Photo by Max Touhey
The Living Curriculum
Curricula and programs for schools, municipalities, and organizations to teach students to read, design, and steward the landscapes they call home.
Interior Design
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New Construction
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Renovations
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Remodels
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Commercial Design
Interior Design ✳︎ New Construction ✳︎ Renovations ✳︎ Remodels ✳︎ Commercial Design
Most curricula teach subjects. The Living Curriculum teaches relationships — between ecology and culture, between disciplines, between students and the living landscapes around them. And as these relationships reflect how the real world operates, students are thus better prepared to explore personally meaningful career paths. Developed by a team with 40+ years of experience working with landscape designers, restoration professionals, educators, and students, it is a framework for learning that refuses to separate the classroom from the world outside it.
Developed by renowned Landscape Designer Larry Weaner and NDAL
AS FEATURED IN:
“I'm so happy to have been able to impart some of this knowledge onto the next generation and use their skills to help transform our local spaces! NDAL's design methodology and classroom materials really helped the students create great final products, fantastic designs and a wealth of knowledge that they can take with them to build upon in their future careers.”
– Riley Stevenson, Natural Resources Program Instructor, Murfreesboro Parks & Recreation
At the end of the 8-week program in 2026, students were awarded NDAL-issued certificates in introductory ecological landscape design.Upcoming live, free session!
beyond academic boundaries
Free and open to all!
Living Systems, Real Futures: Rethinking Education Through Eco-Cultural Design
Sara Weaner Cooper
Students often struggle to see how classroom learning connects to real-world careers and challenges. This session introduces "The Living Curriculum" - an integrative framework that breaks down subject silos and roots learning in place: native plants, local ecosystems, and community land practices. Weaving together ecology, biology, math, social studies, and the arts, the curriculum shows students how human and natural systems intertwine - and where they fit in. Drawing on 15 years of work with educators, designers, ethnobiologists, and community leaders, Sara shares a real case: high schoolers who created landscape design plans and pitched them to industry professionals. She'll close with a hands-on demo, inviting the audience to review a sample student project as the "professional panel." The takeaway: when we teach holistically, students find real agency - and a real stake - in shaping the world around them.
Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2026 | 4:00 - 4:45 PM ET
Recording viewable for 3 months
Photo by Mark Weaner
Bring It To Your Community:
Photo by LWLA
The Living Curriculum
Introduce high school students to ecology-based landscape design with this comprehensive curriculum through field work, video lectures, plant vocabulary cards, site analysis and more - all culminating in a presentation of their own designs to local professionals.
The Career Pathways Program
Not sure if the full Living Curriculum is right for your school or organization? This is where to start. The Career Pathways Program is a one-day, in-person event that introduces high school students and young adults to the fields of ecology-based landscaping. Learning is followed by networking between the students and local professionals.
Custom & Consulting
Not every educational context fits a pre-built program — and that's often where the most interesting work begins. We develop custom curricula, teacher professional development, and site-specific programs for schools, municipalities, and organizations ready to bring ecological landscape design into their community in a way that's genuinely their own.
Check back soon or reach out to info@ndal.org for more details including activity examples and course material excerpts!
Real sites. Real design. Real outcomes.
Next Generation Science Standards-aligned lessons
Educational offerings with real impact.
“I have a greater understanding of what a career in landscape design or landscape architecture [looks like].”
-Jaquay S., student participant, The Career Pathways ProgramConnect with us about bringing this program to your school or organization
If you're interested in working with us, complete the form with a few details about your organization and what you’re looking for. We'll review your message and get back to you shortly with next steps.