The Many Uses for Pergolas

Sam Mochizuki

Ms. Wilson

Junior Projects

10/3/17
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Pergolas are structures usually consisting of parallel colonnades supporting an open roof

of girders and cross rafters(Merriam Webster Dictionary). A simpler definition is, a structure

that has a waffle shaped ceiling held up by four pillars. Pergolas are used and built all over the

world and provide many countless benefits. One of these benefits are how they can allow

children to learn in an outside environment. Even though pergolas are just a structure that is

mainly used for gardens, they can also do a whole lot more that most people dont know about.

One of the many other uses for pergolas, is helping children learn outside.

No one knows where the first pergola came from or how the idea came about, but the

earliest one that we know of was built around 1400 BC for an Egyptian high court official of

Thebes. The name

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is derived from the Latin word pergula which is a protecting eave. The first known use of the

word pergola comes from a man named John Evelyn who lived in the 1600s. During the 17th

century when

the Great Italian Renaissance occurred, the pergola changed and people started using stone

pillars to hold them up. This wasnt so much a utility upgrade as it was a beauty upgrade

(History of Pergolas). Many great historic cities have incorporated pergolas into their style of

building. The most historic places that have used pergolas are Ancient Egypt, Ancient China,

Rome, Italy, France, England, and early America (The History of Pergolas). Pergolas basically

have stayed the same since then. All pergolas have usually 4 pillars holding it up with a

crosshatch ceiling (Pergola History). Today they are still used that way, but just with different

materials that are stronger and better.

Pergolas are mostly used for gardening or for adding some beauty to peoples backyard.

Yet there are many great things about them still besides looking great. The first benefit would be

the shad that it can provide. Shade is a beautiful thing, it protects people from the sun and stops

them from dying because of the heat. Another benefit is that they can be built in many ways. No

matter how big, small, round or square a pergola is, its still a pergola. The next benefit is how

they can provide a space for certain plants. For example, lilikoi plants use structures to grow on.

These plants can help provide shad if you dont decide to put a covering on the top of your

pergola. Plants that need something to grow on are best grown on a pergola. Also the way the

pergola is shaped will allow the plants to grow right over it without blocking underneath. Finally,
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pergolas can be made from all different kinds of materials. As long as the material is sturdy, they

can usually be used to make a pergola (Benefits of a Pergola). Pergolas can also help get an

outdoor classroom for children. This helps in lots of different ways, such as better grads, attitude,

and even academic skills.

Pergolas are a great way to provide children with the ability to be able to learn outside of

their classrooms. Also being able to learn outside has huge benefits to it. The first benefit is

having better

grades. An experiment was done in California where two groups children of the same age and

relatively the same academic smartness were selected to do an experiment. The first group

studied normally inside a classroom, the second group studied outside using the same

curriculum. The group that studied outside ended up scoring better on the traditional tests (The

EIC Model). This proves a great benefit that outdoor learning can provide children today.

Another benefit is how children will be healthier if they learn in an outside environment. A study

was done on 10-12 year olds from one school. They had some of them study inside and some

study outside. After the experiment was done, it showed that the kids who studied inside were

more prone to anxiety, depression, and even obesity (International Journal of Obesity). Now kids

all around America struggle with depression and obesity. The school shooting rates from the last

20 years have spontaneously gone up. Also the depression and easy access of food in our society

causes children today to become obese. The next great benefit is how it can positively affect their

view on nature. Researchers put a group of kids through a program where they got to go outside

and learn. This changed their perspective on nature and showed when they took a test on it. This

is extremely important because of the way the environment is today. There is a lot of pollution in
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our world and teaching the younger generation about this will help them deal with it later.

Learning outside can also benefit childrens memory. Since children today are so used to

learning inside, when they switch over to learning outside they will retain a lot more of the

information. This is because the brain remembers things that are unfamiliar to it. When people

switch over, the brain will experience something new and remember it.

In conclusion pergolas come with many benefits that can change many things about

childrens lives today. Some of these benefits being shade, gardening, and outdoor learning.

They do so many great things and everyone can benefit from having one.
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Works Cited

11 Proven Benefits of Outdoor Learning. BachelorsDegreeOnline.com, 20 Feb. 2014,

www.bachelorsdegreeonline.com/blog/2012/11-proven-benefits-of-outdoor-learning/

History of Pergolas. Gazebo Creations, Gazebo Creations,

www.gazebocreations.com/cs_InfoPages.aspx?CategoryID=4328.

History Of Pergolas. PERGOLAS,

all-about-pergolas.blogspot.com/2013/08/history-of-pergolas.html.

Pergola. Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster,

www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pergola.
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Robin Mittelstaedt, Laura Sanker, and Beth VanderVeer. Impact of a Week-Long

Experiential Education Program on Environmental Attitude and Awareness. Journal of

Experiential Education, 1 Dec. 1999,

journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/105382599902200306.

The EIC Model. SEER, 5 Jan. 14ADAD, www.seer.org/pages/research.html.

The Many Uses of the Pergola. The Many Uses of the Pergola | Archadeck Outdoor

Living, 13 Nov. 2014,

www.archadeck.com/blog/archives/2014/11/13/the-many-uses-of-the-pergola/.

The History of Pergolas | Outdoor Living | Denver Pergolas. Denver Pergolas --

Adjustable Pergola Systems, 24 Feb. 2017,

www.denverpergolas.com/the-history-of-pergolas/..

Top 10 Reasons for Owning a Pergola. OLT, 15 Nov. 2016,

outdoorlivingtoday.com/top-10-reasons-for-owning-a-pergola/.

Railing, MMC Fencing &. Benefits of a Pergola. MMC Fencing & Railing, 18 Sept. 2017,

mmcfencingandrailing.com/benefits-of-a-pergola/.
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