Sharon Gamson Danks

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| name = Sharon Gamson Danks

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| nationality = American

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| education = Princeton, BA 1993

| alma_mater = Berkeley MA, 2000

| occupation = City planner

| years_active = 16+

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| known_for = Asphalt to Ecosystems

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| awards = ASLA 2012
Ashoka Fellow (2017){{cite web |last1=Rachel |first1=Fauber |title=Fourteen People Inspiring a Brighter Future |url=https://www.ashoka.org/en/story/fourteen-people-inspiring-brighter-future |website=Ashoka United States |publisher=Ashoka |access-date=11 August 2021}}{{cite news |last1=Contributor |first1=Ashoka |title=Transforming Schoolyards, Our Most Abundant Public Spaces |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/ashoka/2017/11/01/transforming-schoolyards-our-most-abundant-public-spaces/?sh=4ee4201c325f |access-date=11 August 2021 |work=Forbes |date=November 1, 2017}}

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| website = {{URL|www.greenschoolyards.org}}

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Sharon Gamson Danks is an American environmental planner and landscape designer known for her advocacy of environmentally friendly schoolyards.October 13, 2010, Amanda Marrazzo, Chicago Tribune, [https://www.chicagotribune.com/2010/10/13/natures-classroom/ Nature's classroom: Eco-friendly schoolyards a space for teaching everything from poetry to nutrition], Accessed June 16, 2014, "...schoolyards are perfect settings for composting, learning about insects...."Anita Merina, National Educational Association, [https://www.nea.org/tools/58233.htm Dreaming of School Gardens? Forget the polar vortex, ice, sleet, and snow. It’s time to talk about seeds, soil, science, and school gardens.], Accessed June 16, 2014, "..says Sharon Danks, author of Asphalt to Ecosystems..."Elizabeth Manning, October 2011, Alaska Fish & Wildlife News, [http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=wildlifenews.view_article&articles_id=528 Schoolyard Habitats Inspire Outdoor Learning], Accessed June 16, 2014, "...Sharon Danks’ book about schoolyard habitat projects are so awe-inspiring.."Sarah Elton, Nov. 21 2013, The Globe and Mail, [https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/parenting/a-look-at-five-schools-that-are-taking-the-classroom-back-to-nature/article15531129/ A look at five schools that are taking learning back to nature ], Accessed June 16, 2014, "..says Sharon Danks..."9 March 2011, School Garden Weekly, [https://schoolgardenweekly.com/school-garden-news/asphalt-to-ecosystems-design-ideas-for-schoolyard-transformation Asphalt to Ecosystems: Design Ideas for Schoolyard Transformation], Accessed June 16, 2014, "..Danks takes readers on a tour of successful green schoolyards..." In 2013, she founded the nonprofit Green Schoolyards America to promote ecologically healthy city schoolyards.{{cite news |last1=Day |first1=Adrienne |title=COVID, climate, and equitable spaces: Why outdoor learning is more essential than ever |url=https://grist.org/fix/covid-climate-and-equitable-spaces-why-outdoor-learning-is-more-essential-than-ever/ |access-date=11 August 2021 |issue=Fix Solutions Lab |publisher=Grist |date=October 15, 2020}}{{cite news |last1=Henderson |first1=Gareth |title=Back to School: In-person, outside. |url=https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Education/2020/0908/Back-to-School-In-person-outside |access-date=11 August 2021 |publisher=The Christian Science Monitor |date=September 8, 2020}} She designed outdoor playgrounds with blooming gardens, shaded ponds and nature trails.Soumya Karlamangla, Staff Writer, February 24, 2011, Daily Californian, [http://archive.dailycal.org/article.php?id=112089 Green Playgrounds Spring Up Around Bay Area], Accessed June 16, 2014, "...Sharon Danks, a Berkeley-area environmental planner..."Stevanne Auerbach, PhD, September 26, 2011, Berkeley Daily Planet, [Green Schoolyards: Creating A Greener Generation https://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/issue/2011-09-27/article/38471?headline=Green-Schoolyards-Creating-A-Greener-Generation---By-Stevanne-Auerbach-PhD], Accessed June 16, 2014, "...As conference director Sharon Danks writes .." Her book Asphalt to Ecosystems: Design Ideas for Schoolyard Transformation describes ways to transform the "traditional school ground’s slab of asphalt into edible gardens"February 27, 2011, Clearing Magazine, [https://clearingmagazine.org/archives/2786 Asphalt to Ecosystems: Design Ideas for Schoolyard Transformation], Accessed June 16, 2014, "..transforming the traditional school ground’s slab of asphalt into edible gardens,..."Nov. 17, 2010, Princeton Alumni Weekly, [https://paw.princeton.edu/issues/2010/11/17/pages/8375/index.xml Asphalt to Ecosystems: Design Ideas for Schoolyard Transformation By Sharon Danks ’93], Accessed June 16, 2014EE Week, [http://eeweek.org/ee-week-suggested-reading-educators EE Week Suggested Reading for Educators: Sharon Danks] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140527211310/http://eeweek.org/ee-week-suggested-reading-educators |date=2014-05-27 }}, Accessed June 16, 2014, "...A resource for educators interested in designing and building natural schoolyard environments.."Elizabeth Cooper, January 30, 2011, Vermont Today via the Rutland Herald, [http://www.vermonttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/RH/20110130/ENVIRONMENT/701309893 Learning outside of the box] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150211190206/http://www.vermonttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2FRH%2F20110130%2FENVIRONMENT%2F701309893 |date=2015-02-11 }}, Accessed June 16, 2014, "..Sharon Danks, author of “Asphalt to Ecosystems.” ..." and it received an American Society of Landscape Architects award in 2012.Nicholas Pevzner, Aug 28, 2012, Scenario Journal, [http://scenariojournal.com/landscape-urbanism-wins-asla-communications-honor-award-2/ Landscape Urbanism Wins ASLA Communications Honor Award], Accessed June 16, 2014, "..ASLA’s awards... Sharon Danks’s wonderful book Asphalt to Ecosystems..."American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), 2012, [https://www.asla.org/2012awards/index.html 2012 Professional ASLA Awards], Accessed June 16, 2014, "..Sharon Gamson Danks, ASLA..."

In May 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Danks, along with Green Schoolyards America and several other organizations, founded the National COVID-19 Outdoor Learning Initiative to help American K-12 schools move into fresh air spaces to reduce virus transmission.{{cite news |last1=Tate |first1=Emily |title=What If Schools Viewed Outdoor Learning as 'Plan A'? |url=https://www.edsurge.com/news/2020-10-05-what-if-schools-viewed-outdoor-learning-as-plan-a |access-date=11 August 2021 |publisher=EdSurge |date=October 5, 2020}}{{cite news |last1=Nierenberg |first1=Amelia |title=Classrooms Without Walls, and Hopefully Covid |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/27/us/outdoor-classroom-design.html |access-date=11 August 2021 |work=The New York Times |date=October 27, 2020}} She helped create an online resource called the National Outdoor Learning Library to help educators plan their outdoor learning efforts.{{cite news |last1=Newberry |first1=Laura |title=8 to 3: Outdoor classrooms are rare despite COVID-19. That could soon change |url=https://www.latimes.com/california/newsletter/2021-06-28/outdoor-classrooms-california-8-to-3 |access-date=11 August 2021 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=June 28, 2021}} The online library features templates for constructing outdoor classroom spaces and lesson plans.{{cite news |last1=Buchwald |first1=Elisabeth |title=Tents fit for a wedding reception and artfully constructed wooden bandstands: Welcome to outdoor classrooms during a pandemic — and now for the bad news |url=https://www.marketwatch.com/story/tents-fit-for-a-wedding-reception-and-artfully-constructed-wooden-bandstands-welcome-to-outdoor-classrooms-during-a-pandemic-now-for-the-bad-news-2020-09-08 |access-date=11 August 2021 |publisher=Market Watch |date=September 15, 2020}}

She is based in the San Francisco Bay Area.