This past weekend I had the pleasure of building another great living willow hut…this time in a sweet public park in my own town of Spencer, NY. Local organizer and volunteer extraordinaire, Nicole O’Connell-Avery, is spearheading a natural playscape project for little kids in the park. The first build of the project: a Living Willow Hut of course! Nicole and I have been plotting and planning over the winter and last weekend was the big day. We had arranged to  [read more →]

Here is another wonderful home-based preschool center in Ithaca, NY that I love visiting throughout the seasons: Corner of the Sky, run by my friend Valerie http://cornerofthesky.org/ As the snow continued to recede children found spring bulbs, protected delicate green tree-seedlings from trampling feet, and rode the wagon through the barely budding lilac tree tunnel. “Smell the lilacs Rusty. It smells like spring!” I used my sensory imagination…and sure enough, I smelled it too! Playscapes don’t always have to  [read more →]