One of the highlights of the pandemic was watching our new nature play space (funded by your donations to WatersToday) come to life at Waters. To celebrate its completion, we sat down with Alex Enarson, the designer, builder, and natural playspace extraordinaire behind the magic.    
 
WT: Natural playscapes are kind of your thing, right? How did you end up in such a cool little niche of the construction world?
AE: I've always been a designer-builder at heart. When people ask what I do, I like to say 'I turn stuff into things' and leave it at that. I've built a lot of furniture, and for years I operated a small urban sawmill in the city, processing urban tree waste into lumber. Two prior jobs really influenced me: I worked at Rebuilding Exchange, a not-for-profit warehouse for salvaged building materials, where I gained a huge appreciation for working with 'waste' products, and with Bubbly Dynamics, the social enterprise developer behind adaptive reuse projects like the Chicago Center for Sustainable Manufacturing and The Plant. Eventually I connected with NeighborSpace, a NFP land trust dedicated to protecting and preserving community garden spaces across the City. I've worked with NeighborSpace for years now, and it was this partnership that pushed me into the playscape world. Building outdoor spaces for children (and adults, and everyone in between!) united my interests in salvage materials, reuse, construction, design, and shaping social space. Last year I became a vendor with CPS at the request of parents at Alexander Graham Bell School, where I did a small playscape project. I've also worked at the Velma Thomas early childhood center in McKinley park, and now at Waters. I also helped found and run a forest school / outdoor free play social enterprise called Fraternal Forest, which has had a huge influence on how I think about play and how I build. It's been a wild ride! But yeah, it's basically my dream job. 
 
Wow—that’s quite the path, and we’re glad it led you to Waters! What’s the benefit of having a natural play space, whether on its own or in addition to a more traditional playground?
This is a huge topic, and I could talk for hours on it! I have heard traditional playgrounds described as 'K-F-C': kit, fence and carpet. You are basically building some sort of climbing structure (the kit); a fall-rated surface (the carpet, which is often made from recycled rubber tires that are shredded, dyed, and bonded with epoxy); and a fence—to keep the kids in, of course! The equipment tends to be fixed, programmatic and literal-minded: "this is a boat, sail on it" or "this is a castle, go be a princess up there." There are lots of reasons that this has happened. In addition to the prescriptive nature of traditional playgrounds, they are built to conform with an elaborate set of safety codes and standards that actually originated from OSHA—how does that make sense?! So rather than providing a fun, engaging space for kids by eliminating hazards while allowing acceptable risks, we 'build to code' and attempt to prevent every little accident. The problem here is that accidents on a playground do not lead to 'lost production' or 'inefficiencies'—they lead to learning! Learning to climb, learning to balance, learning about texture and grip and slip and all those things. In fact, quite paradoxically, engineering as much of the risk as possible out of a playground leads to more injuries, as compared to kids playing in the woods, or in a 'nature play', 'adventure play' or 'playscape' setting. Natural play spaces give kids space to play and room to roam, which encourages them to organize their own enjoyment: inventing games, playing with social relations, adapting loose parts and natural objects to imaginary situations. It’s hard to do this in a traditional playground, but very easy and fun in a stick park!   
 
That’s true! How did the design process work for this particular project?
My design process always begins with community input. At Waters, I tried to listen to different voices and ideas around the evolving outdoor space—plants vs kids vs new construction!—but once we are decided on the location and footprint for the build, the landscape and available materials largely guide the design. I work with existing plantings and patterns of use to try and shape a space without imposing a rigid, fully-rendered design on it. Much of the cost of traditional landscaping (not to mention traditional playgrounds!) comes down to earth moving and excavation. If you insist on building up from a 'blank slate,' then the first thing to do is to scrape everything clean, set the grade, and build from there. This approach has its advantages, but it is very expensive, wasteful and disruptive—you're basically throwing everything away and starting from scratch. Instead, I try to 'graft' on to existing landscape features, and work with the space instead of against it. I workshopped the four features I wanted to build pretty intensively, but when you're working with natural materials there is always going to be a large degree of improvisation. And things will change as the work progresses—a good build will always respond creatively to site conditions. I was asked to make use of the giant ash logs which had been felled on the parkway a few years back, so I worked those into the design of the log arch and snake. 
 
In a cursory Google search of natural play spaces, the term "play anchor" comes up again and again. That’s sort of like the piece de resistance of the space, right?
For sure. You can think about play anchors as 'nodes' or centers of activity. They are meant to bend and concentrate social space in interesting ways. With fixed, traditional playgrounds, the anchors tend to be pretty prescriptive: ‘This is a ladder, climb it! This is a slide, slide down it, but do NOT climb up it!’ In a natural playscape, a good anchor will offer a few different affordances for people: a high point to climb and see from, a platform to play/sing/dance/nap on, a place to gather, a place to hide, and so on.  They are much more open-ended: Is that funny deck a stage? Or is it a wave? A spiral? A nautilus shell? A boat? A UFO? The options are endless. Play anchors are great, but without connection and flow between then you end up with a lumpy space made of more or less fancy objects that do not interrelate, and this is a real pitfall. Circularity and the visual / social interest that arises between features is the thing which, for me, differentiates a so-so playscape from a fantastic one. 
 
Are there any other elements that you always like to incorporate?
Oh there are too many! It's always hard to choose, given limitations of time and materials and budget. I always try to work in a 'high place', which is just what it sounds like: something to climb on top of and just get a new perspective. This doesn't have to be sky high, either. When you're seven, standing on something 3' above grade is a huge change of view, and it can be quite powerful. Even adults can still enjoy this feeling! I encourage you to go climb a tree, or dance on a table or whatever it takes to get your head up above where it usually lives. I love platforms, decks and stages as well. They offer something for everyone, and if they are sited correctly, they can really soak up the sun while drawing people together on a late summer evening, a quiet fall day, or a crisp spring morning. Also, more practically, everyone appreciates a place where you can sit down, pile stuff, or change shoes or muddy clothes. I also love building hills, even if it's just a giant pile of mulch. Chicago is flat, and hills are great! Kids, like cats, love to play the gravity game, whether it's pushing stuff (friends, stumps, little brothers) down or defending the top. A mulch hill is basically free to build, easy to renew, and surprisingly effective for play.
 
That’s all awesome, but how might this space evolve 5, 10, even 15 years down the line?
Well, everything we humans build goes back to the earth eventually, more or less gracefully! That's the only part I feel I can exercise any control over: how will these things I build fail, when they inevitably do? I have always tried to build with this principle of 'graceful failure' in mind. This means building with durable materials—the black locust posts I utilized at Waters should be good in ground contact for 50 to 75 years, and the cedar is good for maybe 15 years. But wood rots eventually, so much of the work of the designer and builder centers around managing that natural process: I try to play the decay forward in my mind, and ensure that fasteners are placed so as not to collect water or become exposed through rot and weathering, and that the structural integrity of a feature relies first on good physics rather than technology or hardware. Another component of this, for me, involves 'designing for reuse.’ I try to avoid adhesives, epoxies, caulk, concrete and treated lumber wherever possible. Sure, my nautilus spiral deck-bench-thing will have to go away one day, but when that happens, I hope that whoever does the job will be pleasantly surprised to find that it is made of untreated cedar and black locust. The good bits can be reused in another project or application, and the bad bits can be mulched, composted or burned. If you glue boards down or use treated materials, the disposal or reuse issues become much more complicated, and will likely lead to the landfill. So to answer your question, in five, ten, or fifteen years I expect most of what I made at Waters to still be hanging out in some capacity; however I would be very disappointed if it all looked exactly the same. It's my hope that the Waters community—and especially, the students—take the opportunity to make the playscape their own.
 
Last question: Any advice for parents who want to encourage nature play in their own backyards but don't necessarily have a ton of space or super awesome construction skills?
Yes! You absolutely do not need to be a skilled builder to help invite play into a space. Again, the best approach is to let kids do the work of building and creating. All they need is space and stuff. If you're lucky enough to have a backyard, space is not a problem-—there are whole natural and historical worlds in every tiny yard in this city. If you can, take a deep breath, give your kids a shovel and place to dig. Exploring underground is just fantastic! And to return to one of my favorite themes, mulch hills are basically free—you do not need to buy bagged mulch or pay to have a load of triple-ground delivered. Call around to smaller local tree services and you will find someone to deliver a load for free. This can be a LOT of mulch; six cubic yards is probably the minimum, but you can incorporate it into landscape projects and leave a giant hill for kids to play on or burrow in. These so-called 'arborists' chips' are frowned on by fancy landscape and playground companies, but the various sizes and lengths and species of wood a given load will likely contain can be much more fun and engaging for play than the perfectly ground and groomed chips from the Wood Chip Store. I guess my best advice would be to just get start with some stuff—this could be sticks from a downed tree, stumps from a city collection yard or cast-offs from a firewood processor, even dead lawn furniture, alley finds, an old tire, bamboo, a chopped up wooden ladder (my fav!), extra boards from a home renovation or DIY project, bricks from the alley. With an open mind and a reasonably empty car or bike trailer all of this stuff can be thrifted, dumpstered, bartered or traded. You can get as fancy or stay as simple as you'd like with the 'clicking things together' bit, but the important thing is to lay in a good stock of 'loose parts' for kids to manipulate on their own. And try to resist the urge to help! Avoid hazards, and try not to create any condition you'll have to say 'NO!' to, and then just step back and watch the mayhem, I mean.. the free play! 
 
Wow—what a great perspective on play! We’re hunting down mulch and plotting our backyard stick park as we speak…Thank you so much, Alex.

The Waters' Big Night online auction is back! Bid early and often on some amazing items including sports tickets, a Merz gift basket, jewelry, home decor items and more. 

Parent, Teacher and Family Parties will be available for online bidding beginning May 17th. Set a reminder to bid on these awesome items!


Please contact the Auction Team with any questions!

This week we chatted with Peggy Ballasch, a beloved middle school teacher who’s been at Waters for a whopping 29 years. This year, she’s teaching 7th grade science and 8th grade reading.
 

WT: 29 years at Waters, that’s really something! Have you taught anywhere else?
Mrs. Ballasch: I did my student teaching just north of here at Clinton Elementary School, but that’s it!
 
Wow. Do you have a favorite grade to teach?
Definitely Middle School! The students are becoming independent and are really developing their identities at this age. I love seeing students problem solve, think for themselves and begin to determine their influence on the world around them. They are full of curiosity and have a wonderful sense of humor.
 
What was your own elementary school experience like? 
I am actually a CPS graduate!  I went to Smyser Grade School and Steinmetz High School. I am from the Waters area originally, but grew up in and still live in Portage Park. My dad actually went to Waters (class of 1953) and my parents were married across the street. My grandparents remained in the area, so Lincoln Square & North Center have always been a part of my life. Just like my dad and my students, I grew up playing along the riverbank trail and at the playground at Horner Park.
 
So cool that your dad went to Waters! Have you always wanted to be a teacher?
When I was little, that was all I wanted to be! My grandparents gave me a small chalkboard and I would hold “school” with all of my stuffed animals lined up in rows. In fact, my grandmother is the one who originally encouraged me to be a teacher—and she saved for years to pay for my college tuition. I miss her immensely, but she will always be a part of who I am.  As most kids do, I changed my career plans numerous times while growing up.  At one point I wanted to be an archaeologist just like Indiana Jones, and I spent most of high school planning to go into graphic design. But by the time I entered college, I had returned to my first career choice of teaching. It really is the best job for me because it allows me to incorporate my many interests.
 
Speaking of interests, what do you like to do when you're not teaching?
I love photography!  I love being able to capture the way light plays off an object, the way colors work together or being able to focus on details that we often miss in the business of life. And I love nature. If I had a day with nothing to do, I’d like to sit by a lake somewhere, listen to the water, and read a book or nap.  

Sounds dreamy. So if you could take your students on a field trip anywhere in the world, where would you go? 
This is a hard one!  Can I give you three? The Amazon Rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef because they are so quickly changing and Yellowstone National Park, because it is a pretty awesome place!
 
What about outer space? If NASA asked you to teach from space for 2 years, would you do it?
Probably not.  I am quite partial to our beautiful Earth!  However, I think teaching from either an oceanic research ship or under the ocean would be pretty cool.
 
It really would be. Is there anything else your students would be surprised to learn about you? 
They already know I have a lot of pets, but my dream is to own goats!
 
How many pets is a lot?
A LOT a lot. We call our house The Ballasch Zoo. Currently we have 4 lovable mutts, 2 Siamese cats, 2 fancy rats, 3 frogs, 1 newt, 2 Russian tortoises, 1 box turtle, 1 Red-eared slider, 2 snails and a lot of fish! Some of the animals we have owned in the past have included multiple ferrets, poison dart frogs, a bearded dragon, crested geckos and even a Giant African Millipede!  Before the pandemic, you could always find a small variety of these in my classroom as well. I can't wait to bring them back!
 
That is a lot—you weren’t kidding! Aside from the animals, what’s the one thing you’d want your students to remember about their time in your class?
I would hope they would remember the lessons learned, the activities we did, and the smiles we shared. But the one thing I would want them to remember is how valued they are as human beings.

​It’s Carrie Frieswyk time! Our beloved Kindergarten teacher, who’s been in education for nearly 20 years (5 of them at Waters), has a duel certification in general and special education. Before gracing us with her presence, she spent 10 years in a Pre-K/Kindergarten Deaf and Hard of Hearing Cluster program, followed by 7 years teaching Kindergarten and 1st grades at Ray Elementary School in Hyde Park. 
 
(Pssst: The questions for this super fun edition of Teacher Feature are courtesy of our adorable Kindergarteners!)
 
Kindergarteners: Are you Ms. Novak's sister? 
Ms. Frieswyk: YES!  Just kidding! No, we are not sisters, just friends. 
 
Do you have any pets?
Yes. I have a dog named Oreo.
 
Do you have any kids?
George – 10 years old
Cora – 13 years old
 
What makes you really scared?
 Squirrels – I know it is silly, but I just don’t like them. 
 
What makes you really happy?
Being with kids!  Kids have intrinsic joy that is contagious!
 
Do you have any allergies?
Bee Stings!
 
What do you do when you’re not in school?
I do my second job – being a mom!  My kids keep me busy with their lives and activities.  We like to go on bike rides and hikes together, skiing in the winter, and Movie and pizza on Fridays, and I also drive them around to where they need to be.  I like to go to the gym, and after a year of taking a break for Covid because of restrictions, I am finally back.  I also read every night before I go to bed.  
 
Have you ever driven a Power Wheel?
I have not!  
 
Have you ever been to Paris?
Nope
 
Have you ever been to Florida?
Yes.  We have family there, so we go almost every year.  I love the beach, it is my favorite place to be. I love the Florida Keys especially, the drive is so pretty.  
 
Do you like to stay up late and watch movies and eat popcorn?
Sometimes, but more often than not I am in bed and asleep by 9:00.  I wake up early usually, so ready for bed by then.  BUT if there is a good show, sometimes I will binge watch.  J
 
Do you like cold weather or hot weather?
Both!  I love to ski in the winter with my family, but also love being outside in the warm weather to go swimming, walking, sitting on my deck, etc.  That is why I like living in the Midwest, we get a little bit of everything. 
 
What is your favorite sport?
I don’t watch any sports. I always root for the Tigers though because I grew up near Detroit and they were always on in my house.   
 
Where do you like to go on vacation?
We go to MI a lot because that is where we are from.  We love going to the beaches there and hiking.  Every summer I go camping with my family, this summer we are going to go to Interlochen with our extended family for 4 days, it is so pretty up there!
 
What do you do after you go to the dentist?
I try to smile a lot to show off my pearly whites!  
 
Have you ever seen a ghost?
No.  I don’t believe in ghosts, but it is fun to pretend at Halloween time and to go through haunted trails and haunted houses.
 
Have you ever seen a skunk?
I have!  We have a lot of skunks in my neighborhood and once a skunk walked right in front of me one night (It almost ran over my toes, it didn’t see me sitting there!) when I was sitting on my front porch.
 
Have you ever been sprayed by a skunk?
No, but my dog was sprayed by a skunk once and it took a really long time and lots of effort to get the smell out!  
 
WOULD YOU RATHER…
Have a pet dinosaur or a pet dragon? Dragon
Be super strong or super fast? Fast
Get stuck in a room filled with spiders or snakes? Spiders
Live in a world made out of Legos or Cartoons? Legos
Eat a whole bottle of hot sauce or a fried cricket? Fried cricket (I have tried them!)
Live in a tree or a cave? Tree
Have a million dollars or a million pieces of candy? Definitely candy, as long as there is some dark chocolate thrown in there.  
Have 5 cats or 5 dogs? Dogs (but only if it comes with a dog walker)
Be able to fly an airplane or drive a racecar? Airplane
Live inside Target or live inside Aldi? Target (I sort of already do – love that place!)
 
So much fun! Thank you for indulging our Kinder crew, Ms. Frieswyk!!! (And thank you for your creative questions, kiddos!)

​Next up: The lovely Erin Hooper, who began her career as a sub here at Waters nearly 10 years ago. Today, she teaches  6th and 7th grade social studies and 6th grade reading. 
 
WT: Happy (almost) 10 year anniversary! What do you enjoy most about teaching at Waters?
Ms. Hooper: When I started at Waters, it felt like I was meant to teach here. The teachers welcome one another with open arms. The garden is an added perk, too— I love gardening in my free time, and it is such a great space for the students. 
 
You must be so happy it’s finally spring! What else do you like to do in your free time? 
I really enjoy hiking and doing anything outdoors with my dog, Ollie.
 
Did you always want to be a teacher? 
Yes! I used to play pretend school when I was a kid and loved grading fake papers. Little did I know, that would be one of the things I like the least about teaching today, hehe. I also wanted to be a waitress and still do that in the summers.


Oh, fun—we'll keep an eye out. Anything else your students might be surprised to learn about you?
I used to work in production for music festivals in the summer during college. I worked directly with the film crew, and it was an amazing experience.
 

How cool! It says a lot about you that you chose teaching—junior high, for that matter—over anything else. How would you describe your own middle school experience?
It was tough. I had just moved from Arizona to Illinois, and making new friends was not easy. I had one good friend at that time, and I really struggled in school. 
 
It sounds like you can definitely relate to a lot of the things your students might be going through. If you could go back and give your junior high self one piece of advice, what would it be?
That it gets so much better after junior high! You will meet friends that you connect with throughout your whole life, and you will learn what you are passionate about and will be able to focus on them in high school and college.
 
All true. Any advice for parents and caretakers? Helping kids navigate the social media stuff and intense social and academic pressure is one thing, but then you throw puberty into the mix and all bets are off. 
I can’t imagine what it would be like to have a middle schooler today. My advice would be to be sure to take time for family activities without any technology around. Go on a walk, bike ride, camping, hiking, play games...talk! Your children might be mad about it at first, but in the end, those are the moments they will remember forever.
 
Totally—and we’d be remiss not to say how awesome this age group is, too. As a teacher, it must be very cool to watch them find their voices and begin that process of discovering who they are. 
YES! This is truly what I love about teaching middle schoolers. They’re finding themselves and, yes, they can be cruel to each other’s differences at times, but they have so much to say and so many ways to make an impact on the world around them. Seeing them celebrate their uniqueness brings a smile to my face. 
 
Before we let you go, is there any 2021 tween-approved slang we should know about? Last year, it seemed like everything was lit: "Wow, that outfit is lit." Is that completely uncool now? (How do you even keep up?)

I think “lit” is still cool. “On Fleek” maybe? Or is that old now?  As you can tell it is hard for me to keep up, too— especially this year!
 
Thank you Ms. Hooper—your interview was (wait for it…) on fleek.  

A message from Jamie Freedman from the Circle of Help
​​
This month, thanks to a federal aid program, over 1 million Chicago Public School children will receive a Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer card with hundreds of dollars on it for food purchases. This card is for EVERY Chicago Public School student, not just those in need. As a mom of three public school children, soon to be four (my youngest will enter kindergarten in the fall), I have been fortunate enough to not need food assistance throughout the pandemic.  As a volunteer working with my local food pantry, The Friendship Center, I have seen firsthand how many households have been impacted by COVID and are struggling right now.  After years of working within my local school community to develop a program to address basic unmet needs, I know how many were families were already food insecure before this all started.  

This has been a long 13 months of virtual and/or hybrid school for every Chicago family. We’ve seen more of our children than ever. We’ve made them more meals than we can count. A lot of us are tired and can use some extra help. If these EBT cards are a needed boost for your family’s finances, then it’s doing what it’s supposed to do. But if your household doesn’t need the money right now, then there’s a real opportunity here to do some good. We can take our kids shopping for the food they like with EBT cards and then we can turn around and give the equivalent dollars back to those organizations that have been lifelines to those in need. With $450 a food pantry like the Friendship Center can source enough food to feed 18 families for an entire month.

If you are looking for a deeper involvement, go volunteer also!  There are always boxes to be moved and they’ll be happy to have you there.  But first, go use your EBT - buy your orange juice and lunch meats and cheerios - and then turn around and write a check.  Believe me – you will feel fantastic for doing your part!

​Read Jamie's whole letter here.