Location: Richland, Wash.
Build Date: 03/10/07
Project Home Page: http://www.kaboom.org/forallatpaul
Project Leader: Karina Thorne

If there's one thing Karina Thorne knows, it's how to ask for what she needs.  And, since beginning her quest to build a playspace in Richland more than a year ago, she's had plenty of opportunities to rethink, retool, and refine her techniques. 

The site of the playspace currently consists of "a bench, an asphalt path, and a bunch of grass and sprinklers."   There isn't even a sign to indicate that this is Paul Liddell Park. Thorne says that her kids, ages 10 and 14, have always referred to it by a more descriptive name:  "The Park With No Toys."

"There isn't much there now," she says, "but I dream about seeing people of all ages enjoying this park."

Initially, she had no problem garnering support from many of Richland's citizens and business owners.  "We've been promised enough money to put in a concrete basketball court, which could also be used for a pickleball court."  Thorne, who describes herself as a "pickleball-aholic", was encouraged when a local business even offered to donate the concrete.

Other members of the community, however, have been vocal about their opposition to the noise and activity that accompany children -- especially older children -- at play.

Thorne, a high school French teacher, feels that providing a gathering place for these kids is crucial.  "When kids play together, they learn how to work together, too -- play is full of life-lessons, especially those about social skills and trust.  But it's not easy getting that message across." 

Just as troublesome was the process of working with the city council.  In seeking matching grants, zoning permissions, and plan modifications, Thorne has often found herself on a rocky path fraught with stalls, disappointment and frustration.  "Each time it looked like we had everything lined up, we'd hit another brick wall," she says. "It's hard to keep the momentum going.  When you get people excited and it doesn't come to pass, people become discouraged, sad, and, sometimes, angry."

Local papers have chronicled those council meetings, using terms like "red tape" and "high emotion."  Thorne herself acknowledges that her meetings with the council have sometimes been less than cordial.  "The plug has been pulled so many times.  Your passion and frustration can be misconstrued, and trying to rein in the frustration is hard sometimes.  I feel strongly about this, and there have been times when I've had my claws out."

But after one particularly discouraging encounter with the council, Thorne's mother asked her: "Do you want to be right, or do you want to be happy?"  Thorne says she realized that she would have to temper that passion with patience and a little humor. 

"I brought a pot of honey to a council meeting and set it on the stand in front of me," she laughs, "just to remind myself to be nice.  There have been a lot of ups and downs, and the city has sometimes been portrayed in a bad light by the papers.  But there's currently a new direction and we're seeing positive movement.  I think we're riding on the crest of some very promising changes."

Some of those changes occurred in Thorne herself while attending the recent U Play! event in Chicago.  "It gave us the attitude adjustment that we needed -- the enthusiasm of the Build Day was incredible!"  She adds that she and her husband were especially inspired by Kevin Carroll's presentation.  "Everyone should have a chance at play, regardless of their ages."

That's the message Thorne intends to bring to the people who are worried about teenagers and noise.  "Resistance to change can be a problem in any community," she says, noting that her own mother once protested the city's replacement of a dirt path with asphalt one.  Now, she says, her mother uses the path daily, walking with friends before she goes to work.   "You can't reason with fear," she says, "but people do change as things change around them -- especially when they begin to experience the benefits."

While the group waits for the council's green light, they're wasting no time implementing some of the ideas Thorne brought back from U Play!  "This is an opportunity for the community to realize that they can make some big changes here.  It's important to have planning, but things start to disappear while people talk and talk. Talking's good, but action gets things done." 

There's plenty of action on all levels, and Thorne says that she's amazed at the number of people who have come forward.  Recently, the local Kiwanis Club agreed to act as an umbrella for the project, opening an account for pledges and donations.  An auction is in the planning stages, and Thorne has asked a local artist to construct a wall on which community members will pay to write their own 'graffiti'.  She's also considering participating in a local church's annual fair. 

"They usually run a dunk tank there.  If any city council members attend, I think they'd really enjoy the chance to knock me into the water," she laughs.

"When you start thinking something can happen, it does.  There's a ripple effect -- it inspires people who are less hopeful.  You really can change the way people look at themselves and the world around them." 

To that end, the group has begun hanging flyers all over town, carrying a message that reflects their increasing determination and hope:  "If we build it, they will come."