BRING A NATURE PLAY PARK TO MONROE GRADE SCHOOL

Come Alive Outside is a national campaign that fosters collaboration between universities, landscaping professionals, local residents, and students from grade school through college. The goal is to create spaces that stimulate engagement with the outdoor environment through creative, unstructured, open-ended play.
With help and input from Monroe elementary and high school students,  Oregon State University students have designed a Nature Play Park that will provide opportunities for the children, and the whole community, to interact with and learn from nature using all five senses. Sprouting in an empty field adjacent to the conventional playground, the design emphasizes natural materials, native plants and the joy of the natural world.


LEARNING AND ACTIVITY ELEMENTS

Phase I – Groundbreaking to begin Summer 2015
•    Wildlife habitat with native and locally-adapted plants
•    Climbing mound with a tunnel
•    Jumping logs and boulders for the children to hop, climb and play on
•    Rain garden for water conservation and to showcase native plants
•    Sensory garden with plants for touching, smelling, hearing and tasting
•    A covered music hut and amphitheater with seating, where student-created musical instruments can be enjoyed and teachers can hold outdoor classes.
•    Edible fruits, berries and herbs


Phase II
•    Fruit trees and other edibles adjacent to the existing school garden, beside the modular building.
•   The Maze: an area of low-growing drought-adapted plants the children can explore
•    Butterfly garden
•    Meadow of native grasses and flowering plants
•    Shelterbelt of native trees
Main paths will be ADA accessible.

YOUR DONATION WILL:
•    Forever change the way kids play at Monroe Grade School!
•    Provide an outdoor learning environment for teachers to use in their classes.
•    Give kids opportunities to experience nature first-hand at their school for years to come.

Donors of $500 or more will be recognized with a permanent plaque or stepping stone in the Nature Play Park.
MATERIALS NEEDED (Direct donation)
• Approx. 10 tons of quarry rocks to edge main paths
•400 sq. ft. of heavy-duty landscape fabric for build pit
• Section of 3’ culvert approx. 8’ long for tunnel
• 1,000 sq. ft. of heavy duty landscape fabric for Phase I main path
• 11 yards of crushed rock for Phase I main path
• 1,000 sq. ft. of pavers for Phase I main path
• Large logs for climbing
• Large boulders for climbing
• Log rounds for jumping logs
• Materials for a 20’ diameter open-sided pergola (roofing materials, lumber, concrete or pavers, benches, etc).
 
In addition to cash and material donations, we need professional expertise for all phases of construction, and volunteer labor for work parties. For more information and to volunteer, contact Signe Danler, Project Coordinator.

SPECIAL THANKS TO
The people and organizations that have counseled, helped and supported the project so far:

Russ Pickett, Monroe school district superintendent
Kathi Holvey, Monroe Grade School principal
Marie-Louise Martinson, Monroe Grade School
    5th-6th grade science teacher
Mary Parsons, Monroe High School science teacher
Monroe Parent Teacher Group

Bill Baunach, OSU Horticulture Dept. Head
Derek Godwin, Regional Administrator West Central
    Region, OSU Extension Service
Alan Shay, Horticulture Instructor, OSU
Signe Danler, Come Alive Outside Project Coordinator

Ken Graton, Graton’s Custom landscapes
Bob and David Grover, Peter May, Corey Peterson of
    Pacific Landscape Management
Michelle Mathis RLA, Learning Landscapes Design
Owen Dell, Owen Dell Assoc.
Maggie Livesay, OSU Extension
Rick Martinson, Wintercreek Restoration
Dave Alba, Oregon Tilth
Michael Anders, Gaia Landscapes

Alliance for Recreation and Natural Areas (AFRANA)
Benton County Master Gardener Association