Supports for students’ wellness are flourishing in the Los Alamitos Unified School District thanks to a brand-new outdoor retreat on its high school campus.
The Oasis Garden was unveiled to students and staff during a ribbon-cutting ceremony earlier this month in collaboration with the Los Alamitos Education Foundation, district board trustees and community donors — including district alumni Jusdeep Sethi’s family, who helped fund the project in memory of their son.
Serving as an addition to the school’s WellSpace center, known as “The Loft,” the space is intended to help students relax and foster a sense of peace away from the everyday stressors of their academic and extracurricular responsibilities.
“The Oasis Garden is more than just a physical space. It is an outdoor haven where students can reflect, meditate and simply take a break,” said Los Alamitos Superintendent Dr. Andrew Pulver. “When the district selected this space to build the WellSpace, we always had a vision to expand to the outdoors.”
The WellSpace initiative — created by the Orange County Department of Education in partnership with Children’s Hospital of Orange County — aims to transform campus spaces into calm and comfortable environments for students to reset and practice mindfulness strategies with support from counselors and other staff.
The program launched in 2021 with its first two locations at McAuliffe and Oak middle schools in Los Alamitos and has since established more than 20 sites across the county.
“We are thrilled to see Los Alamitos High School develop the feeder opportunity for their students, with not only investing in a WellSpace on their campus but expanding the project onto an outdoor area,” said Paulina Degortari, WellSpace coordinator at OCDE.
The 1700-square-foot space features outdoor furniture, plants and a water fountain to promote relaxation. From the name to its natural design concepts, the Oasis was designed with feedback from students and school staff to ensure a welcoming space for students to gather away from the classroom.
“With using research-based design theories including biophilic design and trauma-informed design, along with equipping the schools with activities to support social emotional health,” Degortari said, “we hope these spaces, both indoor and outdoor, provide a platform to support and enhance school-based mental health efforts and improve the well-being of our students.”