Building Playgrounds, Engaging Communities: Creating Safe and Happy Places for Children
We accomplish extraordinary things when we do ordinary things together. This heartfelt and hopeful conviction led LSU professor Marybeth Lima to begin the LSU Community Playground Project as a way to involve her students in the larger Baton Rouge community. Fifteen years and over seven hundred students later, Building Playgrounds, Engaging Communities tells the remarkable story of the Playground Project's ongoing partnership with area public schools to design and build safe, fun, accessible, kid-designed playgrounds.

Lima's experiences with the Playground Project range from outright failures to hard-won victories. Overcoming the challenges of working with scarce resources and persevering despite many setbacks, Lima and her students succeeded with hope, humor, and dedication.

Building Playgrounds, Engaging Communities emphasizes the major impact people have when they work together for the common good—whether by building playgrounds, establishing neighborhood gardens, or participating in honest, respectful conversations. To this end, Lima provides an appendix with practical advice for local engagement. People wanting to make a difference in their communities can use this book as a road map; those active in long-term endeavors will draw on it for ideas and inspiration.

1114024949
Building Playgrounds, Engaging Communities: Creating Safe and Happy Places for Children
We accomplish extraordinary things when we do ordinary things together. This heartfelt and hopeful conviction led LSU professor Marybeth Lima to begin the LSU Community Playground Project as a way to involve her students in the larger Baton Rouge community. Fifteen years and over seven hundred students later, Building Playgrounds, Engaging Communities tells the remarkable story of the Playground Project's ongoing partnership with area public schools to design and build safe, fun, accessible, kid-designed playgrounds.

Lima's experiences with the Playground Project range from outright failures to hard-won victories. Overcoming the challenges of working with scarce resources and persevering despite many setbacks, Lima and her students succeeded with hope, humor, and dedication.

Building Playgrounds, Engaging Communities emphasizes the major impact people have when they work together for the common good—whether by building playgrounds, establishing neighborhood gardens, or participating in honest, respectful conversations. To this end, Lima provides an appendix with practical advice for local engagement. People wanting to make a difference in their communities can use this book as a road map; those active in long-term endeavors will draw on it for ideas and inspiration.

34.95 In Stock
Building Playgrounds, Engaging Communities: Creating Safe and Happy Places for Children

Building Playgrounds, Engaging Communities: Creating Safe and Happy Places for Children

by Marybeth Lima
Building Playgrounds, Engaging Communities: Creating Safe and Happy Places for Children

Building Playgrounds, Engaging Communities: Creating Safe and Happy Places for Children

by Marybeth Lima

Hardcover

$34.95 
  • SHIP THIS ITEM
    In stock. Ships in 1-2 days.
  • PICK UP IN STORE

    Your local store may have stock of this item.

Related collections and offers


Overview

We accomplish extraordinary things when we do ordinary things together. This heartfelt and hopeful conviction led LSU professor Marybeth Lima to begin the LSU Community Playground Project as a way to involve her students in the larger Baton Rouge community. Fifteen years and over seven hundred students later, Building Playgrounds, Engaging Communities tells the remarkable story of the Playground Project's ongoing partnership with area public schools to design and build safe, fun, accessible, kid-designed playgrounds.

Lima's experiences with the Playground Project range from outright failures to hard-won victories. Overcoming the challenges of working with scarce resources and persevering despite many setbacks, Lima and her students succeeded with hope, humor, and dedication.

Building Playgrounds, Engaging Communities emphasizes the major impact people have when they work together for the common good—whether by building playgrounds, establishing neighborhood gardens, or participating in honest, respectful conversations. To this end, Lima provides an appendix with practical advice for local engagement. People wanting to make a difference in their communities can use this book as a road map; those active in long-term endeavors will draw on it for ideas and inspiration.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780807149805
Publisher: Louisiana State University Press
Publication date: 02/04/2013
Pages: 216
Product dimensions: 6.12(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Marybeth Lima is the Cliff and Nancy Spanier Alumni Professor of Biological and Agricultural Engineering and director of the Center for Community Engagement, Learning, and Leadership at Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge. She and her partner live in Baton Rouge with three rescue animals.

Table of Contents

Prologue ix

1 How to Fit a Playground through the Back Door 1

2 You Can't Make a Playground Gumbo without the Ladies 18

3 Playgrounds Rule and Playground Rules 36

4 Triumphing over Murphy's Law on Steroids 60

5 Community Stone Soup: Breaking the Myth of "Broken" Schools 88

6 A Brief Survival Guide for Community Engagement Marathons 106

7 Getting Involved: Advice from Community Fire Plugs 132

Epilogue 154

Appendix 1 Information on Playground Safety 159

Appendix 2 Volunteer Organizations 166

Note on Sources 169

Acknowledgments 175

Index 181

Illustrations follow page 105

From the B&N Reads Blog

Customer Reviews