Sabin School Natural Playground Opens!

We were blessed with a little sun last week for the Sabin School Natural Playground opening. You could tell by all the people in attendance that the space is already well loved by the community.

The playground sits on the north side of the school surrounded by the learning garden, three large existing Oak trees and nestled into the hillside. The site features include a climbing and sliding slope, a log and boulder climbing feature, an outdoor classroom structure and amphitheater, three living willow domes, a peace garden, and rain gardens that treat stormwater runoff.

The students were definitely enjoying the climbing and sliding area. The logs are set on metal brackets for ease of future replacement and adding a little more challenge. The surrounding surface is a soft imitation playground grass that blends well into the play lawn while adding a layer of safety and accessibility.

The three large oaks serve as the anchor and umbrella over the space adding shade, scale, and instant nature connection.

Students and community members gathered to build three living willow play structures. I will post a separate blog on this process with more photos. The kids loved the scale of the structures. The fuzzy buds instantly became a popular ‘loose part’ to collect and share.

Right out of the gate the play space in amazingly popular. As it grows in and final touches are installed it will only get better. That is one things I like about natural play areas. Structures only get older after installation. Nature play grows and changes with the students and the community.