Floral Final Touches Put on Sandburg Elementary Natural Playground

A beautiful new natural playground built in four months by hundreds of community volunteers at Finn Hill’s received some finishing touches Friday from a team of Microsoft employees.

The Microsoft “Day of Caring” volunteers planted native vegetation around not only the new playground, but also in other locations at the school, which is the midst of an $18 million modernization project.

Patch was there in June when volunteers began clearing an overgrown area of the school grounds to create the natural playground, designed to provide a place for students to play during the school’s re-construction.

“The transition has been phenomenal,” said Lauren Gaddy, Sandburg PTSA president. “And the outpouring of support from the community has been really gratifying.”

Sandburg school kids have been using the playground since school began two weeks ago, and on Friday during lunch break, there was little doubt about how eagerly they’ve embraced it.

“It looks much nicer with plants here,” offered third-grader Tyler Galuska, balancing on a split-log zig-zag pathway.

When the school reconstruction is complete in the fall of 2012, the natural playground will remain as a multi-purpose outdoor education facility.

In addition to the zig-zag pathway, the playground features a stone learning circle that also serves as natural rock-hopping structure, a small beginner’s mountain bike path and a huge old Douglas fir log placed horizontally on the ground for kids to sit on and play around.

Check out the new playground in the accompanying photos.