This project is very important to the community because physical activity is more important than ever for all children and families and yet, there are limited hard surface play areas in the Laurelhurst neighborhood. A renovated playground born out of a shared community vision is a much needed community resource that will draw families and children of all ages. Last year, with the help of everyone in the community, we finally finished the renovation of the south playground because a set of rusty rings and some hazardous parallel bars were not enough equipment to allow for safe and creative physical activity on a playground that is so heavily used.

The renovation of the south playground at Laurelhurst has provided much needed improvements and unique opportunities for physical activity and play to a wide-range of children and families in the community who will use the space year-round. Our efforts our now focused on the similarly dilapidated north playground - which is used primarily by the younger children in Laurelhurst School as well as the LASER students on a daily basis.

In addition to Laurelhurst School ’s 450 students who play on both playgrounds before and after school and during three recesses a day, many other children frequent the playgrounds. For example, between its morning and afternoon sessions, the Laurelhurst After School Enrichment Rooms (LASER) program has about 100 children a day who play in both the north and south playgrounds. LASER also runs a well-attended summer program for kids which extend their use of the school playgrounds to year-round. In addition, children from the Laurelhurst Community Center programs come over to play after school and on weekends, while youth from the Seattle Community Church walk over to play basketball on the weekends, and neighborhood families stop by for unorganized play after school, on weekends, and throughout the summer. Children’s Hospital and Regional Medical Center has also expressed an interest in having its children and their families walk up the hill to use an updated playground.