Make Your Mark on Orchard's Natural Playgrounds!

Make Your Mark on Orchard's New Natural Playgrounds!

In 2016, The Orchard School embarked on a capital campaign to fulfill the objectives of our strategic plan. The pillars of the campaign were established to provide support for our people; support for our facilities; and support for our future. 

One very exciting component of the facilities plan was the development of three new state-of-the-art natural playgrounds. 

At Orchard, outdoor education has been at the heart of our school since its inception nearly 100 years ago. With your help, we will continue to reinforce our guiding commitment, “nature as teacher,” with these natural playgrounds and outdoor learning spaces.  We could have never imagined that we would need nature as much as we do right now. In our current climate, children need even more space to explore, learn and grow in the fresh air. That is just what Orchard students will do when they return this fall. Thanks to the new natural playgrounds, students will have an incredibly unique experience of being fully immersed in outdoor education, play, and exploration while also practicing social distance measures. They will be healthy, happy, and engaged as they explore all of the new elements provided by the playgrounds.

Orchard alumni often credit their time playing and learning in the woods as one of their fondest memories of school. No doubt, the next generation of Orchard students will be making memories of a lifetime as they explore the new natural playgrounds throughout our 43-acre wooded campus.

We are so grateful for the generous donors who have made the start of construction possible and we are excited for this project to be complete this fall, but we still need your help! Please consider a gift to support Orchard's new Natural Playgrounds. Your gift will provide essential resources for maintenance, material upgrades to increase sanitation measures and new elements (including roofs for all three amphitheaters) that will enhance learning and safety as well as ensure the playgrounds will continue to be maintained well into the future.

DONATE TODAY to make your mark on Orchard's new natural playgrounds! 

NAMING OPPORTUNITIES ARE STILL AVAILABLE!

If you would like to claim a naming opportunity, please select your choice under "incentives" on the donation page. 

Capital campaign pledges may be paid over a period of 5 years. Please select "recurring gift" on the donation page to choose your payment schedule.

SAMPLE NAMING OPPORTUNITIES INCLUDE:

**Photos are not exact but are intended to provide a general representation of playground elements.

THANK YOU TO ALL OF OUR EARLY PLAYGROUND DONORS!

Fundraising efforts for the natural playgrounds began in 2016 and many generous donors brought us to this point. We offer a special “thank you” to the below donors who provided early leadership through their philanthropy!

Donor Spotlights

 
"As an Orchard student, outdoor education was one of the most impactful experiences during my time at Orchard. So much so that it stayed with me even as an adult. That's why my family has chosen to give to the natural playgrounds."
 
Ayana Rowley Henderson
Orchard Class of 1995

 
Big and small we were all working hard to finish off Orchard's natural playgrounds! Probably nobody did it in a cuter or sweeter way than first graders Connor, Eliza, Janie, and Andrew.
 
With the help of their older siblings, the students decided to make a lemonade stand to raise money for the natural playgrounds. When all was said and done, they raised $151—which they proudly brought to Director of Development Taylor Whitaker.
 
What a sweet contribution, little Owls. Thank you!