Welcome Melissa Harmon – LLD’s new intern

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We would like to introduce Missy Harmon, our new intern at Learning Landscapes Design. Her philosophy and views on play really spoke to the work we do. We are happy to have her as part of the team. You can learning more about her in her own words below!
 
 
“My childhood was filled with all the ingredients for endless play; tons of kids, safe environments, open spaces, plenty of materials (both kid and not so kid-friendly), and no adults. I remember excavating snowplow piles for igloo tunnel systems in the winter, climbing trees in the spring, building bike ramps and obstacle courses in the summers, and playing field sports in the fall. The children in my Midwest neighborhood were always aiming to build something new and elaborate, and we would spend day after day on projects. Picking up where we left off from the day before, nothing ever ended, even our kickball and hockey games would last for weeks, if not more.
All of that play still feeds my passion today. I still love building elaborate environments for children to explore. As a nanny, I would tear through a child’s house looking for all the materials necessary to build the best “toddler-sized indoor car wash” or “Santa’s present delivery route”. We would spend all day in play with our new world come to life, then quickly clean the house before the parents arrived back home.
 
A perfect day in my world starts off with my house being completely clean and organized… so that I can focus fully on creating something new. I would design on my computer for a few hours quietly while listening to music, and then head out to a beautiful park with my dog. At the park, we would go for a peaceful walk along a river. Then meet up with a group of friends for a game of flag football or two-hand touch. If this were a hypothetical perfect day, then I would stumble upon a group of children who needed help building a fort or obstacle course. I would help them brainstorm their build, careful not to give too much “help” and then watch them delight in their ability to change the world around them to fit who they are on the inside.
 
To me, play is the spice of life. Well-designed play environments allow for warm memories, lifelong learning, social enjoyment, and emotional healing. “