Published in the Sept. 30 – Oct. 13, 2015 issue of Morgan Hill Life
By Ron Locicero
Ron Locicero
When I applied last year for Morgan Hill’s Parks and Recreation Commission, the questionnaire asked what I might wish to see done when I was on the commission. My wife Shirlee and I talked about a few projects but nothing struck us at first. And then we saw a Channel 8 News segment on the new Tatum’s Garden inclusive playground in Salinas — and we knew we had our project.
Shirlee and I took a drive to Salinas to see the playground, and we were impressed by the quality of the facility. It is designed to be used by all children — but especially kids with special physical and emotional needs. Shirlee taught in elementary schools and worked with special education kindergarten, first and second-grade students who were mainstreamed into her class. From that experience she saw the tremendous value an inclusive playground in a park in Morgan Hill might provide families of the region.
For many months now, a group of dedicated people, that includes students, parents, teachers, business owners and school administrators, have been working with the city’s Community Development Director Chris Ghione and me to plan the inclusive playground. We’ve come a long way in a short time — thanks to the passion and dedication of the group. On Wednesday Sept. 2, the City Council officially approved providing a sizable two acres of land at Community Park to build the inclusive playground.
The next step is for the project to come under the umbrella of the Morgan Hill Community Foundation so we can take advantage of its nonprofit status option for our group. We are well on the way to raising the $5,000 we need to accomplish this. Once we have the MHCF’s nonprofit ID number, we can start accepting donations to build the playground. The project needs to raise between two and three million dollars for construction of the park, and we hope to begin construction in the summer of 2016. Based on the support of the Salinas Valley community for Tatum’s Garden, we feel confident we can achieve this ambitious fundraising goal.
We want to make sure that all South Valley and San Benito County residents are welcome in helping us achieve our goal of building an inclusive park. We are working with the Morgan Hill Unified School District (and in the future other school districts) to make sure that students and families can be involved in designing the playground. We are also encouraging nonprofit groups — especially those involved in gardening and art — to be a part of the development. And of course, we’ll welcome the support of businesses large and small in raising money and providing in-kind donations.
We will hold a special community meeting at the Centennial Recreation Center in the fall to introduce people who want to get involved with the project — and take a short tour of the proposed playground area nearby and show them that Morgan Hill’s inclusive park will be a unique state-of-the-art park for people of all ages and abilities. It will have a variety of rich and stimulating experiences designed in a natural environment that supports a wide range of play and meets the needs of people with a variety of abilities.
We plan to include a playhouse and stage area where park goers can enjoy musical entertainment and children can play, pretend and perform. There will be a music area with a musical harp that makes music as people walk under it, a sand and water play and discovery area where children can design and create, along with different kinds of slides and swings. Included too will be swaying, spinning, climbing equipment, and a see-saw.
We will have quiet zones which utilize “retreat huts,” gazebos and maizes, natural sensory play panels, a garden area and a greenhouse for hands on learning and various gardening activities, a petting zoo area, and a covered outdoor learning area for classrooms to explore curriculum in a natural setting with a kitchen for food sales and preparation. There will be a picnic area for families to enjoy.
In the park, there will be places to run, climb, dig and hide. We will have shaded benches for sitting or reading and sunny open-space areas for games. The park will be a destination for the entire family. We also plan to use scout troops and high school service clubs to serve as playground ambassadors who will be there to interact with the community encouraging helpfulness, cooperation and kindness in play.
The committee plans on involving school students by incorporating their ideas into the playground design. This will be much more than the usual playground people are used to. This playground will offer opportunities for everyone to engage in play together and grow through the gift of play. It will not be the typical playground. It will engaging to kids of all abilities and meet the needs of a wide spectrum of users. It will integrate art and creativity and be visually stunning and leave a lasting impression to all of our visitors. The community engagement process is an important part of shaping our final design
Although the park will be located in Morgan Hill, this will be a park that people from our surrounding areas of Hollister, Gilroy and San Jose will be able to use and enjoy as well.
Our committee meets the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month at 6:30 p.m. in the lobby area meeting room next to the city’s Council Chambers. All people interested in volunteering or learning more about the park are encouraged to attend.
For more information about the park and how to get involved, go to the website morganhillinclusiveplayground.org or follow the project on Facebook at www.facebook.com/morganhillplayground. You can also contact Locicero at 408-710-0570 or email him at [email protected].
