The City of Medicine Hat contacted us regarding the removal of an existing, aging play structure in hopes of replacing it with organic structures that fit a more appropriate natural, organic aesthetic for the park. The park is centered around a large climber area as well as a secondary loose part zone. Surrounding this, we’d installed wacky posts (for slack lines, fort building, etc.) as well as varied organic surfaces, log borders, and planting pockets. The city also asked for organic signage locations and were provided with vertical log mounting locations.

Project Background, Public Input and Goals:
Working with the Kiwanis Club and City of Medicine Hat we centered our project goals around community needs and the sustainable preservation of pre-existing flora. As an added bonus, we were able to re-purpose a large tree that had to come down in the park to give it new life and a purpose within the space as a told for child development and sensory engagement. BNP hosted community engagement sessions (including idea jamming and hands-on workshops) to involve the community in the plan/design process. Our focus within the park was a main area where children could utilize loose parts (dimensional lumber, branch trimmings, logs, stumps) that were curated by the city. The city now regularly refreshes its supply for children to use in loose part play, convert into forts, and generally utilize as a creative component in creative, gross and fine motor development. once a month and refresh it all.