Save the Date - September 18th - An Afternoon of Music, Art and Fundraising Fun

We have decided on a fundraising idea to get us through the last remaining projects in our playscape!!!  I'm not sure what to call this yet, an art walk with live music?  A backyard concert with art?  A fabulous neighborhood fundraiser to be sure!

Sunday, September 18th from 2pm-7pm we will hold a fundraiser in our backyard.  We plan to invite local musicians to perform throughout the afternoon and local artists to come display their sculptures, garden art, installations, etc.

So, how do we turn this event into a fundraiser?  We plan to ask for a suggested donation of $10 per adult the door as one avenue of raising the needed funds.  Any artists selling their work will be asked to donate a portion of their sales to the Playscape Project as well.  We will be contacting local breweries and wineries for donations of adult beverages for folks to enjoy on a donation per glass basis while they listen to music and wander through the yard enjoying the art, visiting with neighbors and finding out what a playscape is all about.  As always, it's more than just raising funds, it's also a chance to raise awareness about the need for children to connect with nature in a real, meaningful way every day.  So we hope to invite folks from the community to come  to this fabulous event!

Since we are still in the planning stage, we'll have more news about our artists, musicians and ways to help out in the very near future!  But for now, put a big circle around the 18th on your calendar and plan to stop by!

Family Gardening Party

Now here we had this great patch of land with so much potential, time to start from the ground up! 

To get things going, we had a new fence installed with two gates instead of ust one and a much larger footprint!  Then we set about prepping the bare ground to become a beautiful children's garden.  We dug up sod and clods of mud, redirected many a worm into the new garden space. 
We also started on the soon-to-be greenhouse.  (more about that later!!!)

While the greenhouse stood at a roughly framed-in-state, we were able to get several beds installed and filled with dirt.  The weather told us it was time to get the garden going, ready or not! 

On family gardening day, we planted "strawberry hill", where kids get to explore the ups and downs of the path through the many strawberry plants!

We have a crop of tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, melons and strawberries all started thanks to our wonderful parent volunteers! 

Thanks to our many KID volunteers as well!

The fellowship and a shared meal afterwards was lovely!

Garden Expansion!!!



Before



After

 It was a fabulous and exciting day when we took apart our previous garden,  though it felt weird to be tearing it down.  So many happy days spent there water our vegetables and picking tomatoes.  But I know our new garden will be every bit as wonderful, maybe even better!



Nephra's folks are helping head up the garden committee for this project.  Many thanks to Victoria and Ken Brunner for sharing their enthusiasm and expertise with The Elm Tree!  I remember discussing the garden project with them last fall at our Yard Sale and it seemed so far away, and now here we were, digging up the fence, taking apart the raised beds and planning an even bigger garden complete with greenhouse!

Sonia Schnitzer, Connie Hoffman, Megan and Charles Drimel as well as their delightful young ones all showed up for the garden tear-down day.  We transplanted some strawberry plants in hopes they would entertain the notion of being potted plants for a few weeks.

It turned out to be lovely day for working on a garden, not too hot or too cold, the kids alternated between playing in the yard and helping out the grownups and we finished up everything we'd planned to get done that day!  Hurray, hurray!!!





Last September - Before remodel



Tear-down complete, wow!!!!











Fundraising Success!!

On Sunday, April 10th we were so happy to be able to hold a fundraiser for our natural playscape project.  Lois LaFond and the Rockadiles, a very fun band that plays children's music that everyone can enjoy (that includes parents!), so kindly offered to provide the entertainment for us!!!

As the music played and the families danced together, we also held a silent and live auction with all the lovely items donated by our wonderful families and amazing teachers!!

So much gratitude goes out to all of you who helped make this possible, to Lois and her talented crew, the parents and teachers who donated silent auction items and volunteered time to this event.  To the Lazy Dog for providing the space for our event.  Thank you thank you thank you!




Thanks to everyone's efforts w were able to raise over $2,100 towards our playscape project!  This means we'll be breaking ground on our garden expansion soon!

For those who wanted to come and donate to the playscape but were unable to be there, there is still a link to our Paypal donation page here, on our website's natural playscape page.

We now have a Willow Hut!

 Saturday, March 5th, 2011 - Willow Hut Building Day!!!

We were so fortunate to have the help of our very awesome Elm Tree community to build the willow structure!  Many thanks to Lizy, Anne, Ryan, Seema and Andy for volunteering their time!!!  And many thanks to my folks for letting my harvest willow from their ranch!  We promise to give them a good home.

 
To begin with, we needed to uncover bare ground for the willow to take root in.  Ryan staked out the perimeter of the dome and Andy prepared to pound the rebar stakes.  Then Ryan dug the sod out in the footprint of the hut and tunnel while Andy made holes for the willow rods to go in. 

Meanwhile Seema and Anne (and kiddos) sorted through the willow rods and prepared them for planting.

Next we put the willow into the holes and started tying them together in the shape of a dome.  It was kind of like putting together a puzzle...a living puzzle. 






I really enjoyed the community effort of putting the structures together, it went very smoothly and everyone contributed exactly what we needed to get it done, whether it be knowledge, creative problem-solving, specific skills, inspiration or a sense of humor.  It's so lovely to be part of this warm and lovely community!



The kids got in on the helping too!



Next we added the willows for the tunnel and began tying and criss-crossing them to make it sturdy and functional.  It was challenging to find a smooth way to attach the tunnel and hut together, but ultimately I think we found a great solution!

In the Spring this will leaf out and fill in with branches, creating a most magical and beautiful place for children to lie in the grass on warm summer days and contemplate the meaning of life...or cookies, or whatever it is that children contemplate on warm summer days..



The Finished Product!

Fundraiser! Fundraiser! Fundraiser!

Sunday, April 10th

11am - 1pm

at the

Lazy Dog Lounge

1346 Pearl St, Boulder

!!!!!!Mark your calendars!!!!!!! 

The Elm Tree's Natural Playscape fundraiser held this spring will include live music by a wonderful and very fun band called Lois LaFond and the Rockadiles!!!! 

This music is for kids but adults will also be delighted by the toe-tapping beats and creative lyrics of the Rockadiles.  They first started playing gigs and recording albums in 1984.  The fundraiser will be their official kick-off for their reunion tour and it is sure to be lots of fun!  We will also feature a silent auction that will include art and other items from local artists and merchants.  Come support this wonderful project and have a great Sunday afternoon!!!

Food and drinks (for adults and children) will be available at Lazy Dog as well so plan to come out and eat, dance, bid and mingle with your Elm Tree and greater Boulder community!

Artists interested in donating artwork for the silent auction please contact us via email (elmtree@qwestoffice.net) or phone (303-442-7140) ASAP!!!