Cheers for Volunteers: Sandburg Parents, Students Creating Natural Playground

Dozens of volunteers turned out on a sunny Sunday to help transform an overgrown wooded area at Finn Hill’s into a natural playground and outdoor learning area.

The new “Sandburg Natural Playground” will serve as the only playground at Sandburg, also the home of Discovery Community School, during an  $18 million modernization project that will begin there later this month.

“The playground here is the site of the new building,” said Sandburg PTSA co-president elect Lauren Gaddy, pointing to the school’s existing playground. “And the building over here is the site of the future (permanent) playground.”

The modernization project will not be completed until the fall of 2012, and would have left the school without a playground in the interim. So a group of parents came up with the idea to turn an overgrown woodland on the west side of the school into a natural playground.

When the modernization is complete, with a permanent new playground, the natural playground will remain as a multi-purpose outdoor education facility.

“The good news is that this has always been designated in the plans as a natural forest area,” said Kathy Fries, project leader. “It will actually fit nicely into the new playground. Our goal is to have this finished and ready by the start of the 2011-12 school year.”

On June 1, Principal Mark Blomquist announced that as part of the modernization project, the Lake Washington School District will remove four adjacent portable classrooms to create a paved play area for basketball, hopscotch and four-square.

This will create a large, seamless play space for Sandburg and Discovery School students to enjoy during construction next year.

A work party in May removed truckloads of dense blackberry bushes, ivy and brush. The work party on Sunday drew about 75 volunteers to finish the clearing.

"It's amazing," said parent Cynthia Hudson. "We came down here one day after chess club and wow!" 

Another work party tentatively scheduled for July 30 will begin the creation of an outdoor reading pod, with rounds from a big fir tree serving as seats, a “zig-zag” walkway and a beginners' mountain bike course.

“There’s a lot of good research that shows natural play areas foster creativity,” said Fries.

The project is entirely donor-funded, with many local businesses donating materials and community groups, such as the Denny Creek Neighborhood Alliance, providing labor and other support.

If you would like to contribute time, materials, and/or funds to the Sandburg Natural Playground project, you can contact Fries at 206-915-8533 or kathyfries@hotmail.com.