ABSTRACT
During the planning of a public space in the City of Boulder, elementary and middle school students were presented with renderings from a design firm, that reflected their own design ideas and input from other city participants. One rendering of a farmers’ market and dining experience set along the prominent Boulder Creek led eight-year-old Sophia to write: “this is a horrible idea because it destroys nature and is bad for the country.”1 Sophia’s passion for nature emerged early in the engagement process, when she designed a “Nature and Me” Nicho box to express important aspects of her community, as shown in Figure 1. The rendering ran counter to her vision, with humans occupying and channeling the creek corridor. Sophia’s emphatic response to the rendering resonated with many of the students who also wanted more balance, to protect and enhance riparian habitat, and to create a welcoming habitat for all species.2
