County OKs park playground for school, public

Ozaukee County supervisors have approved plans to add a playground, storage shed and make other improvements to the Sugar Maple Nature School located in Hawthorne Hills County Park.

Supervisors on the Natural Resources Committee OK’d construction of a 2,000-square-foot natural playground and a 750-square-foot storage shed on the five-acre parcel the school leases from the county.

The committee previewed plans for the additions at their meeting in December.

The playground will be open to the public during non-school hours.

According to a memo to the committee, the first phase of the playground would include an “active play” zone featuring a downed-tree climbing structure, climbing nets, log balance beams, stump walks and

an overhead climber.

The second phase would include a “creative play” zone focusing on “exploration and collaboration, offering a wheelchair-accessible mud kitchen, a loose-parts construction area stocked with natural materials and additional open-ended discovery elements that invite imaginative play.”

The storage shed would open up space in the school’s main 8,700-square-foot building, which houses classrooms and offices.

The storage shed will be trucked to the site and placed on a concrete pad that the county Highway Department will build.

Plans also call for adding a community garden that would include a greenhouse-type structure.

The additions prompted another discussion among supervisors about the future of the school on county property.

The school is in the second year of a five-year lease from the county.

Director of Education Cindy Raimer said the school would be interested in extending its lease.

“We would like to continue to invest in the park and make improvements that would benefit both the park and the school,” she said. “From my perspective, it’s going well.”

County Planning and Parks Director Andrew Struck said the situation has been a learn-as-you-go experience, but things are running smoothly.

“So far, this is headed in a good direction,”  he said.

“It feels like it’s becoming more permanent,” Supr. Bruce Ross said.

The outdoor nature school uses the park as its outdoor classroom and has an enrollment of 124 students, with hopes of expanding.

The school added a seventh grade this year and plans to add an eighth grade in the 2026-2027 school year. The school also hopes to add a nature-based day-care center at some point, Raimer said.

The school is a tuition-free, public charter school authorized by the Northern Ozaukee School District.

It was originally formed as Riveredge Outdoor Learning Elementary School but moved to Hawthorne Hills and changed its name in 2024 as both the school and nature center outgrew their facilities.

Last year, the school received a $1 million Wisconsin Charter School Program grant to fund the operational expenses for the creation of sixth, seventh and eighth- grade classes.

The school has exclusive access to five acres of the park but also can use the 57-acre Hawthorne Hills Park and 67-acre Shady Lane Natural Area as an outdoor classroom and learning lab, including the park’s nearby pond and the Milwaukee River.

The school can also use a nearby maintenance building, bathrooms, showers and parking lot and, in case of severe weather, offices and other rooms.

The school is currently paying the county $68,000 this year to lease the property, which increases 5% a year and has helped pay for a number of improvements made to the site.