Meridian Playground is a unique city park in Seattle, as it is part of the original home of the Good Shepherd 6+ acre property. Meridian Playground shares this property with Historic Seattle (the Good Shepherd Center building and immediately surrounding grounds), Department of Neighborhoods (Good Shepherd P-Patch), and Tilth Alliance (Community Learning and Children’s Gardens).
Add to those groups the many park visitors who enjoy Meridian Playground on a regular basis. We go there for the children’s play area, fruit trees, picnic tables, Farmer’s Market, Tilth Alliance Edible Plant Sales, birthday parties, volleyball, frisbee, and lots more. We are neighbors, tourists, students, parents, dog lovers, workers, retirees.
So, fans of the park, we invite you to become an actual “Friend of Meridian Playground.” Thursday, November 7, at 6:30 pm, we are holding an introductory meeting to learn how to create a “Friends of Meridian Playground” group. Adrienne Caver-Hall, Volunteer Programs Supervisor for Seattle Parks and Recreation, will detail the steps to get us organized.
To quote Adrienne, “To initiate this process I first like to meet with the group to discuss protocols and to discuss expectations. The majority of Friends Of groups are working with our grounds staff to conduct work projects in the park to help maintain and keep the park clean. Additionally, they may also be involved with the development or re-development of parks as well as serve as advocates being the eyes and ears of the park.”
As an official Friends Of group authorized by Seattle Parks and Recreation, we will decide together how we choose to focus our energies on making Meridian Playground a better space for everyone. Bring your hopes, dreams, and ideas for how to make Meridian Playground the best it can be.
Thursday, November 7
6:30 – 8 p.m.
Good Shepherd Center, Room 107, the Tilth Alliance Education Room.
Lower level, use the GSC entrance UNDER the main entrance stairs, then take a left.
Detailed directions to Room 107: http://www.tilthalliance.org/about/tilth-alliance-gardens/good-shepherd-center-classroom-directions
This brings a smile to my face. Friends of Meridian Playground was a dynamic organization back in the late 90s and early 2000s. Working with the Parks Department and The Department of Neighborhoods (back in the glory days when Jim Diers was the Director and community projects proliferated through the neighborhood matching funds program.)
The playground you see today was largely driven by some amazing folks led by Meridian School parent Lisa Kuh They raised funds, applied for matching grants and coordinated hundreds of volunteer hours all to upgrade the playground.
Here’s an excerpt from Parent Map magazine from, 2007:
Set inside the garden walls that surround the Good Shepherd Center,
Meridian Playground feels secret and very special. Its theme is
children’s books. The project of Friends of Meridian Playground, built
in cooperation with the Seattle Parks and Recreation Department and the
Seattle Department of Neighborhoods, was three years in the making and
opened in March 2002. It replaced a playground built in 1980. Each play
feature has been thoroughly thought through and beautifully executed,
and each is unique. Children are welcomed into the play area by a
fabulous Dr. Seuss circle game designed by Lisa Burgess Alm. Beginning
readers will enjoy sounding out the many book titles and quotations
carved into stones embedded in the low wall that separates the play
area from the park at large.
The climbing structure, one of the most innovative in any Seattle park, is fun even
for older kids who usually eschew playgrounds. A basketball court is in
clear sight but not so near as to put toddlers at risk. Other features
include broad low slides with stone facings, a large sand play area, a
water play area and swings. A life-sized bronze sculpture of Carl, the
hero of Alexandra Day’s Good Dog, Carl series, was created by Kevin Patel
with permission from Day and her
publisher Farrar-Strauss. Lisa Kuh, who heads the Friends of Meridian
Playground, says that Day generously allowed the group access to her
enormous collection of antique children’s picture books, greatly aiding
the design process. Meticulous care went into this playground, and it
shows. It is more than worth a visit.
Glad to see the community stepping up again to protect this treasure!
Thanks for the info about the earlier Friends of Meridian Playground. The children’s play area is a jewel! The park is always evolving yet still connected to its history with the Home of the Good Shepherd.
Ah! I remember working on the stencils for the donor stones with the Kuh family (moved to Boston) and what a wonderful sense of neighborhood community that and the countless other work parties provided. I am very happy to think that a new set of friends will be made working on this community space. We are better together.
Ah! I remember working on the stencils for the donor stones with the Kuh family (moved to Boston) and what a wonderful sense of neighborhood community that and the countless other work parties provided. I am very happy to think that a new set of friends will be made working on this community space. We are better together.