Jennie's Heirloom Sandbox & Celebrating Summer Play

Here at Tall Earth we recently had a customer, Jennie, reach out to us, asking how to best treat a 40 year old wooden sandbox - it was, in fact, the very sandbox that she herself had played in as a child! She wanted to give it new life, and to have it enjoyed by her own little ones. 

Of all the wide variety of unique and interesting projects our customers have shared with us, an heirloom sandbox was one I hadn't seen before!

Jennie and I had a brief and lovely exchange by email, I recommended a combination of Eco-Safe Wood Treatment and Eco-Safe Wood Guard to provide broad-spectrum protection that would be utterly safe around kids, and we chatted about some small construction modifications and siting for the box.

Naturally, I thought of the sandbox that I myself had built many years ago for my kids, which was also Tall Earth treated of course :)

A sandbox makes for a wonderful play structure - fairly inexpensive, low maintenance, encourages creativity and time outdoors, keeps a little one busy forever, and brings us back into contact with nature and natural elements… with our fingers and between our toes.

I was happy to find that the plans for the sandbox I built are still available online here. This neat design incorporates a lid that folds open into two integrated benches, which is a cool little feature, but also makes it comfortable for adults to get in on the action, too. It's pretty easy to build, I'd consider it a beginner's level project. If you're even thinking about it - just go for it! And send us pictures when it's built!

We've seen some really awesome natural and wood-based playground structures being treated with Tall Earth products. Parents, schools and municipalities all know that it's so important to use non-toxic treatments in spaces where kids are at play, physically interacting with all the surfaces, and then probably licking their dirty hands! With non-toxic treatments, there's no worry, just enjoyment of these sweet moments of summer play.

This magnificent tower could house a knight guarding a castle, a singing Rapunzel, or a ninja training in a secret forest camp.

If heirloom tomatoes are more your speed than heirloom sandboxes, Tall Earth Eco-Safe Wood Treatment makes a great treatment for raised vegetable gardens and vegtrugs, too ;)

Whatever wood-based project you've got planned, we hope you'll include our treatments as part of your process to create sustainably and safely.

Jennie, if you're reading this, please send us photos of your sandbox once it's all done!