Volunteers Build a New Playground for Owls Nest Park on March 29, 2008

On Saturday, March 29, thanks to a partnership between the Madieu Williams Foundation, Cincinnati Parks and organizers from KaBOOM!  a new playground will be built at Owls Nest Park from the ground up. 
                      
More than 250 volunteers and local residents will erect brand new play equipment, set the borders around the perimeter of the playground, fill the playground area with the engineered wood fiber chips which provide the safety surface, and then will carry out a number of ancillary projects including planting trees, clearing honeysuckle, mulching trees and painting lumber for park benches. In advance of Build Day, Park staff, contractors and a small number of volunteers will prepare the site preparation, work which includes excavating the site of the playground, placing drainage pipes and subsurface.

The new playground design was chosen based on input from neighborhood children and local families. On Design Day, December 12th, the children put crayon to paper to show planners their “dream playground”.  KaBoom led the Design Day meeting at which children described their "dream playground" and then shared their ideas with the KaBOOM team, including pro-football player Madieu Williams, Park staff and members of the surrounding community. Later that evening, community members and Park staff worked with the KaBoom facilitator to talk about specific pieces of play equipment they wanted to see in the new playground based on what the equipment manufacturer could provide.  The community members and parents also discussed the logistics, needs and resources which were required to construct the playground on Build Day as a first step in the project  Design Day was also the first meeting of the playground planning committee that has worked for three months to prepare for the construction of the new playground.
                       
After a one-day construction “blitz,” the colorful playground will stand as an exciting part of the first phase of improvements at Owls Nest Park.  The new playground is one of the features of the Owls Nest Park Master Plan. This renovation plan for the park was initiated by the Owls Nest Park Advisory Council and developed by the Park Board with the full support of the Evanston and East Walnut Hills neighborhoods, and the O’Bryonville Business Association. The park improvements, such as the new playground designed by the kids themselves, will enhance the park’s appeal to get children and families outside and active, key elements to a more healthy lifestyle.

The Owls Nest playground “Build Day” will begin at 8:30 AM and end around 3:00 PM with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and dedication by the Park Board and city leaders.