What does it take to transform a shadeless playground into a tree-filled schoolyard? It takes a village of volunteers and supporters, and a lot of mulch! For our 2nd build of the year we teamed up with KABOOM!, @ousdnews, @workday, and Thrive with KP to upgrade Bella Vista Elementary.

Thank you to the Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation, ousdnews, Workday, & KPNorthernCal for supporting the recent Bella Vista Elementary Schoolyard Build with a new playground, murals, Little Town Library, expanded garden space, dedicated ball wall, multi-sport court, & more!

📷: Desmond Gribben

From blank walls to works of art! 🎨✨Shout out to the muralists and volunteers who have poured their hearts and talents into beautifying #Oakland schools. Murals are an integral part of many of our schoolyard builds. Which is your favorite? #nationalvolunteermonth #oaklandmurals

On March 5 at 12 PM EST, join @KABOOM! CEO @LysaRatliff, HarvardCenter, and a panel of experts as they explore the science behind the importance of play and ways to address playspace inequity. Join in! To register:
harvard.zoom.us/webinar/regist…

Take a peek at how KABOOM! partners - with a focus on nature, learning, health - are creating great community playspaces for Bay Area kids (and join us!) nextcity.org/urbanist-news/…

Maryland wins fight for over $30M in disputed tobacco funds (Thanks, Anthony G. Brown and John Leovy! ) baltimoresun.com/maryland/bs-md…

In partnership with William Penn Foundation, we’re thrilled to announce the winners of the 2023 Play Everywhere Philly grants. With a total of $1 million in grants available, 10 everyday spaces in Philadelphia will soon be transformed into playful learning spaces! bit.ly/3Qqaic2

“She was worried that she was going to have to find a new place to go to school. Because, she thought, surely, this new amazing schoolyard wasn’t for her.' nobhillgazette.com/people/steph-a… via @nobhillgazette

📣BIG NEWS📣

Gov. Gavin Newsom has officially signed SB 291, guaranteeing that kids in California will have access to 30 minutes of outdoor recess every school day! This is a huge win for all kids in California. Thank you to everyone who joined in the advocacy efforts.

Feeling grateful to work alongside Stephen and Ayesha Curry’s Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation Foundation on this commitment to raise and invest $50M to transform the school experience for a generation of Oakland @ousdnews students, in part with 25 more Playful Schoolyards. instagram.com/reel/CyHxj5zrq…

With a recent commitment by Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation to raise and invest $50 million in additional support and resources for @ousdnews public schools, we’ll work together to build new playgrounds, sports courts, and outdoor exploration areas in 25 new places by 2026. eatlearnplay.org/news/strategic…

Let’s go!! Been working on this for a long time… and we’re still just getting started.

High five to our favorite 13 year old Champion of Play Harry Hirsch who just raised $20K+ to help KABOOM! Discover ChicagoPublicSchools build a great new playground for kids at Avalon Park Elementary in Chicago fox32chicago.com/video/1274844

Feeling grateful and inspired as Stephen Curry + Ayesha Curry + Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation commit to raise and invest $50M to support Oakland ousdnews students with healthy meals, literacy support and new playful schoolyards with KABOOM! mercurynews.com/2023/09/06/pho…

Along with KABOOM! & ousdnews we recently renovated the 81st Avenue Campus schoolyard. Thank you to the Bhusri family for their generous support, and the 81st Ave. community and our village of partners and volunteers for helping us bring the students’ ideas to life!

Philadelphia’s investments in playgrounds and rec centers “powerfully disrupted the unjust socioeconomic logic that recreation is a luxury that poor people couldn’t afford and didn’t deserve,” shares Airea D. Matthews in today's The New York Times KABOOM! nytimes.com/2023/08/02/opi…

We're excited to bring this upgraded schoolyard to the students of Hoover Elementary, featuring a new, kid-designed play structure, nature exploration area, and multi-sport court. Thank you to the Bhusri family for their generous support and our partners at KABOOM! and ousdnews!

Drum roll, please! 🥁

In collaboration with Saint Paul Parks and Recreation and @Parks_Saint, we are thrilled to announce Saint Paul, MN as the next partner in our 25 in 5 Initiative to End Playspace Inequity!
bit.ly/3PW5Fb0

We don't start any new schoolyard remodel without getting input from our most important designers—the students themselves. Check out some of the amazing ideas these students had for their new playground and nature exploration areas! #playspaceequity KABOOM! @ousdnews

Congratulations to our partners at Sycamore & Oak on their big opening this week! Learn more about some of the local businesses and entrepreneurs at the site's 23K-square-foot Retail Village, in DC's Congress Heights neighborhood, via this article in DCist: dcist.com/story/23/06/15…