Nearly a dozen people followed one another to the speaker’s podium at last week’s City Council meeting, many of them teens from the local Sonoma Country Day School or the Girl Scouts. Each had their individual voice and reason for speaking, their perspective and memories, but all of them agreed on one thing: It was time for Healdsburg to have a Magical Bridge Playground.
The young teens found their voice in support of agenda item number 9.a, Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) pending before the council to partner with the Magical Bridge Foundation to create an inclusive, intergenerational playground at Badger Park.
“We never considered someone with disabilities might actually have family members without disabilities, or that a grandparent might not be able to walk very well anymore, or that a mom with a toddler might also have a baby in a stroller,” said eight-grader Ella Weinzveg—who then added pointedly, “Or that a person with sensory processing challenges might actually need a quiet space to regulate for a few minutes in order to keep playing.”
She was followed by her sister Ione, Avi Weinzveg, Adelia Schoenberg and several Girl Scouts among others. Their message was revolutionary and uniform: Inclusion means everyone. End of story.
It’s fair to say the partnership would not be happening were it not for the focus that Emily Peterson brought to it. She is a Healdsburg resident, former teacher and parent to 6-year-old Aisley, who has Cornelia de Lange syndrome, a genetic birth condition that leads to delayed physical development.
In 2024 Peterson helped bring adaptive swings to several city parks for children like hers who don’t have the opportunity to play with others. She discovered that Healdsburg was sorely lacking in adaptive amenities in its parks system, and in March 2025 Peterson started an online petition to create a Magical Bridge Playground in Healdsburg.
The petition in support of a Magical Bridge Playground is still active at chng.it/DTFY6bhJxV and currently has almost 900 signatures; Peterson’s goal is still 1,000. But Peterson only started her petition in March, and just a month later delivered it to the city.
The timing was perfect. New Project Manager Tom Campbell had just started with the Planning Department, and the city was about to decide on the second phase of development for Badger Park. With Campbell’s internal support, Peterson’s compelling arguments and a visit from representatives of the Magical Bridge Foundation, the possibility of creating a Magical Bridge Playground in Healdsburg took shape.
The Magical Bridge Foundation is a nonprofit organization headquartered in Palo Alto that creates multigenerational playgrounds, parks and programs for more inclusive communities. Its founder and CEO, Olenka S. Villarreal, introduced the Magical Bridge concept to the general public in 2015 and to the City Council last week.
A series of common-sense design and materials innovations create safe play areas, sensory stimulation as well as relief, places for imagination and connection, with play elements that appeal to people of all ages. “It’s reimagining what a playground needs to be and should be,” Villarreal said in her overview. “Magical Bridge creates a lot of different areas of the playground that no matter your size, your age, your ability or disability, you will enjoy the space—and it will become a community asset and a place that will draw people.”
The concept of a “destination playground” may seem unfamiliar, but looking at the photos of some of the 10 colorful, inviting Magical Bridge Playgrounds, most of them in the Bay Area, it’s easy to imagine wanting to visit one with family members, with friends or because it’s there.
The Memorandum
The outline of the MOU, Memorandum of Understanding, is that the Foundation and the City partner in the creation and implementation of the playground. The Foundation will undertake all studies and site evaluation, conduct fundraising to assure that the enterprise is “funded entirely by private donations with no fiscal impact to the city” and complete the schematic design and visioning with public engagement by the community, all the while working with the city and the Badger Park Redevelopment Team.
The City’s obligations are to coordinate and work collaboratively, though the proposed schematic must be reviewed and approved by the city as well. If the city decides not to move forward, it is under “no obligation to reimburse the Foundation” in any way. The Foundation has similar rights to cancel the project if it’s determined to be not viable.
All of that encompasses the design phase, not the actual construction of the project—that remains to be negotiated between the city and the foundation, following the schematic design steps. But getting the heartfelt endorsement of the City Council, and its unanimous vote to proceed by the end of the discussion, felt like a win for everyone.
“I am so honored to be a part of this magical project and cannot believe this is actually happening after years of advocating!” said Peterson, who attended the meeting with her daughter and was the last of the public to speak on the topic.
“I am just so excited that we’ve gotten to this point. I am completely moved by the community that is supporting us, all of the residents and youth who have spoken tonight,” she continued. “I believe in Healdsburg, and I’m just so grateful that Healdsburg has listened.”
“Emily is the rock star and magic maker there in Healdsburg, and our lead Project Ambassador,” said Villarreal. “Make sure you get her in the piece!”
Keep up to date at magicalbridge.org/healdsburg.
