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Children have always been present at Paradise Parking Plots Community Garden. On any given summer day, children can be seen snatching plums from the trees, running like rabbits between the rows of garden beds, or sitting on curbs in the sun as they wait for their parents to finish their garden work. How can we specifically support these important members of our community? What would it look like for a community garden to encourage more play and to even use play as a means for developing resilience in children?
In the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), “play” was specifically named as a fundamental right of children. While most would recognize play as the principal occupation of children, it is a spurring assertion that it is as necessary as nutritious food, clean water, and adequate shelter. At World Relief Western Washington, children have been important members of our community, but it wasn’t until recently that we realized perhaps we could be more intentional in meeting the needs of the children frequenting Paradise Parking Plots.
Designing a Place for Children
In the summer of 2024, an Equity & Sustainability Intern in our garden, Darlene, noticed that there wasn’t a space for children to play. There was a small playground used by the church and an independent preschool, but it was fenced off and off-limits. “I remember on the field trip when we brought the kids here, one of them wanted to go in the playground, and I kinda felt bad for them, and I thought they should have their own area,” she said. “I know that would be something I would love if I were a kid coming here.” Darlene went on to propose a Kids’ Learning and Play Zone as part of her internship Passion Project. The vision was picked up by SEAPAX and then by professors from the University of Washington College of Built Environment. As conversations began between World Relief Western Washington and undergraduate and graduate students in the Design Studio, three recurring priorities came to the forefront: Place, Play and Resiliency. But can a physical play area build resiliency in children?
Why Play?
Play is the manifestation of imagination and agency amidst real-world constraints. We cloak the concept of play in whimsy, triviality, and immaturity, but in reality, it is the practice of resilience by children. Doctors Milteer and Ginsburg note in their clinical report on play that:
“Play is essential to the social, emotional, cognitive, and physical well-being of children beginning in early childhood. It is a natural tool for children to develop resiliency as they learn to cooperate, overcome challenges, and negotiate with others” (p. e204).
For the refugee children that World Relief Western Washington serves, the cultivation of resilience is especially important. Escaping persecution, war, and other humanitarian crises put children at risk for deep-seated trauma. Amy Wagenfeld, a professor on this project’s collaboration, was especially passionate about the needs of participant children. Pointing to the policy statement “Early Childhood Adversity, Toxic Stress, and the Role of the Pediatrician,” she reminded us that, “Play, especially when happening with a nurturing adult-child relationship may indirectly impact brain function because it buggers adversity and reduces the impact of toxic stress to levels that support resilience and coping that many refugee-immigrant families may struggle with.”
Your generosity helps immigrant children and families in Western Washington build resiliency and flourish within the community. Will you walk alongside them?
Student Takeaways
The development of children is closely monitored by parents, teachers, physicians, and social workers, but it is a unique perspective for architect and landscape design students. Under University of Washington (UW) professors Amy Wagenfeld, Julie Johnson and Penelope West, students were invited to explore the relationship between landscape and urban design, child development, resilience, and play. Students visited the garden at the beginning of the Fall semester in 2025 to learn about World Relief, the history of Paradise Parking Plots, the importance of building belonging and place, and how community projects are ethically developed.
Later, in November, a community listening session with child-centered activities was put on by UW students. Multi-sensory activities, designing playgrounds for dinosaurs, a picture wall for sticker voting, building insect habitat homes with Tilth Alliance, and, sometimes, a rowdy game of tag with a UW buddy were all elements of the evening. Students walked away inspired. “It was also just plain fun!” said Penelope. At the end of the semester, groups of students presented their design proposals for the Kids’ Learning and Play Zone at a symposium of professors, community members, World Relief Staff, and industry professionals. For the students, this wasn’t just a college project. “Students understood that their design proposals would contribute to continued community conversations for this space, and thus their work mattered,” noted Julie Johnson.
“Many students wrote in their course evaluations that the studio was their first experience with a ‘real world’ project. It helped them to link abstract concepts and processes of design studio to meaningful work that directly impacts a place and a community of people” said Penelope, reflecting on the semester. “[Paradise Parking Plots was] a valuable lesson in the ways that small interventions, executed and nurtured with care, can build community.”
There’s always a new project in the garden, a new initiative, infrastructure that needs fixing. As I head into the busy summer season (and the favorite season of most children), I’m reminded again that play matters. It matters for children. It matters for community development projects. And it matters for human resilience.
Jerusha English has been a part of the Resiliency Department at World Relief Western Washington for over two years. Originally from Oregon, she spent a decade as a science educator for underserved students in Fort Worth, Texas. She now overseas our Equity & Sustainability Internship Program and develops curriculum for Resiliency Programs, with a focus on our environmental education programming. Jerusha is passionate about her home in the Pacific Northwest and hopes that she can help the families she serves love their new home just as much.