“Go outside and play.”
If you grew up in the ’90s, you probably heard that phrase daily. For a while it felt like screens replaced it, but here in Metro Detroit, families are rediscovering the power of outdoor time.
As parents and landscape architects at Giffels Webster, we encourage our own kids to get outside year-round. Not just because we need a moment of quiet. We do it because we understand something fundamental. The human need to explore our environment is essential to mental health, physical development and creativity.
And here in Southeast Michigan, we are fortunate to live in communities designed with families in mind.
What Is Landscape Architecture and Why Does It Matter to Metro Detroit Families?
Landscape architecture blends art, science, engineering and community planning to design the outdoor spaces where life happens. Parks. Trails. Playgrounds. Downtown gathering spaces. Rain gardens. Waterfronts. These are the places where birthday parties unfold, bikes wobble without training wheels and summer evenings stretch a little longer than planned.
You may not think about who designed them, but you have likely experienced the impact of landscape architecture at places like the Detroit Riverwalk, Campus Martius Park, or the trails throughout Huron-Clinton Metroparks. These spaces feel inviting, functional and memorable because they were thoughtfully planned to shape how people move, gather and connect with nature.
Right here in Metro Detroit, landscape architecture shapes everyday family life:
- The neighborhood park where your kids meet their friends after school
- The greenway that safely connects your subdivision to a nearby trail
- The downtown plaza that hosts concerts, markets and movie nights
- The rain garden that quietly manages Michigan’s heavy spring storms
- The waterfront path where strollers, scooters and joggers all share space
At Giffels Webster, our landscape architects work alongside engineers and planners to design these spaces with families in mind.
- When a trail connection makes it possible to bike safely to school.
- When a playground becomes an unofficial neighborhood meeting place.
- When mature trees cool a downtown festival on a hot July evening.
Those moments are not accidental. They are the result of thoughtful, community centered design quietly at work across Southeast Michigan.
But here is the part we love most as both parents and landscape architects.
You do not have to be a designer to start seeing the world this way.
The same details we consider when planning a park or trail are the ones you can begin pointing out on your next neighborhood family walk.
And when kids learn to notice those details, something powerful happens.
Raising Curious Kids in a Designed World
One of the greatest gifts we can give our children is awareness. Awareness of how spaces feel. How trees provide shade. How sidewalks connect neighbors. How stormwater solutions work together (ie. rain garden) instead of flooding a street.
Once you start pointing these things out, you cannot unsee them. And neither can your kids.
So how do you begin?
Start small. Start local. Start this season.
Here are ways Metro Detroit families can explore their world with fresh eyes.
Spring in Southeast Michigan
Mud season is memory season in Metro Detroit.
As landscape architects at Giffels Webster, we think about how outdoor spaces feel in spring. Where does water go? Where parts of the land are shaded? Where do families gather? Spring is one of the best seasons to help kids notice how their environment works.
- Identifying Outdoor Rooms
Take children outside and ask them where they would set up a picnic.
Would they choose a sunny spot in the grass or a shady spot under a tree? Many children naturally pick the shade, especially on a warm day.
That simple choice can lead to a conversation about how trees, buildings and open lawns change the way a space feels. It helps children start to notice that outdoor spaces are designed, shaped and used in different ways.
Landscape architects design parks and plazas with these “rooms” in mind, even if we are not calling them that out loud. Sunny gathering areas. Shady quiet corners. Open lawns for play. When kids start noticing comfort and scale, they are beginning to understand design.
- Rainy Spring Day Creativity
Every kid loves to look at photos of themselves.
Show them a picture of a local park or nature trail, then have them recreate it on paper but draw themselves in it. My daughter always shows herself on the big swing and her little brother on the baby swing. He is three, but in her drawings, he always gets the smaller swing.
This simple activity helps children see themselves as part of the landscape. It also opens the door to conversations about why playground equipment is placed where it is, how paths connect spaces and how stormwater is managed during Michigan’s heavy spring rains.
- Bike Rides Across the Region
Spring is the perfect time to load up the kid seat or trailer and explore one of the more than 400 non-motorized trails, greenways and bike paths across the metro region.
Many of these trails were thoughtfully planned and designed with input from landscape architects and engineers to ensure safety, accessibility and connection between neighborhoods.
When families can bike from their subdivision to a park, downtown or school safely, that is intentional community design at work.
Summer in Metro Detroit
Summer is when Southeast Michigan families truly live outside. Long evenings. Sprinklers running. Bikes in the driveway. Popsicles melting faster than we can hand them out.
As landscape architects at Giffels Webster, summer is when we see our work come to life in in our projects, possibly your cities, schools, downtowns, around the region.
Here are a few ways to add curiosity about the world around us during summer days.
- Car Wash V2
Every kid loves to wash their cars. In the words of Emeril Lagasse, “Kick it up a notch!”
Have them find a patch of mud and get the car dirty first. Then wash it off. Explain why there is mud there. Maybe there used to be a tree in that spot. When it died, it left a hole where the trunk once stood. Now you have a readymade mud pit.
Landscapes tell stories if we slow down enough to notice them.
And remember, kids are washable. That is the phrase that runs through my head every time I see my three-year-old pick up a handful of mud.
Understanding soil, drainage and planting areas is also part of what landscape architects think about when designing parks and neighborhoods. Those muddy spots? They usually have a reason.
- Sidewalk Chalk City
Sidewalk chalk is more than driveway decoration. It is early community design.
Nudge your kids to be more observant. Ask, “What is another way we could get to the grocery store if we did not have a car?”
A bicycle. Yes.
A walking path.
A bus stop.
Draw bike lanes. Add trees. Sketch a park bench. Create a small park along the way.
At Giffels Webster, these are the same conversations our landscape architects have when working with communities across Metro Detroit. How do families move safely? Where should sidewalks connect? Where do trees provide shade? How do we design streets that feel welcoming instead of overwhelming?
Landscape architecture is not just about parks. It is about safely shaping the everyday spaces between destinations.
You might be raising a future landscape architect without even realizing it.
- Raise and Release Butterflies
This is a relatively low cost, high impact home activity. Purchase a butterfly habitat and some caterpillar host plants. In many Metro Detroit neighborhoods, you can spot butterfly eggs in local rain gardens that were designed to collect stormwater or pollinator gardens designed to support them.
Watch the eggs turn into caterpillars. Then into a chrysalis (a cocoon). Then into a butterfly, ready to be released!
It is hands on science happening right in your backyard.
When kids observe butterflies in these spaces, they are witnessing how thoughtful landscape design supports ecosystems. Explain that butterflies, along with bees and other criters are pollinators and why they are important.
Fall Exploration
If we are honest, fall might be Michigan’s finest season. Crisp air. Changing leaves. Cider in hand. It is the perfect time to slow down and notice the details in the landscape.
At Giffels Webster, we think about how outdoor spaces function in this shoulder season. Fall offers incredible opportunities for kids to observe ecosystems in action.
- Bee Safety
I know, I know. Bees can be scary.
But the path of a bee is so fun to watch. Find a safe spot near flowering plants. Start speaking in whispers. All kids love whispers. Narrate the bee’s activities. Identify which flowers they are stopping at for “snacks.” Notice how fast or slow they fly. See if you can spot where they might be heading home.
Explain that bees can be afraid of us too. Goofy bee voices and puns are encouraged.
If there is a local honey farm nearby, a visit can really help ease fear for some kids. It is a great way to talk about the importance of bees, not just as pollinators but as essential contributors to healthy ecosystems and food systems.
Many of the native plantings you see in Metro Detroit parks and rain gardens are intentionally selected to support pollinators. That is thoughtful landscape architecture at work.
- Bridge Race
Next time you are near a small bridge on a neighborhood trail or greenway, try a bridge race.
Each person drops a leaf or small stick into the water on one side and runs to the other side to see whose “boat” appears first. It is simple, free and endlessly entertaining.
It also opens the door to conversations about water flow, stormwater and how rivers and creeks move through our communities. Designing safe, stable and accessible crossings over waterways is part of creating connected trail systems families can enjoy.
- Crayon Tree Rubbings
Tape a piece of paper to tree bark and rub it over with a crayon. Compare the textures between maple, oak and pine. Notice how different each trunk feels.
Michigan’s tree diversity is one of our greatest seasonal gifts. The trees that provide summer shade, fall color and habitat for wildlife are often carefully selected and placed to thrive in our climate.
When kids notice texture, scale and seasonal change, they are beginning to understand the intentional design behind the landscapes they enjoy.
Designed for Families
At Giffels Webster, landscape architecture is about more than aesthetics. It is about creating places where families thrive.
We help communities across Southeast Michigan design:
- Safer walking and biking connections
- Inviting parks and playgrounds
- Sustainable stormwater features
- Downtown spaces that bring neighbors together
For Metro Detroit parents, this means the spaces your family uses every week are not accidental. They are intentionally designed to support health, exploration and connection.
Winter in Michigan
Yes, even when it is 10 degrees and snowing.
There is a Scandinavian saying, “There’s no bad weather, just bad clothing.” If that is true anywhere, then it is also true in Michigan.
As landscape architects at Giffels Webster, we design parks and trails to be used year-round, not just on perfect 72-degree sunny blue days. Winter offers some of the best opportunities for kids to experience the landscape differently.
- Plant Identification
Michigan winters strip everything down to its bones, which makes it the perfect season for learning how to identify plants.
Look at bark texture, branching patterns and leftover seed heads. Challenge your kids to find three different tree species on your street or in a local park. There are tons of plant identification apps that can help; PictureThis, Plantiary or PlantIN. Turning a cold walk into a scavenger hunt makes kids more observant of the natural systems woven into our neighborhoods.
When you start noticing the trees, you begin to understand how thoughtfully placed plantings shape shade, wind protection and seasonal beauty in Michigan communities.
- Naps and Stroller Rides
When winter hits, many families hibernate. We try not to. If the sidewalks are clear, we bundle up and head out. Our rule is “no ice, we roll.”
Nordic countries have long embraced outdoor naps, and a Finnish study noted that babies took longer and deeper naps outside, had better appetites afterward and were more active following an outdoor nap. Fresh air is powerful.
That is why thoughtfully designed sidewalks, greenways and trails matter. They give Metro Detroit families safe, accessible ways to make outdoor time part of everyday life, even in the winter.
- Ice Skating, Snow Trails and Snowshoes
Ice skating, winter wonderland trails and snowshoeing are all options on top of the classic “Do you want to build a snowman?” activity.
When parks include flexible open space, accessible paths and lighting, they continue to serve families long after the first snowfall.
When a park still feels inviting in winter, that is intentional design. At Giffels Webster, designing for all seasons means considering how a park feels in July and in January.
If your young one is too small to handle the snow or outdoors, there are plenty of baby and toddler carriers that solve that issue.
Step Outside
This season, challenge your family to look at your surroundings a little differently.
- Notice the shade tree that cools the playground.
- The trail that safely connects your neighborhood.
- The bench conveniently located right where you need a break.
These spaces shape childhood.
And here in Metro Detroit, thoughtful landscape architecture helps make it possible.
Get outside. Get curious. And know that behind many of the places your family loves, is a team dedicated to designing a better everyday experience for Southeast Michigan families.
