The PlayGarden Story
A grand idea took root in fertile soil in late 2002. Inspired by the Rusk Children’s PlayGarden in New York City, Liz Bullard gathered support for a PlayGarden in Seattle. With backing from theSeattle Department of Parks & Recreation,
families of children with special needs, and the horticultural and medical communities, the PlayGarden was born.
Founded on the core principles of Adventure Play, Garden to Table and Full Inclusion the PlayGarden was designed to be a safe, supportive, accessible and innovative place for children of all abilities to play.
The summer of 2006 found the first PlayGarden campers filling the south end of Colman Playfield with the sounds of raucous joy. But there was still a lot of work to be done transforming the long neglected park into the glorious urban oasis of gardens it is today. With design and construction complete, the summer of 2010 began our first complete year of programs.