A ?EUR??,,????'??Boundless Playground?EUR??,,????'??... Model

By Sean Stowell, LASN

The playground, sponsored by a $350,000 gift from toy maker Hasbro, is a ?EUR??,,????'??Boundless Playground,?EUR??,,????'?? one that provides all children, able-bodied and those with disabilities, the opportunity to play.

The Boundless Playground, sponsored by Hasbro, features a Candy Land trail (left) and Mr. Potato Head (right) as part of the barrier-free environment. Several different types of plants such as pine and vibernum provide the children with a sensory experience not available at many parks. PHOTOs COURTESY OF PARK STRUCTURES

Hasbro employees and their children were asked to help dream up design ideas for these playgrounds. Boundless Playgrounds is also playing an instrumental role in designing the playground and facilitating the construction. In all Boundless Playground projects, children with physical disabilities can enjoy at least 70 percent of the play activities without having to leave their support equipment behind. Equally important, the equipment is sensory rich and developmentally appropriate for children with all types of abilities.

An aerial view of the playground shows the vast array of play experiences available. The play equipment is colored teal and purple, the corporate colors of Hasbro, headquartered in Providence.

That fall, Jonathan was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy, a rare, degenerative neuromuscular disease. In January 1995, at only nine months old, he died. When a counselor suggested that the Barzachs channel their grief into a project dedicated to their son, Amy and Peter remembered the little girl at the playground. The idea was to create a groundbreaking playground where children and people of all ages and all abilities could celebrate life together. Since that time, hundreds of requests have come in asking for help in securing funding, equipment and other essentials for playgrounds across the country that are accessible to all children.

Playground equipment provided by Park Structures allows children full mobility to play alongside children with mobility impairments. The playground, which is barrier-free and socially inviting, was designed into three play environment groupings that support the predictable play behaviors of the children using the facility.

The pie-shaped playground at Roger Williams Park is on an eight to 10 foot rise, bordered by tall oaks on hillsides. Before this was a playground, the area was home to a child-size railroad and a miniature golf course. Among the remnants from the miniature golf course are several mature shrubs and other plantings that helped in the sensory aspect of the playground.

Previously the site of as a ?EUR??,,????'??kiddie?EUR??,,????'?? railroad and a miniature golf course, the Hasbro playground, is bordered by large oak trees and pines. Many of the plantings from the miniature golf course were kept to give the kids a semi-secluded area.

With the Hasbro sponsorship of the playground, there are a few influences from the toy giant that made their way into the park. Aside from Mr. Potato Head and the play equipment provided by Park Structures in the Hasbro corporate colors of teal and purple, there is a Candy Land trail painted pink and white, just like the popular board game. Along this pathway there are several sound bollards that hold a library of approximately 9,000 different sounds. There is also a fully accessible Tonka truck on the premises for kids to play in.

For the first time in their lives, many children are given the opportunity to experience the joy of a playground because of the Boundless Playground concept.

This playground is barrier-free by design, meaning that a child with a mobility impairment can play free in this environment. There are also many sensory and cognitive activities like the sound bollards and plants to enhance the play area. The plants also allow children who need to play by themselves a semi-enclosed area all for themselves. Some of the plants include perennials native to the New England area, grasses, pine trees and vibernums for smell.

The many volunteers throughout the Providence area who helped make the playground a reality.

Stone walls on each side of the playground support the old oak trees that climb the small hills bordering the playground, creating a fantastic sense of place for the area. As with each Boundless Playground, there are three distinct play environment groupings: The first group supports the predictable play behavior, the second provides an opportunity for elevation, and the third grouping provides appropriate semi-enclosed spots to support play.

Children visit the Hasbro Children?EUR??,,????'???s Sensory Garden at Roger Williams Park in Providence, Rhode Island, adjacent to the Boundless Playground, also located on the same site. The Sensory Garden allows children to touch and smell a variety of different plant material that they may not see in their urban environment.

The landscape architect on this playground, Robert Rocchio, died from a heart attack six months before the playground opened. He catalogued the plants around the proposed area and made suggestions for future plantings. He also installed an underground drainage system to help with the extreme amount of runoff that affected the playground site.

Executives from Hasbro and Boundless Playgrounds, and a wheelchair-bound boy, break ground on the new facility in early 2001.

Tony Malkusak of Boundless Playground was walking around the playground on the day it opened in August 2001. He saw hundreds of kids, all ages, all mobilities and cognitive levels, playing and enjoying the new facility.

The playground designers ask children what they want in their new playground.

?EUR??,,????'??That brought it all together,?EUR??,,????'?? he said. ?EUR??,,????'??All kids can play in a barrier free environment, and that made it all worth it. It was a very humbling experience.?EUR??,,????'??

Playground designers collaborate on the best design for the barrier-free playground to be installed at Roger Williams Park.

These humbling experiences are being told more and more as people become aware of the benefits of barrier-free play environments. For more information on Boundless Playgrounds visit www.boundlessplaygrounds.org.