Thanks to an innovative fundraising event this spring, the Colorado Green Building Guild raised thousands of dollars for its children's garden — and local youngsters got to spend an afternoon in a wonderland of imaginative playhouses.

On June 16, the Colorado Green Building Guild held its first Green Playhouse Design Competition and Auction. The event raised money for the Growing Gardens' Children's Peace Garden Program, which educates children about organic gardening practices.

The competition challenged area architects, builders and designers to construct children's playhouses that incorporated the best elements of sustainable green living. Competitors were required to use reclaimed and repurposed materials in ways that were both functional and fun.

As children spent an afternoon climbing on the houses, sliding down the poles and using the water attachments in the organic gardens, judges rated the playhouses based on how well they showcased the concept of utilizing sustainable materials in a playhouse design.

Judges for the event included Boulder city planning board member Danica Powell, Boulder County commissioner Will Toor, Elephant Magazine editor Waylon Lewis, Alaya Preschool teacher L. Brooke and Lee Quinby, executive director of the Association of Colorado Independent Schools.

First-place honors went to the playhouse designed and constructed by Boulder contractor Kevin Morningstar, owner of Morningstar Homes, who partnered with Brad Burch of Index AD LLC to create an imaginative tribute to an American icon — the firefighter.

Morningstar said he was inspired by the rebuilding projects he's been working on in Fourmile Canyon, which was devastated by wildfires in 2010.

"So much material is just sitting out there, and I wanted to utilize some of that lumber," he said. "I thought, what better idea could there be than to turn these stacks of wood into a playhouse. So I brought the trailer up and we loaded 15 decent-sized logs on and milled them down to the specific sizes we needed."

Morningstar built the playhouse on a foundation of repurposed burnt logs, and finished it with a firehouselike interior, complete with a manual-crank fire alarm and industrial-strength fire pole. The logs made a natural climbing wall, which drew scores of children during the fundraising event.

According to Morningstar, the winning bidder, who paid $2,000, had more than just a passing fancy for the playhouse.

"The family that bought it lost their house in that fire," he said. "So the playhouse is going back up into the canyon where the fire hit."

In addition to the judging competition, the event featured a Kid's Choice contest, where children were allowed to choose their favorite design. The winner was a giant Rubik's Cube playhouse, built by Robert Ross of Fieldwork Architecture, Stephanie Ridgeway of 303 Architecture, Christine Randall of ERC Insulation and Elton Randall of Elton R. Construction.

"I wanted to create something colorful with a lot of pop, something to get the kids excited," said Ross, who spent two months constructing the live-in Rubik's Cube.

The playhouse, which sold for $1,500, featured a wide variety of repurposed materials used in imaginative ways. The floor was covered with reclaimed artificial turf, and old golf clubs were fashioned into sturdy guardrails. To the delight of both children and adults, the ceiling was strung with vintage 33-rpm records. The structure also featured an organic roof garden, complete with vegetables and edible flowers watered by an elaborate rainwater collection drainage system.

According to event organizer Kim Master, the event raised between $15,000 and $20,000 for the Growing Gardens' Children's Peace Garden Program. Master said the 12 playhouses entered in the competition sold for bids ranging from $1,000 to $2,400, and all were purchased by area families. As a bonus, the winning bids included the cost of transporting the playhouses to their new homes.

Master said the event was created to help inspire families to embrace green-living principles and make their homes greener. As an added attraction, all of the playhouses were designed to be strong enough for everyday use.

"We wanted to show kids that they could roughhouse on the houses, and they would still be sturdy," she said.

"The kids were clambering over the playhouses all afternoon, so the event sent them the message that green living can also be a lot of fun."