Did You Know?
Chicago’s Millennium Park, with its lawns, gardens, and giant mirrored sculpture, is secretly a rooftop. All 24.5 acres sit on top of parking garages and a commuter rail line, making it one of the largest green roofs in the world.
How to Get Started
Landscape architecture is a career you can start practicing in your own backyard, with nothing more than a notebook and a willingness to look at outdoor spaces differently. It starts with noticing how people actually use the spaces around them and imagining how a place could work a little better.
Explore the Basics
Take a walk with a family member through a park, playground, or your own neighborhood and draw a simple map of it, marking where people sit, play, or walk the most. Notice which spots seem popular and which ones nobody ever uses, and think about why that might be. Ask your family member if they’ve noticed the same thing, or if they’d pick different favorite spots than you did.
Try It Out
Look at a plant or tree near your home and figure out, with help from a family member or a free plant identification app, what kind it is and how much sun and water it needs. Compare it to another plant nearby that looks very different, and notice how their needs might differ too. Keep a small notebook of the plants you identify around your neighborhood over the next few weeks.
Join the Community
Ask a parent or caregiver about volunteering as a family at a community garden or neighborhood clean-up day, where you can help plant or care for shared outdoor space. Pay attention to how the volunteers decide what to plant where, and ask questions if something seems interesting. Notice how the space looks different by the end of the day compared to when you arrived.