LOMBARD – Students at William Hammerschmidt Elementary School in Lombard have brand-new playground equipment, thanks to a project that’s been years in the making.

“It’s a playground. It’s so much more,” said Andi Cooper, a landscape architect and Hammerschmidt parent who has led the Learn + Play Gardens project.

On Saturday, students, parents and community members gathered to celebrate the completion of the project’s second phase with a playground ribbon cutting.

Cooper said the plan to enrich the playground began three years ago. The first phase, the Edible Gardens, was completed last year. Each grade plants vegetables or herbs in their own raised beds.

“We said we know we need a new playground, but what else can we do within the landscape to make it a better, more exciting place?” Cooper said.

During the past year, Hammerschmidt students and teachers began developing ways to incorporate the gardens into class and beyond, from fifth-graders who have studied seeds to the school’s new garden and walking clubs.

“The goal is that our teachers and students feel like this is their space and their garden,” Cooper said.

Since the project aims to be green and sustainable, the old playground equipment was donated to Kids Around the World, a Rockford-based organization that provides playgrounds in other countries. The group will reuse the former Hammerschmidt equipment for a new playground.

The Learn + Play Gardens have been funded through a community-wide effort, including school fundraisers and DuPage County grants, along with the support of the Lombard Park District and village. Cooper said the project started with an about $500,000 vision, but it’s come down to less than half of that.

During the phase-two ribbon cutting, students helped spread mulch around the new equipment as just a portion of hundreds of volunteer hours that have gone into the project.

“We want the kids and the neighbors to take ownership of this space and really take care of it,” Cooper said, adding that since the project began, she hasn’t seen any vandalism or graffiti in the gardens.

The third and final phase is already funded, and Cooper anticipates it will be completed in 2015. Phase three incorporates green infrastructure technologies like rain gardens and permeable concrete designed to ease some of the flooding issues around the school.

The last phase also will include a butterfly garden, outdoor musical instruments and walking paths.

“I’m excited to see the whole package,” Cooper said.

As a mom of three, Cooper wants Hammerschmidt students to enjoy the new gardens, but she also hopes the project can serve as an example for other communities of how a playground can be so much more.

“It’s a way for public school systems to think about their campuses in a different way,” Cooper said.