



At Ross Recreation, we think a lot about what our brand promises, both to longtime customers and to new customers alike. More recently, we can thank one of our longtime customers, the City of Rohnert Park, for providing testimony to what we strive to do, the quality of our products and the way we do business.
In a recent City Council meeting, city staff proposed the approval of their recommendation to move forward with a design-build proposal from Ross Recreation for playground improvements at beautiful Dorotea Park using Landscape Structures play equipment.
The proposal from staff read:
“City staff has found Landscape Structure Playgrounds to be legally compliant, durable, and the highest quality craftsmanship. Since almost every park has the same high quality (Landscape Structures) playground equipment, repair and maintenance costs are lower than they otherwise would be due to savings from standardized parts and staff’s familiarity with the equipment.”
“Through ongoing maintenance and equipment evaluation, staff has determined that Landscape Structures playground equipment is reasonably priced and is the highest quality.”
The new playground equipment was purchased by the city using a pre-negotiated cooperative purchasing contract and replaced two Landscape Structures playgrounds that were from the early 90’s. The installation was completed at the end of June, ready for summer play. One of the highlights of the park’s new playground is the Global Motion, a rotating climber that is impressive both in its play value and its large, spherical presence.
~ Ewing Philbin, Ross Recreation
In the past, we have been proud to work with The Trust For Public Land (TPL), a national non-profit with a wonderful mission. In addition to playgrounds, TPL has lead the charge promoting the concept of urban “fitness zones”, a low-cost alternative to expensive gym memberships for low income families and adults. I have written before about “fitness zones” and the personal pleasures I find in exercising outdoors (https://www.rossrec.com/news/parks-and-playgrounds/a-move-outdoors-for-fitness/).
So it came as a pleasant surprise when, cooped up indoors again due to our wet winter, I received an excellent article from TPL about the many benefits – for kids and adults, too – of spending time outdoors.
The article summarized a number of recent scientific studies which show that being outdoors positively impacts emotional wellbeing as well as physical health. Specifically, the TPL article says that we feel calmer, more purposeful and compassionate after spending time outdoors. Being in nature also has a positive effect on concentration, and produced better health outcomes for people who live in cities. This is an article worth everyone’s attention!
~ Ewing Philbin, Owner of Ross Recreation
One of my earliest meetings in 2017 was at Oak Avenue Elementary School in Los Altos, California, to discuss the expansion and enhancement of the existing kindergarten playground.
Oak Avenue remains a special place for me because it was one of my earliest experiences organizing a parent volunteer group for the installation over a single day of a large Landscape Structures playstructure. It was also one of my earliest collaborations with Landscape Structures, developing a master plan for the school’s then PTA showing how to build out their new playground in phases, as funds allowed.
That original Phase 1 playstructure, built by parents in 1987, still stands almost thirty years later, cosmetically worn in certain areas, but structurally rock solid and still offering students a great play space. After Phase 1, subsequent PTA’s added four additional phases to the play area over the the ensuing years, the latest being the much-loved Eclipse net climber dubbed “The Beehive” by students and teachers.
At my January meeting, I couldn’t help but think of the thousands of kids that have used that playground over the years. That first phase equipment cost $20,000 in 1987, and aside from minor modifications due to new access and safety standards, the District has spent very little to maintain the playground, a solid investment and a source of fitness, learning and fun for generations of Oak Avenue students.
~ Ewing Philbin, Owner of Ross Recreation
At their annual awards gala, the Sierra Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects gave Stantec Architecture their Honor Award for outstanding design work on Rancho Cordova’s exciting new Hillside Park. Ross Recreation is proud to have contributed Landscape Structures play equipment and a Classic Recreation shade structure to this extraordinary project. We also installed the extensive poured-in-place rubberized safety surfacing in the playground, which features unique hillside geometric shapes and climbers that compliment and embrace the unique topography of the site.
Thursday was officially proclaimed Jim Roberts Day by the City of Napa as a full house at the Elks Club packed the halls to celebrate Jim’s 90th birthday and his lifetime of service to children and community. Family, friends and colleagues gathered to hear of Jim’s numerous contributions to the well-being of young people, especially underserved and at-risk youth. To the Ross Recreation and Landscape Structures families, however, Jim is best known as having organized and built sixty-four playgrounds in the Napa Valley over the past twenty years!
It was a wonderful celebration and tribute to a unique and wonderful man – and a life well-lived. For more on Jim’s contributions to his community, there are a number of articles:
http://landscapeonline.com/research/article.php/2751
As a part of our partnership with Landscape Structures and Too Small to Fail, Ross Recreation was thrilled to participate in launching the first public early literacy playground in Oakland at Willie Wilkins Park. Ross Recreation installed this playground in East Oakland in 2010 where it has served the surrounding community ever since. The toddler structure is a rainbow of colors and already included various activity panels to engage children, but as a part of our partnership with Too Small to Fail, we added conversation panels intended to promote children’s early language literacy. The panels include vibrant imagery and prompts such as “Let’s Talk About Food” and “Let’s Talk About Feelings” to stimulate dialogue between parents and their young preschoolers. The playground at Willie Wilkins Park now incorporates the Talking is Teaching materials into playground signage to prompt fun conversations, stories and songs while parents and children play together.
Willie Wilkins is the first public playground in Northern California that is a part of the “Talking is Teaching: Talk, Read, Sing” campaign and the event at the park was part of a larger kick off for the overall program in the Oakland community. In addition to Landscape Structures’ and Ross Recreation’s commitment to the “Play Time is Talk Time” portion of the early literacy program, Too Small To Fail has partnered with many other local organizations to help Oakland’s youngest residents achieve their highest goals. Included as additional partners in this event were Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf, First 5 Alameda, the Golden State Warriors and UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital of Oakland, among many others.
As children and parents from the surrounding community filed into the park, they were excited to see what the day would hold. With talking, reading and singing at the heart of this program, it was only right that all three were included elements for the young attendees. In addition to lots of fun playtime on the updated play structure, the kids were first treated to music time where they were able to sing along with hip hop kids group Alphabet Rockers, who promote children’s learning and literacy through hip hop music. Following that, Golden State Warrior Adonal Foyle spent time playing with the kids and hosting story time, reading his children’s book Too Tall Foyle to the kids as they all sat around the playground.
Ross Recreation is proud to work with organizations such as Too Small To Fail to support our youngest community members and are thrilled that our playgrounds are able to have such an impact. They say that playgrounds are the first classrooms for children, and so we feel it is only appropriate that we do all we can to let our fun filled “classrooms” help children achieve and thrive.
Recently, Casey Hilbert, Ross Recreation’s Central Coast sales representative, was asked to take on a challenging project in Soledad, California, and developed creative solutions, on time and on budget.
At Santa Elena Cooperative Housing in Soledad, Pacific Gas & Electric Company wanted to relocate an existing playground because the site was over a large utility line. PG&E’s Chris Long contacted Casey, and after site meetings and discussions with the Santa Elena community, it was decided to build a new playground over an existing basketball court. To reduce project costs, Casey recommended that the existing concrete slab from the basketball court be used as a sub-base for new artificial turf safety surfacing under the new play equipment.
Ultimately, at Casey’s suggestion, the new Landscape Structures playstructure was surface-mounted on the concrete slab and new ForeverLawn Playground Grass was installed over the existing concrete.
But what to do with the abandoned playground site? Casey recommended that the community consider a small artificial grass field, using low maintenance, drought-friendly ForeverLawn for recreation and ball games.
Both new recreation areas at Santa Elena Cooperative Housing are now heavily used and a big hit with residents.
~ Ewing Philbin, Owner of Ross Recreation
People often ask me “What’s new in your industry?” Increasingly, our customers, especially city and county park departments, are asking for playground designs that are unique, not a cookie-cutter “one size fits all” approach. This can mean either a themed design (for example, agriculture, nature, frontier life) or something that speaks to local identity, history or story.
Oftentimes, if budgets allow, this can involve partnering closely with Landscape Structures’ custom design team in Delano, Minnesota. To better assess needs at the front end of the project, we will host a conference call with the customer and the design team to better understand project vision, goals, and objectives.
Let us help you with your next signature project!
~ Ewing Philbin, Owner of Ross Recreation
People often ask what trends are happening in our industry. Looking back at 2015, I see four things, shifts in the marketplace that will persist and likely grow in the coming New Year.
UNIQUE PLAYGROUND DESIGN
Often nature-inspired, many of our playground designs are now driven by communities that wish to define what is historic or unique about the place they live. So we are asked to develop a theme that speaks to the unique history or legacy of that community. People want signature projects not cookie cutter playgrounds!
OUTDOOR FITNESS
I have written before about the growing trend in urban areas, particularly in under served communities, of so-called fitness zones. These are multigenerational, public outdoor areas dedicated to structured physical fitness, often with exercise stations. Groups, particularly The Trust For Public Lands, have popularized and championed this concept. People who can’t necessarily afford health club memberships benefit from fitness zones that are close to where they live and work.
COMMUNITY INSTALLATIONS
At Ross, we encourage and assist communities, schools, and municipalities to install playground and outdoor fitness equipment themselves, using our experienced, factory-certified installers. Project costs are dramatically lowered and community identity and spirit dramatically increased.
RETROFIT
Older Landscape Structures playstructures are being increasingly updated and expanded. Rather than filling up landfills, we are showing owners how to significantly increase the useful life of their playgrounds. From both a financial and environmental perspective, we think this makes good sense. Many of the structures we routinely retrofit are more than 20 years old!
Looking ahead to 2016, we see these trends continuing to build as our clients and Customers seek signature projects that are good for the environment and their communities!
By Ewing Philbin, Owner
Earlier this month, Ross Recreation held a playground maintenance seminar at the City of San Jose’s Willow Glen Community Center for over one hundred and thirty maintenance professionals from cities and Bay Area school districts. Our featured speaker was Tim Barrett of Landscape Structures, who gave an in-depth discussion on playground regulations, inspection priorities and systems development, retrofitting older play structures to extend their product life and how best to identify playground hazards. The all morning seminar included a hands-on session at a nearby San Jose park to show best practices on keeping play equipment safe and functional for many years.
Last week, ASLA’s Northern California Chapter invited Ross Recreation to speak at a South Bay subcommittee evening event that focused on how to create unique and universally accessible play environments, playgrounds that are both inclusive and, at the same time, present a unique community story. We invited John McConkey of Landscape Structures to join us because of John’s many years of experience with inclusive play design. John’s talk included local examples of projects that incorporated community history, and universally accessible playground design: Coy Park (San Jose), Kennedy Park (Union City), Martial Cottle Park (San Jose), and Dauenhauer Park (Santa Rosa).
The power of inclusivity on the playground is what helps bring children together, building great communities. By incorporating different play elements, children of all abilities can experience the same enjoyment during their play time. As Ross Recreation continues to promote inclusivity, the power of play and how best to design inclusive play spaces, our sales team has developed a few favorite components from Landscape Structures.
The ZipKrooz
“The Zipkrooz is an action and fitness component that can be fitted with a molded, therapeutic seat for kids without sufficient core and upper body strength. It offers all kids exhilarating motion and freedom, but for kids with limited mobility, it provides a very special experience. I saw a child in Minnesota with cystic fibrosis use this piece for the first time and it was magical. She was seemingly transported to a different plane of existence, free to experience physical exertion, wind in the face and speed.”
See it locally at River Forks County Park, Roseburg, OR
The Roller Table
“Among the myriad of accessible play options located at East Bay’s premier universally accessible playground at Athan Downs Park in San Ramon, users will find a decidedly unique component called a Roller Table. Not just fast and fun, the sensory play Roller Table provides kids with much needed sensory stimulation, through the application of deep-muscle pressure from the steel rollers. The comfortable TenderTuff coated steel rollers help kids develop a “skin map” of tactile sensory receptors throughout their body. Curved overhead hand rails allow for varied arm lengths and abilities as well as side rails for safe sensory play.”
See it locally at Athan Downs Park, San Ramon, CA
The Oodle Swing
“Landscape Structures’ Oodle Swing is, in my mind, the definition of an inclusive play element. The large ‘saucer’ swing seat allows people of all ages and all abilities to engage together on this unique play element. As the swing moves with a smooth, arcing motion, kids with sensory or physical challenges can sit arm and arm with their friends or with their parents. There is no worry of the seat flipping or the need to dangle one’s legs in the middle of a seat like a traditional tire swing. The Oodle swing provides full support and stability. Users on the Oodle Swing can sit or lay on the large, stable seat by themselves or with a number of others. Additionally, the seat was designed to be at a level where it is very easy for users to transfer out of mobility devices, like a wheelchair, directly onto the swing. The Oodle Swing is a fun, interactive and inclusive play element like no other.”
See it locally at Harper’s Playground, Portland, OR
The OmniSpin Spinner
“The OmniSpin is one of my favorite things that you can find on the playground because kids LOVE it! Every time I go to a playground that has an OmniSpin, I always find it packed with kids and I love to watch how the kids get to interact together on this piece – some spinning around for a ride, others pushing their peers from the outside and all enjoying themselves. The biggest sensory element of this piece is spinning, which helps to engage the vestibular system, providing children’s brains with valuable equilibrium information. This information connects with inputs from their muscles and joints to help them maintain posture and balance in the world. So beyond being great fun, spinning on the playground is actually critical to children’s development. Nothing beats walking onto a playground and seeing all of the kids laughing, enjoying and playing on this piece together!”
See it locally at Murray Elementary, Dublin, CA
“This is one of those things I wish was around when I was a kid! The challenging hybrid of a bridge and a seesaw is a great way to develop balance and coordination while involving multiple kids interacting in a group setting. I find the social aspect of this component to be especially important because it forces children to work with others to cross the bridge while moving in all directions and at the same time trying to navigate their way to the next play component. That group problem solving is something that you don’t necessarily get from swings or slides. It’s one of those important skills that kids need to develop early on, especially in a digital age where face-to-face interaction becomes less and less frequent.”
See it locally at Foothill Elementary, Monterey, CA
Ross Recreation is excited to announce that the first Netplex in California has been installed!
The lucky school to lay claim to the first Netplex is Sand Hill School in Palo Alto. Sand Hill School is part of Children’s Health Council (CHC), a unique organization dedicated to children with ADHD and inattention, Autism Spectrum Disorder, learning challenges and anxiety and depression. CHC empowers children with social, emotional, physical and academic learning to uncover their greatest potential.
At the Sand Hill School, students are encouraged and taught to build a positive sense of self, to take pride in accomplishments, as well as to learn how to make and be a friend. With all of this in mind, Ross Recreation was thrilled to have the opportunity to work alongside CHC to design and create a playground design worthy of the efforts of this school and program. CHC was drawn to the concept of Landscape Structures’ Netplex from the very beginning of the interactive design process.
The Netplex system was designed to push kids beyond expected boundaries, into a world of interconnected climbing nets where there’s no right or wrong way to play. For the children of Sand Hill School, Netplex helps kids build confidence and healthy development skills, all while getting a full dose of fun, in an inclusive play environment.
Complimentary to the Netplex, this play structure also boasts an Evos O-Zone Climber, Gyro Twister, Cascade Climber, Arch Swing, Rushwinder Slide, Disc Challenge, and RingTangle Climber, among many other play components. This play structure is a perfect example of continuous play, where kids can move from one element to the next without ever needing to touch the ground.
We had the opportunity to go visit the school once the Netplex was installed to see first hand what the students thought of their new playground equipment. It certainly was a hub for creative play, with one student referring to it as “The Castle” of the playground, where you could climb all the way to the top and be a lookout with your loyal subjects below.
We are proud of this project, the partnership that developed between Ross Recreation and Children’s Health Council and the especially the excitement the students will experience time and time again when they rush out of their classes to their new Landscape Structures playground equipment.
As Autism Awareness Month draws to a close we at Ross are able to really reflect on the importance of inclusive play and the value it brings to our communities. At Ross Recreation we are committed to helping create play spaces that include children of all abilities and provide accessibility and education for special needs and disabled children. Over the last 40 years we have installed countless Universally Accessible Playgrounds and are proud to be involved in projects that help bring people, children and families of all abilities together.
Lattice Educational Services is a school for students with Autism and other developmental delays and behavioral challenges located in our hometown of Santa Rosa. With about 60 students and still growing, Lattice was in need of a new play area designed specifically to meet inclusive needs for their students ages 5-22. Ross was able to assist Lattice through the design process and determine that they would have the highest play value, functionality, and access to the kids by having many independent play items rather than a larger singular structure that would require height and climbing. It was a successful and feel good project when we finished installation early this year and garnered a lot of positive response from the school and students.
We were welcomed back to Lattice this month so see how the kids were doing and to watch them in action during their afterschool program. The most popular items have been the OmniSpin Spinner (promoting vestibular sensory stimulation and encourages interactive play) and the Roller Table (where kids can experience deep-muscle pressure while working their upper body and encourages new sensory experiences). Both of these independent playstructures promote socialization and optimal opportunities for interchangeable roles and group interaction, one of the critical skillsets Lattice teaches their students.
The Lattice kids aren’t just outside for physical education every day but are also given the opportunity to use the play area during their many scheduled breaks throughout the day, making the new play area very popular with the kids. Lattice uses the play area to help teach the following skills: Communication and socialization with the aids and with each other, teamwork and collaboration, motor skills and balance, and fitness.
Lattice Educational Services has the following independent play items which all promote a higher level of inclusive play: OmniSpin Spinner, Cozy Dome, Roller Table, Flywheel Spinner, Wobble Pod Bouncer, Arch Belt Swing
See another past project with inclusive play focus: Mahany Park, A Treehouse for All Children
Recently, the City of Santa Clara contacted Ross Recreation about the availability of replacement parts for two ancient Landscape Structures playgrounds: one at Carmichael Park and one at Rotary Park, both nearly thirty years old and according to the City, “Going strong”! The old redwood playground equipment was officially discontinued by Landscape Structures in the late eighties, but parts for these – and other older Landscape Structures playgrounds – remain available. This is what we at Ross Recreation feel is an important part of what we call “the ownership proposition” for playground equipment: adding value long after the initial sale.
On July 11th, the community of Marin City joined together to celebrate the grand opening of their new George “Rocky” Graham Park. Ross Recreation, along with many other organizations involved in the design and construction of the park, were on hand to join the local residents in the celebration. After several years of planning, it was wonderful to see the community so excited and enjoying their new space. Included in the design is Landscape Structures’ Nature Inspired play equipment and a new gazebo for the amphitheater area supplied by Classic Recreation. Seeing all of the excited faces playing and enjoying themselves was a wonderful reward at the end of this signature project.
To learn more about this incredible project, read the Marin Independent Journal’s article on the grand opening!
To visit a playground near you, check out Landscape Structures Inc.’s new Visit a Playground map!
It’s no coincidence that many Landscape Structures play structures are found near the northern California and Oregon coast. Landscape Structures play equipment is the ideal choice for durability and longevity in harsh-on-metal marine environments because of the materials and finishes used in fabrication. 5” diameter vertical posts and beams are made of highly rust resistant aluminum, are primed with industrial grade powdercoat before the finish coat and carry an industry leading 100 year structural warranty. Hardware is made of tamperproof stainless steel and to ensure optimal performance, Landscape Structures subjects these materials to thousands of hours of salt spray and ultraviolet light testing at the factory. It’s no wonder that dozens of these structures have been installed – and are going strong after decades – in big coastal cities like San Francisco, and smaller seaside communities along the California coast like Monterey, Santa Cruz, Fort Bragg and Arcata and along Oregon’s coastline in Cannon Beach and Astoria.
Visit Landscape Structure’s Materials Matters page for more information about their products durability and quality!
This month, Ross Recreation had the privilege of being a part of Sheridan Elementary School‘s safety seminar in San Francisco, CA! Playground safety seminars are an excellent way to get the students familiar with how each component is meant to be used, as well as a great opportunity to have the kids spend some time outside! We want to thank Simon Reyes, District Architect – San Francisco Unified School District, and Sheridan Elementary School for allowing us to attend their seminar!
If you are interested in having a Safety Seminar at your Landscape Structures Inc. playground, contact us today!
To see a previous Safety Seminar we’ve conducted, check out our What’s New post on Visitacion Valley School in San Francisco, CA!
What exactly is a “Natural Playground”? If you do a Google search on the subject, you are treated to a host of images showing tree stumps, mounds and rocks, all placed strategically by well meaning designers. But don’t these man made attempts to mimic nature merely compound the original problem of kids not having regular access to the hills, fields, and woods that children used to play in and learn from?
Beyond that, in our regulated and litigious world, these stumps and rocks often times don’t meet minimum government standards for safety and/or accessibility. Additionally, over time, these natural materials degrade and break down quickly, straining tight maintenance and capital budgets.
With these factors to consider, it begs the question, how does one combine the best of nature playgrounds, with their organic look and feel, with manufactured equipment that promises long-lasting durability, fitness-focused components and compliance to safety and ADA standards?
Our partner, Landscape Structures, has done an outstanding job addressing all these seemingly disparate requirements with their “nature inspired” play grounds. Using concrete forms made from natural rock and tree structures and various recycled materials along with nature themed designs and components, the result is a natural aesthetic offering a robust variety of fantasy and social play, physically challenging components that carry superior warranties and features that satisfy key risk management requirements. Are these play spaces entirely natural? No, but they are not intended to be, but rather inspired by nature for today’s modern play environments.
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