(Short for Fun Family Unit)! We had the pleasure of helping construct the new Dino Playground in Bozeman on June 10-12. Only because we had finished another project early were we able to join in the building efforts, which turned out to be a pleasant surprise. Working with various volunteer organizations proved to be a treat; meeting folks from different walks of life all laboring toward the same goal. Teachers and students, young and old, professionals and amateurs all lent a hand, and it was quite a sight.
As for our own efforts, Mike, Matt and Eric started out cutting wood for the various frames with table saws, while Ben and Charlsey moved mammoth support beams into position and Dani brought supplies and lumber to the saw stations. The next day Mike continued with saw work, while Matt joined the beam crew and Eric and Dani oversaw wood treatment and cutting. Once the beams were in place, Mike, Matt and Ben began fixing the lumber for the tire swing section and Charlsey, Eric and Dani went to work on the boundary fence. Those three made a game of filling in the fence ditch, using their feet to push gravel from the large rock pile into the trench below, and had quite a fun time while still working! Our final day on the grounds we got to see the park transform from a Stonehenge-like landscape of posts into a recognizable playground as the different platforms and guardrails went into place.
While we didn’t witness the finishing touches that weekend, we were able to visit the park recently and admire our own handiwork; discovering the beautiful (and fun) fruits of our labor. What we left as a skeleton had become a a living playground. Looking back, working on the dinosaur park was a bit like a paleontological dig in reverse: We analyzed all the pieces and parts first, put them in a hole in the ground, adding muscles and skin on top of that. Instead of digging up a skeleton, we buried one; instead of nature wearing away the accessories and superficial parts first, we affixed them last. But to breathe life into this park, it took the one ingredient we couldn’t provide ourselves: the laughter and play of children. And that's the reason we took on the project in the first place!
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