VANCOUVER, Wash. – The community is invited to a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a natural playscape to benefit the children who attend Washington State University Vancouver’s Child Development Program preschool and kindergarten. The ribbon-cutting will be held at 3:30 p.m. Oct. 13 at the playground adjacent to the McClaskey Building.
This ribbon-cutting celebrates The Vancouver Clinic’s $15,000 gift to begin the transformation of the Child Development Program playground into an entirely natural playscape. Natural playscapes are equipment-free and designed with the intent of bringing children back to nature. They feature native landscaping, hills, rocks, logs and other natural elements that encourage children to play, interact and use their imaginations.
“Regular physical activity and spending time outdoors are critical to children’s development into healthy adults. Our goal as doctors, parents and child care providers should be to give children the tools they need to become healthy adults, and I believe that this playground will go a long way towards accomplishing that goal,” said Dr. Duy Tran, family medicine practitioner at The Vancouver Clinic.
Early Learning Program Coordinator for the Child Development Program Cheryl Johnson said the first phase of moving toward a more natural play setting has definitely had a positive impact.
“We have already seen the children’s observational skills and creativity reflected in their play as well more advanced motor fitness, including coordination, balance and agility as they walk around on the logs, pathways and rocks. But the one area that has been noted by several teachers is the way the children are cooperating and playing together so nicely. The natural elements help the children have a sense of well-being and handle social interactions in a more positive way,” said Johnson.
The ribbon-cutting ceremony is free and open to the public.
About 91ԹϺ
91ԹϺ is located at 14204 N.E. Salmon Creek Ave. in Vancouver, east of the 134th Street exit from either I-5 or I-205, or via C-Tran bus service. Parking is available at meters or for $3 in the Blue Daily Pay Lot.
As one of six campuses of the Washington State University system, 91ԹϺ offers big-school resources in a small-school environment. The university provides affordable, high-quality baccalaureate- and graduate-level education to benefit the people and communities it serves. As the only four-year research university in Southwest Washington, 91ԹϺ helps drive economic growth through relationships with local businesses and industries, schools and nonprofit organizations.
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MEDIA CONTACT(S)
Brenda Alling, Office of Marketing and Communications, 360-546-9601, brenda_alling@wsu.edu