Every now and then, special partnerships are made. For the Madras Community Schoolyard project, that’s exactly what happened. The Jefferson County School District (JCSD509j) and the Trust for Public Land (TPL) came together to create a resource that serves more than just the students at Madras Elementary School, but the neighbors and surrounding community as well. Funded entirely by curated grants through the Trust for Public Land, The Madras Community Schoolyard includes a more expansive play area, real-wood logs for play structure elements & features, safety surfacing, winding paths, communal sitting spaces, and landscaping that utilizes local indigenous plant life.
Madras was selected for the Oregon Rural Community Schoolyards program for its diverse community, socio-economic need, environmental risk, and public health disparity, as well as its outdated play equipment. Madras sits on the ancestral lands of the Warm Springs people near the Reservation of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, as such, TPL’s stated mission: “To increase access to nature-rich community spaces for students and neighbors” affirms the local culture and heritage of the region. ABLE Studio thoughtfully designed the schoolyard and partnered with the staff, teachers, and students from the school to better inform the design, taking into account the diversity of abilities and ages that will utilize the space. We at Griffin had a fun time bringing this special project to life – especially because we got to use our big chainsaw to custom cut some of the logs—sometimes it’s the simple things.
Additional supporting partners: Ashley & Vance Engineering.
