The Salina School campus celebrated the opening of its two newest playscapes on Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026. Both the Community Center Nature Playscape and the Elementary Playscape opened with a ribbon cutting ceremony on Wednesday afternoon.
Speakers included Superintendent Mike Esseily, Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud, Salina Elementary Principal Sue Stanley, and Green Schoolyards Consultant Dr. Jill Chochol.
“I want to applaud the leadership here at Salina for tirelessly working on phase after phase of the Green Schoolyards project,” remarked Superintendent Mike Esseily during the ceremony. “Spending time outdoors is so important to our students…and I’m sure the students are excited to test out the new play equipment.”
Since 2021, Salina’s Green Schoolyards initiative has added challenging and exciting learning and play opportunities for the campus’ nearly 1,000 students. The playground redesign is part of the larger Green Schoolyards project that encourages exposing students to more natural settings for their health, for play, and for place-based learning.
“Every child in Dearborn deserves equal access to clean air and nature,” said Mayor Hammoud. “We are proud to celebrate this win alongside the students, families, and staff of Salina Elementary and Intermediate as we continue building a greener, more sustainable Dearborn for all.”
The work is funded by grants and donations and includes school gardens, outdoor classrooms, a prairie area, rain gardens, and more natural recreation spaces. Learn more about the program in the Dearborn Green Schoolyards booklet.
The latest round of work was funded by donations from the PNC Foundation, the Community Foundation of Southeast Michigan, and the many members of the Green Schools Coalition.