Mary Alice Lee and Maddalena Polletta work for the NYC Playground Program at the Trust for Public Land (TPL). Maddalena works as the coordinator of the NYC's Children's Gardening Program at TPL and is aware of children's interest in gardening and the natural world.  Since open spaces and community gardens are important to TPL, they include a lot of "green" elements in the playgrounds they build for schools in New York City. Read more below!

Q: How do you create "green" playgrounds?

Mary Alice: During the design of the playgrounds, we really try to encourage the use of natural areas.

Maddalena: We always try to make the playgrounds as green as possible so that we can connect students and community members to nature.  To do this, we put in a large number of trees and gardens with landscaped areas.  However, to make sure that these spaces stay beautiful over time, we work with the school to figure out the kind of maintenance they're able to handle.  We also get the community and students involved in stewarding to take care of the green spaces. They care for the trees and learn how to deal with flooding of water from storms and how to ensure that the water is draining properly.  For example, we put tree pits with soil and mulch around the trees to soak up the water.  This avoids storm water overflows and the problems that come from too much rain water draining into the sewer.

Mary Alice: We also talk to people who work at the schools, especially science and art teachers, to find out if there is interest in gardening at the school. Some schools are overcrowded and would love to have an outside classroom for additional space. We try to include these green spaces as much as possible because it helps the community become healthier. For instance, there has been evidence showing that green spaces like gardens decrease stress, depression, anxiety, and asthma. Of course, that is balanced with what the school can take care of because we want to put in trees, plants, and shrubs that can be enjoyed and maintained for a long time without making a lot of work for school custodians or community members who may not have a lot of gardening knowledge.

If your local school is interested in having a new playground, Mary Alice and Maddalena would be happy to talk to them about the program and application process. Since the program is looking for schools that are connected to the community, there are a lot of opportunities to get involved in your neighborhood. TPL would be happy to work on more sites in Harlem because it's a great neighborhood that needs more open space! Email Mary Alice at maryalice.lee@tpl.org or Maddalena at Maddalena.Polletta@tpl.org for more information!

Read more from Mary Alice and Maddalena by clicking the links below: 

• How non-profit Trust for Public Land protects open space in New York City
• How the Trust for Public Land helps build playgrounds at New York City schools
• Why it's difficult to build fun, exciting playgrounds in New York City
• How schools and communities can work together to build playgrounds in New York City 
• Elements of the Harlem playgrounds constructed by NYC Playground Program
  
• Why it's good to build parks and playgrounds in NYC
• Trust for Public Land's involvement in NYC community gardens

To listen to our interview with Mary Alice Lee and Maddalena Polletta, click here for our podcast page.

Harlem Word is a series of interviews with community health experts written by HHPC and approved by our Health Advisory Board.