, promoting long-term engagement. An IndigiGrow nursery will launch onsite in 2025, with regeneration, cultural knowledge, and sustainability embedded into the curriculum from 2025/2026.

The LFWB project demonstrates how collaborative design can integrate tertiary and secondary education with community, government, and Indigenous enterprise—proving that learning extends well beyond the classroom. This pilot studio serves as a replicable model for future partnerships between schools, universities, and local communities. The project’s foundation is the restoration of Eastern Suburbs Banksia Scrub (ESBS), with less than 3% of this endangered ecology remaining. Ongoing collaboration with IndigiGrow aims to extend this model across other schools and community sites, creating a connected network of culturally and ecologically significant landscapes. All materials were donated, recycled from previous projects, and sensitively reused—demonstrating low-cost, high-impact design. LFWB has received recognition across all levels of government and media, including two ABC radio features. Two days after Stage 1’s completion, all Australian education ministers visited the project—highlighting its innovative, student-led, fundraised and grant-funded nature as a blueprint for future education and climate action. Enrolments at the school have since tripled, the P&F committee is now full, and landscape stewardship has become central to the school culture. This is a flourishing example of how design can empower young people, heal Country, and reshape public education from the ground up.