Project Overview

This project centers around outdoor facility upgrades for the new Brown County Early Education Center. The interior of the EEC is state of the art; however the outdoor space is comprised of a playground area surrounded by a crumbling brick wall that is topped with rusted fencing which runs alongside a noisy state highway. The existing playground equipment is not safe for children below the age of 6 years. Also, there is no access to shade and existing concrete walkways are an unsafe distance from all playground equipment. The current space does not meet requirements for a Licensed Childcare Center and therefore, they must comprehensively address the playground by the fall of 2024 to meet licensing requirements or face forced-closure of the EEC. For this reason, the EEC has prioritized rehabilitation of the outdoor learning space before expanding the program to serve one-year-olds and newborns. The largest component of the project involves the installation of an outdoor classroom and natural playground that is a safe, educational, and naturally engaging with green space. That work will follow site demolition and remediation of the brick wall and fencing paid for through a grant from the Rotary Club of Brown County in coordination with Brown County Schools bond issuance. READI funding is requested for playground equipment and installation. The project is planned to start is November 2022 and be completed by August 2023.