I am motivated by outdoor play and creating and keeping shade for our kids and staff. We all need trees to sit under, and shade is an incredibly valuable commodity here. Elementary kids need a creative, installed + open outdoor area and we want to show the preschool kids what they can look forward to when they graduate their amazing playground! (as my younger child did last year) Play and learning live on at First Pres through hard work on Playground Work Day 2x yearly; we take care of our spaces together. We are dreaming BIG this year, digging into delicious images of natural playgrounds – go look it up and send me the one you wish you could play on now! Let’s get inspired. The elementary students collaborated on Operation Playground in the spring, raising enough to fence in a new space granted by the church; they researched, made art and diagrams, offered presentations on the importance of play + outdoors and on their personal dream elements. We are pushing the concept forward, asking them to envision the entire space and how they and many to come will use it. Our Instagram will continue the conversation all this Giving Week, through October 19. We will raise money all year through Give Butter and continue reaching out for grants to help us reach our outdoor learning environment goals. Thank you for reading this far.