COCHRANE— Looking to ensure every child in Cochrane has an inclusive place to play, The Kiwanis Club of Cochrane and Variety- the Children's Charity of Alberta have partnered to upgrade the playground in Centennial Plaza.
“Kiwanis is all about putting smiles on kids' faces,” said Kiwanis President Ron Gosselin. “We believe in giving them growth opportunities.”
For the past 11 months, Kiwanis has been working with sister clubs in Cochrane to explore the possibility of upgrading playgrounds in town to make them more inclusive. These conversations connected the Cochrane Club with the Variety Children's Charity.
Together the non-profits teamed up to apply for the Community Facility Enhancement Program grant from the provincial government to complete upgrades of the Centennial Park playground.
Variety received a $125,000 grant for the park from Kiwanis, along with donations from the Town of Cochrane in kind. An additional $5,000 from Inter Pipeline Ltd. was also provided.
With the donation in place the project is now fully funded.
“At the end of the day when you look at making the park accessible to kids it’s all about improving their social skills and also making sure they see people for what they are instead of kids for their disabilities,” Gosselin said.
Variety- The Children’s Charity of Alberta chief operating officer Larry Horeczy said the Centennial Park playground is the fifth playground they have been able to upgrade over the summer.
The funds secured through the provincial grant will help the Variety Club complete phase two of the playground's upgrades. As part of phase two worn-out equipment will be replaced and a new surface will be installed.
The park upgrades will be breaking ground in a few weeks with the installation of new equipment taking place around Sept. 23 or 24.
Work first began on the park in 2018 on phase two and included the installation of ground-level trampolines.
Playgrounds change every day in the province, Horeczy said, a major change being undertaken by Variety is adapting sites to ensure they are inclusive to all youth looking to engage.
“There is no legislation in Canada or in Alberta that requires the playground to be accessible or inclusive. So we’ve taken that on as one of our initiatives that are all about children,” Horeczy said. “We partner to make it happen. We partner with the community.”
The goal of the charity is to bring inclusive playgrounds to communities based on research and design, he said, but would not be possible without support from community partners including Kiwanis, Spray Lakes Sawmills, Cochrane Rotary, Cochrane Lions and the Cochrane Foundation.
“This playground will not only be accessible, but inclusive in the design,” Horeczy said. “We hope to get 20 years out of this playground.”
The construction in the project will include a resurfacing of the area and the addition of new equipment to enhance inclusivity.
Due to safety concerns, the playground equipment required updating and the Variety Alberta Children’s Charity and the Town’s Parks department decided to move ahead with a cooperative approach to explore avenues to acquire and install the required playground structure. The proposed structure is an all-inclusive playground for children with all types of abilities. The estimated cost for the proposed equipment is $160,000.
Council approved the improvements to the playground in the 2021 Capital Budget. At the time the budget for the project was set at $85,000 to be used from reserves.
The original quote for playground resurfacing was $83,000. Now that the Town does not have to purchase gravel and compaction, as that will be done by Variety Club volunteers, this will generate savings in the resurfacing project which could be put toward the shortfall in fundraising dollars for equipment.
Mayor Jeff Genung said the Centennial Park project has been included in the Town’s capital project plan for 2021 and is grateful to see how Kiwanis and Variety have been able to help ensure the playground upgrades are completed.
“Without partnerships like these projects would never happen and these kids wouldn’t have these inclusive playgrounds to enjoy,” Genung.
