Sheltered in the lush Phoenix neighborhood of Arcadia is Arcadia Neighborhood Learning Center, a multi-graded school that goes outside the boundaries of traditional education. The vision of the school is to foster creative, joyful, life-long learning and develop self-directed, self-motivated and self-disciplined learners. The landscape and hardscape design for the new campus reflects these goals with many unique features not commonly found in Arizona's K-8 schools. The design features vegetable gardens, a certified natural habitat, outdoor classrooms, an amphitheatre, and the playgrounds feature a rolling hill, natural play area, as well as play courts, soccer and baseball fields and shaded play structures. The central spine of the campus is comprised of raised circular benches shaded by multi-trunked mesquite trees. The landscape palette is desert oasis with low-water use shrubs, shade trees and bio sponges for collecting and retaining surface run-off.