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http://www.twincities.com/education/ci_25868220/mahtomedi-schools-new-playg rou nd-no-plastic-allowed# Nature playground coming to Grant elementary school By Elizabeth Mohr emohr@pioneerpress.com Twin Cities.com-Pioneer Press Posted:Sat May 31 12:26:43 MDT 2014 TwinCities.com With each generation comes a new rendition of the "when -I -was -a -kid" tale. Play often is at the center of these recollections, by grown-ups who wear like a badge of honor the scarred knees (scraped on pavement under their playground's metal slides) and who boast of the hours spent (unsupervised) in pastures and at river's edge. Play nowadays tends to be limited to prefabricated playgrounds that have become increasingly safe and litigation -proof, limiting -- some say -- the imagination -inspiring and natural elements that kids need. But a crop of students at Wildwood Elementary in Grant is soon to get its own story -worthy playground. The play area will feature hills, trees, logs, sand, bridges, natural climbing elements, a slide built into the landscape, an amphitheater with boulders for seats, and movable pieces for building anything the kids can dream up. So what makes a natural playground so much better than a traditional one? "Kids are really learning while they're playing. They're acting out all the things they need to know about other people -- with sharing, with taking turns -- and it's not only the gross motor activities, but thinking and interacting with their world," said Jeanne Zlonis, a member of the Mahtomedi Area Green Initiative, which is raising funds for the play area's 50 -some trees. "The natural playground gives them a place that they own, that they can observe the changes of the seasons. Their senses are involved in these experiences, the wind blowing, the smell.... Balancing on a log on the ground is more challenging than standing on a preformed plastic structure." The natural play area will cost an estimated $200,000, more than $142,000 of which has come from donations. Construction is expected to begin this month. Talk of a natural play area began before the school was even constructed, Zlonis said. Wildwood Elementary, part of the Mahtomedi school district, sits just east of Mahtomedi High School and Middle School. It opened last fall to house grades K-2 and early -childhood education, replacing an aging school in Mahtomedi. The $18 million modern and tech -savvy building was built with an eye to its natural surroundings -- the Gateway State Trail, woods and wetlands. So some say the construction of a natural playground is the perfect fit. "If you've seen the setting out here, it's unbelievable," said Laura Brandt, a second-grade teacher who's been at Wildwood for 27 years. "It really melds nicely together." Brandt was part of the committee that planned the natural play area. "I looked at our kids' day and it's highly structured. And kids are structured outside of school, with sports Page 1 of 2 Jun 04, 2014 02:10:39PM MDT