Concepts Presented

On the evening of March 30, Chris Mertl presented two playscape master plans for the school to the community of Gustavus. The public meeting was well attended by parents, teachers and students. As part of the public meeting attendees helped establish priorities for the master plan. Priorities included the development of a student drop-off area, improving site drainage, creating open space for gathering, developing an outdoor education classroom, and of course the design of the play area that includes both traditional and adventure play elements. The play elements in the designs were inspired by the students when they provided input during the first workshop held at the school the previous week.

The following morning the master plans were presented to all student of Gustavus school during a school assembly. The enthusiastic crowd was very excited about the transformation of their school yard and seeing their ideas incorporated in to the design. Each element in the design was described to the students so they had a good understanding of the master plan. Pictures of each play element in the designs were hung in the school commons. After the presentation each student was given six colored sticky dots. The students were then asked to vote for their favorite play element by placing the colored dots on the posters. After the vote the top priority play items were a zip line (no surprise), a climbing wall, a tree climber, an education pond, a tilted sky runner, elevated boardwalks in the trees, a web climber, and the ability to play in the trees. Corvus Design will develop a preferred master plan based on input at the public meeting and school assembly as well as direction for the Steering Committee.