The city covered up the granite seams in the park with sod.

I used to hike through that park every weekend to look at the granite. You could see clear quartz veins and bits of feldspar right there. Now it's all grass and picnic tables. They said the rocks were a tripping hazard, but nobody ever got hurt. Kids loved scrambling over the outcrops. Now it's just a smooth hill. It feels like they paved over a geology lesson for no good reason. I guess neat lawns beat interesting rocks these days.

4 comments

4 Comments

finley_owens1mo ago

Reminds me of when they filled in the creek behind my old school. We used to catch tadpoles there, but they called it a mosquito problem. Just a concrete ditch now, kinda sad.

troychen1mo ago

Read a blog post about this safety over nature trend.

davis.olivia1mo ago

My old neighborhood in Oakridge spent 30 grand on rubber mulch for the playground. Honestly, it got so hot in the sun kids couldn't even play on it. We pushed the city to just plant some native shrubs for shade and use regular wood chips. Took a couple years, but now the area actually gets used and looks way better. Sometimes the simplest fix is just working with what's already there.

nelson.seth1mo ago

Last year, our town spent $50k on similar 'safety' sod that died in a drought. Like @finley_owens said about the creek, these quick fixes often backfire. Now we have dead grass and hidden rocks anyway.