A garden runs through it
By Meg Walker; photos by kc kratt.
Furniture is obsolete in the garden. Boulders are used as chairs for storytelling, and they double as an obstacle course for physical education as the children hop from rock to rock.
Located in one of the roughest areas on the East Side of Buffalo, Public School 90 has a backyard that goes beyond the traditional jungle gym. Complete with two large sandboxes, a bamboo teepee, and a water channel, the garden has become an oasis for urban children at this early childhood center.

The garden compounds all the kids’ areas in schooling, from art to music, math, science, and everything in between. In the art garden, the children use the flowers as inspiration for their classes and the berries in the garden to make paints, as Monet would have. “Everything is meant to be touched,” says Joy Kuebler, president of Joy Kuebler Landscape Architect PC. All of the plants are nontoxic, allowing the students to adventure at will.

Furniture is obsolete in the garden. Boulders are used as chairs for storytelling, and they double as an obstacle course for physical education as the children hop from rock to rock. There is always a line of kids at the logs in the science section, waiting to test their balance. They are also encouraged to get their hands in the dirt and see what is underneath the decomposing log. “Our hope is to get the kids to enjoy being outside and that they will want to be dirty at ages four, five, and six,” Kuebler said.

Another garden area addresses one of the toughest subjects: mathematics. Patio pavers of all shapes, sizes, and materials are used in different orders to highlight different proportions. Kids can see what a whole, a half and a quarter is in fractions. “We’re always trying to push their concepts as they grow and move through different schooling,” Kuebler said. “They’ll remember the things they saw here and those types of experiences will push their minds past where a typical kindergartener may be thinking.”

In the music garden, plants were chosen for the sound they make in the wind or their ability to attract birds and insects that sing. Many of the plants create seeds that are used to construct shakers and bamboo is used to make flutes. A highlight for the children in the music section is a living bamboo teepee. The children feel concealed and independent within its walls, while the teachers can still keep watch. “What’s so wonderful is that it is such an oasis for the kids to take off their shoes and run around in the grass,” Kuebler said. “Hopefully they’ll love the environment enough to take good care of it.”

Spree intern Meg Walker is a journalism major at Canisius College.


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