CLIENT: Shenzhen Mangrove Wetlands Conservation Foundation
LOCATION: Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
AGE GROUP: All Ages
DATE COMPLETED: 2018
In 2017, our team partnered with the Shenzhen Mangrove Wetlands Conservation Foundation (MCF) to design an outdoor classroom within Futian Mangrove Ecological Park. Established in 2012, MCF was China’s first publicly founded environmental organization and the first NGO to operate a government-mandated ecological park. The project’s goal was to connect local families and children with nature in one of the world’s fastest-growing cities.
With support from Danone China, we facilitated a series of community and design workshops in early 2018 that engaged more than 30 parents, educators, and professionals. Insights from these sessions shaped a design that reflected the park’s ecological character while offering varied opportunities for exploration and learning.
The classroom features a mangrove-inspired entrance, animal figures and footprints for discovery, and flexible areas that invite imagination and child-led play. A traditional pressure well in the sand and water zone became an unexpected highlight, sparking intergenerational storytelling as parents introduced it to children experiencing it for the first time.
The Shenzhen Outdoor Classroom has since become a vibrant hub for family bonding and nature-based education, advancing MCF’s mission of ecological stewardship in the heart of the city.
