Thursday, 21 June 2012

Outdoor Play Area




Well, it has been a long time coming. 
 
Two years ago, we had a geothermal field and heating/cooling exchange system installed at our school.  That is cool enough (sorry) itself, however, when it came to rehabilitate the geothermal field we realized that we had a challenge.  It was a bit of a wild area, and about a dozen trees were lost to the project, the equipment, to root damage from the digging and from some previous beetle infestations.  We were left with a very rough area that was not going to get watered.

And, then along came a great idea:  a natural play area.  We researched all over the world for ideas to create an play area that was natural and that wouldn’t need a lot of upkeep, watering or maintenance.  It took a lot of work, and a lot of help from many people, but we have the play area open and today is the day that the students plant the natural, drought-resistant plants.  We had to get special permission to have the students complete this project, but felt that by allowing them to participate in the project that we would increase their ownership of the finished product.

The play area itself is a hub of activity—imagine an ant hill.  The kids love it and are playing safe.

Mission accomplished!

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