Schoolyard improvements coming this summer to Taggart School in Whitman

Chester Arthur and Stanton Elementary aren’t the only schools seeing improvements to their outdoor spaces.

Upgrades will be coming this summer to the John H. Taggart schoolyard, located at 400 W. Porter St. in Whitman.

The Trust for Public Land worked with students earlier this year as part of a participatory design process. That collaborative process created a vision for the blacktop-covered schoolyard.

More about the project from The Trust for Public Land:

Replacing a barren blacktop with a turf field and rain garden will not only get them a place to play, but is also a way to help manage storm water. The student design also includes a stage for outdoor performances, a colorful world map mural reflecting their geographic diversity, and a new sculpture of the school’s mascot, the Taggart Tiger. Construction of the new playground will be completed later this year.

Plans created for this site will also include the addition of new playground equipment, picnic tables and benches, an artificial turf field with a running track, a rain garden, trees to shade the new garden beds and an outdoor classroom space.

The project will be breaking ground once school is out for the summer.