Students from Making Our Own
Space (MOOS) spent a few weeks this
summer identifying places and spaces
in the Moreland neighborhood that are
underutilized and in need of creative
solutions to make them more inviting for
residents to gather and play. Their first
observation was a simple but powerful one:
Too many spaces in their neighborhood
lacked good seating. And, without a place
to take a load off and relax, parks are not
exactly inviting. It’s like someone saying to
you, “Come on in, but please don’t stay.”
Enter the MOOS students…and their
insight, creativity, and energy.
Following the successful installation
in Hildana Park of the solar powered, cell
phone charging Soofa benches, the students
focused on seating that they could build and
add to other neighborhood locations.
Enter the gigantic picnic tables…really,
really big, traditional wooden picnic tables.
The size of these picnic benches invites
a crowd. Students collaborated to cut the
massive pieces of lumber, hammer, and
screw them together, and then to sand, sand,
and sand again. Nika Melton, a summer
participant and rising 9th grader at SHHS,
says, “We worked hard to build something
people would want to sit at, relax, and eat
with their families.” Three of these tables,
placed near each other, and sometimes end
to end, comfortably seat at least 30 people.
The last step was to paint them. And
what better color than the aptly named
Joyful Orange by Behr Paint? When the
tables were installed, the pop of color
immediately added to the playfulness of
Chelton Park and echoed the whimsical,
brightly colored mural installed along the
outer edge of the park last year.
“I like the way the color complements
the park and the puzzle pieces on the mural.
The color makes an everyday object really
stand out,” says Melton. The picnic benches
were installed in June and since then the
message at Chelton Park is “We’re glad
you’re here. Sit down and stay awhile.”
Building
a Neighborhood,
Creating
Connections
Recognizing that parks are for play, MOOS students wanted to build in some fun, too.
Enter the wooden seesaws…bright orange and built for laughter.
A full pivot from the 21st century Soofa benches, the temporary prototype seesaws
are simple machines that fit the MOOS mission perfectly, according to Melton. They activate
the park and promote playfulness and togetherness. Who can resist the up and down, back
and forth, of this playground throwback? Working in tandem with a partner you are facing,
they promote conversation, which Melton says is something they thought about as they built
the structures. In a plugged-in world, she notes, finding ways to make human connections
is as important as ever. “We live in a world of social media. We forget that we need social
interaction. We really need friends and conversation.”
Melton and the MOOS team reaped the rewards of their hard work on a warm evening
in June when their picnic benches and seesaws were in full use during an outdoor
Neighbor Night meeting. Neighbors were sitting together and chatting, kids were playing,
and friends and families were eating together. “I felt proud of myself,” says Melton. “I never
built anything before that people actually used. It was good to see people together. I think
we fulfilled our mission.”
Next up for MOOS students: bookshelves. Through a partnership with the Nomad Book
Initiative, a project to install bookshelves around Greater Cleveland, students are working with
the owner of Joey’s Jazzy Clips at 3439 Lee Road to design and build a bookshelf for a corner
in his shop. The project gives students the chance to work directly with a client to understand
their vision, and design something that is both functional and attractive. SL
SHAKER LIFE | FALL 2017 13