Parents plan ambitious playground for Dalhousie

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This article was published 21/04/2015 (3828 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Parents at Dalhousie School are embarking on an ambitious fundraising campaign to renew the school’s playground.

The Dalhousie Parent Advisory Council, led by Jaime Webster and Suzanne Pothe, is hoping to raise over $209,000 for a new playground to replace the decaying structure behind the K to Grade 6 school.

“We are doing it because the kids need it, to put it simply,” Webster told The Sou’wester.

The existing facility is over 25 years old, missing components such as a zip line, and is inaccessible to students in wheelchairs due to the pea stone play surface. It is also the main play structure for three daycares, a before and after school program and the 423 students that attend Dalhousie School.

“It is really ready to be taken down,” Dalhousie principal Marina Wilson said. “It’s not unsafe for the kids and we’ve had it checked, but it’s at a point where it’s going to need a lot of money put into it and it’s not worth it, so we’re going to be dismantling it.”

According to Pothe, the renewal initiative has three main objectives: to create a safe place for families, students and children to come together and play; to create a social interaction for new Canadians to learn the languages through playing; and having an outdoor space to increase physical activity and creative play.

“The closest other playgrounds are at St. Avila, which I believe is 1.2 kilometres away and Ryerson Elementary, 1.3 kilometres away,” Pothe said, adding that many new Canadians in the neighbourhood and those living in low-income housing require a space to play that’s within walking distance.

The renewal initiative will refresh most of the grounds with the new play structure nestled among the Dalhousie Forest on the southwest side of the property. Components also include social circles, a cultural stick garden, a forest classroom, and a world map on the hardtop.

The theme of the new playground also celebrates the cultural diversity of the area. Wilson estimates that within the student body there are over 56 cultures represented and 75 per cent of students are new Canadians.

The playground renewal initiative is the latest in a series of community renewal projects in Fort Richmond area. A junior play structure on Killarney Avenue opened in 2011. A brand-new skatepark, also on Killarney Avenue, as well as a community meeting area, game tables and fitness trails were added to the site in August 2013.

The parent advisory council is in the process of securing funding for the renewal initiative and recently received $10,000 from the City of Winnipeg in the form of a community incentive grant. They are waiting to hear back from a number of other foundations in regards to grants they have applied for. Support has also come from within the school community with $3,500 raised by a recent flower sale.

The council hopes to complete its fundraising efforts by March 2016 and break ground April 2016. The tentative opening date is scheduled for October 2016.

Pembina Trails School Division, which approved the project in February, has also opened an account to collect funds for the project. All donations over $15 will be issued a tax receipt.

“We’re trying to improve the school, but it’s 100 per cent about community,” Webster said. “Once the school gets updates it improves the community.”

For more information about the Dalhousie Playground Renewal Initiative contact Jaime Webster at jaimedaly@hotmail.com or 204-802-0976.

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