Two New Green Playces Posted on December 4, 2015 by wpengine Share this post Last month we celebrated the opening of Green Playces:Homewood – the second of five Green Playces to be created by the end of next year. Every community is different. Every Green Playce ought to reflect that difference. We just hope to tie some common threads between these different Playces, the first of which is in the name. So let’s explore the differences (and the similarities!) between our first two Green Playces. It’s time to Venn Diagram: In the Northside, we took advice from some Propel: Northside 4th graders. Ideas ranging from a Ninja Field to a Wave Pool inspired our process, which resulted in a space for play, for performance and for growing. These same kids, some of whom are now official Green Stewards—outfitted with a custom t-shirt and an interest in keeping up the site, were the ones to dedicate the space with a “board sawing” (as opposed to a ribbon cutting). Today they and the surrounding community have a Playce to play music, read a book, learn a lesson, perform a play, grow a garden, draw a picture and do whatever else they can imagine: In Homewood, diverse members of the Bible Center Church and the HOST (Homewood Out of School Time) Network – aged 4 to 70 – provided input on their new outdoor learning kitchen and theater. Complete with a grill, tons of counter space, tables, a movie screen and barn beam benches, not to mention Lincoln High School Students’ artwork sprinkled throughout, this is the perfect Playce for dinner and a movie, and for learning where that dinner comes from, along with any number of other activities: The Northside Green Playce is small and enclosed, the Green Playce in Homewood is much larger and more open; each offers different opportunities for learning and play. But both have key similarities that truly make them Green Playces: An emphasis on PLAY Providing a space for ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION (and programming to come!) Creating a COMMUNITY space Ample use of green VEGETATION An effort to REUSE as much as possible The inclusion of relevant BOOKS in a little free library Making ART a part of the process (and space) Follow us to learn more about (at least) four more upcoming Green Playces, with all their differences and all their similarities!