![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1792533488_335_.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\nIvianna Carranza raced down the slide on the new playground at John G. Whittier Elementary School in Scranton.<\/p>\n
Three years ago, she and her classmates designed what they hoped the playground would include \u2014 slides, lush grass and places to sit with friends.<\/p>\n
The students, now in fifth grade at the intermediate school, helped cut the ribbon to the space Tuesday. The park, made possible through community partnerships, will be open to the neighborhood when school isn\u2019t in session.<\/p>\n
Ivianna paused and looked at the rock walls and outdoor classroom \u2014 the dreams of her classmates three years ago.<\/p>\n
\u201cWow! Look at where they brought this playground to be,\u201d the 10-year-old said. \u201cThey have space to run around. They have benches. They have tables, and there’s just a bunch of fun things.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Sarah Hofius Hall<\/p>\n
\/<\/p>\n
WVIA News <\/p>\n
The new playground at Whittier includes native plants and many places to explore.<\/p>\n
Second of three transformations<\/p>\n
Whittier, on Orchard Street in South Scranton, is the second city schoolyard to be transformed by Trust for Public Land, a national organization whose goal is creating more green space in urban areas, and local partner Valley In Motion.<\/p>\n
The schoolyard at Kennedy, also designed by students, opened last year<\/a>. The city allocated $500,000 in federal COVID funds for schoolyard transformations, which allowed Trust for Public Land to leverage other grants. Many foundations and organizations also contributed to the projects. Organizers hope to break ground on a third transformation, at Willard Elementary<\/a> in West Scranton, in the next year.<\/p>\n Camila Pena, 10, in June 2025 points to an area of the playground at John F. Kennedy Elementary School that uses a part of her design.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is what our kids deserve: great play yards, places that they can learn, like the rain garden. We need to make sure that we keep doing this work here in Scranton,\u201d Mayor Paige Cognetti said. \u201cThe school district, the city, everybody working together along with philanthropy and nonprofits. It’s exactly what we should be doing, and we’re proud of it.\u201d<\/p>\n Sarah Hofius Hall<\/p>\n \/<\/p>\n WVIA News <\/p>\n Students at Frances Willard Elementary School react to the announcement in February 2025 that the school will receive a playground.<\/p>\n Stormwater managed<\/p>\n The new schoolyard includes a multi-purpose grassy field, running\/walking path, picnic tables and benches, inclusive play equipment, new trees and native perennials, outdoor classroom and green stormwater infrastructure. About 4,100 residents live within a 10-minute walk of the school.<\/p>\n But below visible features is a stormwater management system that will limit run-off \u2014 a frequent complaint of neighbors. A retention area will do more than limit potential water problems.<\/p>\n Sarah Hofius Hall<\/p>\n \/<\/p>\n WVIA News <\/p>\n A stormwater management feature at the new schoolyard will provide lessons on watersheds.<\/p>\n \u201cWe wanted to tie it in with the outdoor classroom seating area for educational purposes, and it also just made sense drainage-wise with all the water coming down the hill,\u201d said Ed Confair, a landscape architect and professional engineer, who is a vice president at AKRF, a firm that worked on the project.<\/p>\n As the students designed the playground, they learned about the Chesapeake Bay watershed and the impact that stormwater at the school has throughout the neighborhood, the city and the larger region.<\/p>\n \u201cThey were learning that this project is more than just a playground at a single site,\u201d said Alyssa Kelley, project manager for Valley In Motion. \u201cIt is connected physically and socially to the community around it, to the people and the environment, to flora and fauna and friends alike. This connection is both a great gift and a great responsibility that the students acknowledged and accepted with joy and resolve.\u201d<\/p>\n Time for recess<\/p>\n The playground at Whittier sits across an alley behind the school. Before the transformation, there was little to do on the empty lot, and students said they would return to class with mud caked on their shoes.<\/p>\n![\"Camila](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1792533489_153_.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\n![\"Students](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1792533489_251_.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1792533489_342_.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1792533490_71_.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\n