jcooper
about 2 years ago

How can we use asset-based thinking for a non-traditional playground?

Here's a great question I received yesterday from the good folks at the Northwest Play Center.
We are planning an intergenerational play center with the possibility and hope of a nontraditional playground and nature play. This center is not something we plan on developing and then leaving but rather we want to stay with the play center as it grows in our community.

Wonder if you have any comments or ideas on how we might utilize asset-based thinking to build our project which is a bit different than what we see represented on project site?
oldcow   12 days later
How do I make playwheeler.org a valid url
jcooper   12 days later
Hi Oldcow, For a KaBOOM! URL, you just enter in the phrase that will come after the "projects.kaboom.org." In your case, you might want to use the word "playwheeler." Enter that word in the box and your project's URL will become http://projects.kaboom.org/playwheeler.
fieldhouse   16 days later
klusk   about 1 month later
I think an intergenerational play center with a long-term commitment is a great natural fit for an asset-based approach! Are you going to have a kick-off or large-scale volunteer event? If you are, then it's probably straightforward to use the information posted on our website for your purposes. But if you're thinking more about creating a vital community space long-term without one specific day or event to rally around, what about seeking community assets to become long-term stakeholders? Many of the assets that are valuable on a one-time basis might also be interested in something more lasting. For example, a Boy Scout Troop might volunteer or help with a six-hour Build Day in our typical Build model - but with what you're doing, a Boy Scout Troop could do quarterly service projects in the space or even use the space for weekly meetings. I think it would be interesting and helpful to brainstorm all of the uses you hope to see in the space, and then piggback off of that list with all of the community groups who might be interested in those uses. Write us again to give us more information on your project, it sounds really worthwhile and I'd love to learn from you!
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