When a tree falls and people are listening, it makes a big sound

This is a huge old Oak tree that came down in The Storm. It is in Orton Park, the original Madison park. Luckily, the park has many many old oaks and only three were felled in The Storm.

When the City tree clean-up troops came through, the neighbors staged something like a sit-in. The tree was left in place with "Caution" tape around it. Neighbors quickly built a campaign to use the tree as a story-starter.

The story is a good one, so the press has helped to spread it:

• Channel 3000 TV story
• The CapTimes newspaper

If a unique play structure gets built from the fallen trunk, the story continues. The kids who live nearby might remember The Storm, or they will remember the story of it at least, and that their parents got involved. Parents and kids will be more connected to the park, and the neighborhood. It's all so great!

It's not easy to get these things to happen. It seems like when people have good ideas like this, it should be easy, but it takes tenacity, confidence, and vision. I'm so excited that these neighbors seem to have what it takes, and I'm so excited for this tree to have a new life!

We will be loosing many trees to the Emerald Ash Borer in the near future, and we need our trees to keep us healthy and happy. Studies show, we really do benefit from living in this urban forest.

And we need city agencies to be responsive when neighbors have good ideas, get organized, and do what is termed place-making. Because when a project like this succeeds, the neighbors see the power they have to make their place even better, and their kids see that, too. I just know that the larger impact this one fallen tree will have is huge, so I'm glad someone heard it fall.

Read more about playground improvement at Reynolds Park.
Like the Orton Park Natural Play group on facebook.

Good luck on the playground

I've heard that a crane symbolizes good luck. A dear friend gave us 100 golden Origami cranes when my daughter was born in 2010. That was the year that 1.206 million gallons of oil leaked into the Gulf of Mexico poisoning loads of birds, including cranes. That was also the year that Time Magazine told us that a family needed a household income of $75,000 to be happy. Wisconsin, by the way, is home to the International Crane Foundation and lots of sandhill cranes. The median household income in Madison, the capital, is $57,000.

I'm trying to make some connections here and let's see if I succeed.

Construction cranes seem to be all over the city. That is a symbol of jobs and promise and prospects. Forbes, which said Madison was a great place for young professionals to find jobs and live (in 2011), explains what seems like common sense to me: Companies look for places where there is always a fresh crop of college-educated people when deciding where to locate. And, duh, these 24-35 year-old people want to live in "tight-knit urban neighborhoods that are close to work and have lots of entertainment and shopping options within an easy walk." (Great news: fewer young people are buying cars)

That describes my neighborhood! The cranes in my landscape are making real one of a bunch of great-sounding projects at various stages of planning and discussion, all very promising for my downtown neighborhood. A central park, a full-service grocery store, and an improved playground. And lots of high-density housing.

I'm interested in the playground. It is in a big, well-loved and well-used field and near a very cool sports stadium where amateur soccer games attract small crowds and taco carts. There are plans for more strategically showcasing that stadium, too.

I'm not the only parent with young kids in the neighborhood, but there should be more of us. One of the city's best elementary schools is on my street. The big lake is a couple blocks away, as is a charming lagoon with ice skate rental and hot cocoa in the winter. It takes me 5 minutes to get downtown on the bus, but usually we just walk. Mature trees, sidewalks, cafes, restaurants, much-cherished businesses, you get it: it's such a cool neighborhood.

Families with young kids can be like artists to revitalization. Destination playgrounds are landmarks in a city. They end up on postcards and featured on tourism websites. 

Families want affordable homes in decent neighborhoods and they want a certain amount of critical mass. They will congregate around a park or a school or a playground. Families create stability. They reinvest in the neighborhood, feel allegiance, draw in like-minded families, the tax base grows, the housing prices reflect it. 

So don't botch this playground thing.

There is $75,000 set aside for the playground. Sounds like a lot but I'm told it is not. It's all a family needed to be happy in 2010, but my Alder told me to expect a modest play structure and not to rock the boat too hard or plans will be stalled.

Back in 2010, I had my heart truly broken. The newly elected Governor Walker sent back the money Wisconsin had to build a passenger Amtrak route through Madison. An $810 million federal grant refused after the trains had been bought! I'd been going to meetings, giving some thought to where the station might best be located. I had full-blown imaginary scenes of myself and my daughter taking the train to Chicago for the weekend, then on to visit family in Ohio....

I really am not over it.

Please, let's not miss this train. It's just one little playground, but let's pay attention.