When students returned to campus a few weeks ago, they arrived at a newly refurbished Arden Lawn. Over the summer, nearly an acre of land was meticulously remodeled with new outdoor meeting spaces, native plants, an amphitheater, mural walls and a dry riverbed winding through it all.Landscape architects Michele Antenorcruz and Carol Plotkin reimagined Arden while consulting with student, faculty and administrative groups last spring.
“One of the considerations was how do we increase use — how do we make this space a functional space for the school?” recalled Upper School Director José Melgoza. “We wanted it to be a place that it traditionally has been, which is a place of natural beauty.”
The project also aimed to help restore Arden’s soil and create a more sustainable environment.
“The soil was very degraded and compacted so everything we did took so much effort; to make the riverbed, we had to use jackhammers [and] heavy machinery because the soil was so compacted,” noted Antenorcruz. “We didn’t see any worms this summer, which means that the soil wasn’t very healthy, so I’m really interested to see what it will be like in a few years.”
In order to conserve water, Arden also features a dry riverbed snaking through the lawn.
“It takes the water off Language Arts and the driveway, and it’s a 300-foot swale that will soak in the water when it rains. So, in one inch of rain, we should get 4,000 gallons going back into the aquifer,” Antenorcruz explained.
The original lawn is now divided into three sections with separate functions. On the west side, there’s a community space with shaded tables, while the east remains a grassy area used as a dedicated events space. In the middle, there’s a quieter, meditative zone for unwinding. Students are already taking advantage of the new design.
“I eat lunch on Arden and come here to do work during clubs or free periods and meet up with friends,” sophomore Jones Naliboff said.
Freshman Dara Boyer reflected, “I really like it; it feels very artistic.”
As students begin to use the space more, Manager of Environmental Sustainability Laura Fleming said, “Our hope is for this to be a Leave No Trace area, so that our students are really mindful of how fortunate they are to have this space.”
Three freestanding, 6×10 foot mural walls have been added near Boswell. The Visual Arts Department aims to use these murals to launch student competitions, as well as to invite visiting artists to paint an additional, larger mural in connection with the winter art show. Visual Arts Department Chair Arnor Bieltvedt said, “We have to learn to work with the space and wait for student feedback as to how best to activate this space.”
