To be presented at Committee meeting scheduled for 4/4/18 Roberts Field Advisory Committee April 4, 4, 2018 2018 M Meeti ting 4/4/18
Meeting Agenda • Public Input • New Playground Project Update and Discussion • DPW Update • “Natural Play Area” Design Discussion • Buddy Bench Discussion • Chelmsford MA Rocks! • DPW Sitework/Bittersweet Plan • Playground Signage Plan Update • Fundraising Update & Discussion • Volunteer Update & Discussion • Upcoming Committee Meeting Schedule • Adjourn 2
New Playground Project Update & Discussion 3
Update From Steve Jahnle, DPW • You plan on having 18-20k to build a brick walk inside the playground? Assuming that is what you mean, the small walkway that was done last year at East was $10/sf install of brick and we supplied all the materials. I’ll need to know sooner rather than later since I’m getting currently getting quotes on either concrete or gravel pathways inside the playground. • I plan on digging out anything within the playground area and depending how it goes, we can spray it if need be prior to install. • We plan on raking as needed Monday and Thursday or Friday to start. We will see how it goes from there. Nick and I have discussed doing 2 smaller top offs instead of one large one, probably spring and fall roughly 30 yards each. • We would rather use the GFRC climbers once I can fund that part. • On another note, obviously the pear tree at the playground is coming down, but I would like to take the one down near the parks garage. The one closest to the building looks like it survived pretty well, but the other one is pretty much lost. 4
Linden Tree Behind Engine 3 5
Natural Play Area Design Concept Discussion • Sensory Garden (touchable plants and grasses) • Flowering Perennial Garden • Chelmsford MA Rocks! Box • Animal Tracks – NASCO 67 pieces ($160) • Signage - Nature Scavenger Hunt sign • Climbing Boulders • Buddy Bench? 6
Sensory Garden Ideas • Sensory pathways • Sensory pathways can be constructed of smooth, flat, stepping stones or tree cookies with gaps wide enough for in-between planting. Stepping stones can be natural stone or concrete or made by children to include hand prints, leaf prints, shells, marbles, colored tile mosaics, or smooth glass. Glass blocks or clay bricks can be laid in the sensory pathway to add additional sensory richness and variety. Sensory pathways should be considered part of the larger pathway system and should not dead end. They can be installed as a narrow (18"-24"), short loop off the primary pathway (Figure 1) or a broad (36"-72") connection between settings 7
Sensory Garden Ideas Continued • Keyhole gardens • Keyhole gardens provide an intimate space to rest while immersed in sensory plants. Keyhole gardens are shaped like a skeleton keyhole with a narrow entry and bulbous, interior space wide enough for a young child or two to sit and reach the plantings on either side (approximately 24” - 36” wide). Keyhole gardens can be installed as a subspace along a sensory path or be designed as a stand- alone setting. 8
Sensory Garden Ideas Continued • Sensory plantings • Sensory plantings should be hardy, vary in height, color, texture and scent, provide year-round sensory interest, and be planted within easy reach. Often, the gardens for children are in raised planters because most children are taught not to touch the plant material. Perennials, groundcovers, ornamental grasses, small shrubs and edible plants can be incorporated. 9
Sensory Garden Ideas Continued • Proprioceptive and Vestibular Sensations • People most commonly think of their five senses, but did you know there are actually 7 senses? In addition to the traditional five senses, there is the proprioceptive sense, which is the sensation of your body’s movement and the relative positioning of body parts. Can you close your eyes and then touch your finger to your nose? You are able to do this because your body is using its proprioceptive sense. Your body also has the vestibular sense, which is the sensation of the pull of gravity on your body, largely sensed through bones in your ears, which allows you to always sense which way is upwards. Close your eyes and lean the whole back of your body against a wall. Then close your eyes and lie down on the floor. Does it feel different? This is your body’s vestibular sense that allows you to sense this difference. 10
Sensory Garden Ideas Continued • Children love activities that strongly stimulate these senses, such as climbing, swinging, sliding, spinning, and jumping. Can you integrate some structures in your sensory garden to activate these little known senses? How about adding a treetop swing, or a zip line to stimulate the vestibular sense? Or maybe you want to build a children’s labyrinth (here are some great images), use logs to create balance beams, create a structure for kids to climb on or over, or create hopscotch stepping stones in order to stimulate the proprioceptive sense. 11
Traditional Five Senses • Touch: • Soft and furry textures: • Lamb’s ear (truly a MUST HAVE for any sensory garden, with soft and furry, silvery leaves and super easy to grow) • Angel’s Hair Artemisia (mound of tiny, soft, feathery leaves) Fountain grasses • Other garden textures: Spongy (moss) • Papery (chinese lantern plants, tomatillos, birch bark) • Fleshy (succulents like ice plants or hen and chicks work well; please be careful to stay away from Euphorbia, as its white sap can cause a bad rash in many people) • Waxy (Alocasia amazonica • Bristly, without being sharp (echinacea flower heads, heather) • Playful (snap dragons will open and close their “mouths” when pinched; be sure not to get the hybrids, as they won’t have working mouths) • Reactive to touch (the sensitive plant will actually curl up its leaves when touched) Smooth river rocks 12
Traditional Five Senses • Sight: • Balloon Flowers (which have large round buds that look like balloons in the summer Giant Allium (gorgeous huge 6-inch wide purple flower globes • Lunaria (purple flox-like flowers in the summer turn into silvery iridescent seed pods in the fall) Bleeding Hearts (flowers in the spring are shaped like perfect little hearts) • Rex Begonias, which come in innumerable varieties of stunningly colored leaves Hostas with giant leaves • Elephant Ear Plants (another plant with giant leaves, sometimes variegated with pink, white, black or red (varieties can have 6-18 inch leaves, other varieties can have 6 foot long leaves!) • Giant Sunflowers (Helianthus annuus can grow up to 1 foot in height per a week; Sunzilla sunflower seed heads can get over a foot wide) • Other sight ideas: • Hang rainbow ribbons from trees Create whirligigs to twirl in the wind Create decorative garden stakes Decorate flower-pot containers Paint rocks to decorate the garden Some sort of reflective surface 13
Traditional Five Senses • Sound: • Ornamental Grasses (in particular I like Rattle Snake Grass, Animated Oats, Greater Quaking Grass, or any super tall grasses, 6 ft or taller) • Wind chimes • Bird feeders to attract songbirds • Scent: • Sage Thyme Rosemary Oregano Lavender Curry Plant • Pineapple sage (really smells like pineapple!) Lemon balm or lemon verbena 14
Traditional Five Senses • Taste • Nasturtiums (spicy edible flowers and leaves) Violas (mild pea flavor) • Violets (some varieties are more aromatic, some have a mild greens flavor) Cilantro • Garlic Chives Parsley Anise • Basil Dill • Thai Basil Cinnamon Basil • Salad Burnet (cucumber flavor) Sorrel (lemony flavor) • oxalis (often viewed as a weed, but actually edible with a nice lemony flavor) Peppermint • Spearmint Apple Mint • Pineapple Mint (can you taste the difference?) Chocolate Mint (super yummy!) 15
New Playground Project Update and Discussion • “Buddy Bench” – Harrington Girl Scout Troop Led Volunteer Project • Location? Design? • Chelmsford MA Rocks! 16
Roberts Field Advisory Committee Design and Construction Milestones Timing (2018) Project Milestones January 29 - Monday BOS Meeting: Award Contract – BOS/Town Manager Approval Feb 6 – Tuesday 10am Playground Design Working Session (DPW, RFAC, O’Brien and Sons) Feb 12 6pm-7pm Public Input Session – First Draft of the Playground Design Feb 12 – Monday 7pm Roberts Field Advisory Committee Meeting – Town Offices, Room 205 Feb 20 - Tuesday 7pm Roberts Field Advisory Committee Meeting – Town Offices, Room 205 Feb 27 – Tuesday 6pm Public Input Session March 9 - Friday Finalize Playground Design - Town Manager Approval March 16 - Friday Purchase New Equipment (4-6 weeks delivery) March 2018 Begin Corporate Sponsorship and Grant Writing April 30 - Monday End Carved Brick Fundraising Campaign May - Month Site Prep April 30 - Monday Equipment Delivery June 2 & 3 – Sat/Sun Community Build June 23, 2018 - Saturday Playground Grand Opening 4/4/2018 17
Playground Signage Update 18
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