Residents are invited to provide their feedback on a playground that would allow all children to have fun at the park.
The Town of Okotoks is hosting a public session on March 22 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the community room on the second floor of the new Pason arena to discuss an inclusive playground in Okotoks.
Christa Michailuck, Okotoks parks manager, said the evening kicks off with a presentation about inclusive playgrounds.
“Instead of creating an accessible playground that’s separate from everything else, we really want to create an inclusive playground that will bring children together of all ages and abilities, disabilities,” said Michailuck. “There’s this social acceptance part that’s huge with an inclusive playground. Typical and atypical children learn to accept each other and be integrated together and that’s really what we’re trying to achieve.”
She said inclusive playgrounds can also be beneficial for caregivers with mobility issues, so they can interact with their children.
The Town is considering adding the inclusive playground to one of two existing locations – Riverside Park near Seaman Stadium, or Cimarron Park behind St. Mary’s School.
Michailuck said the expansion needs to be planned carefully. Using rubber matting costs about 10 times the amount for a typical pea gravel surface, and each piece of equipment requires a certain radius of surfacing around it as well as underneath, she said.
The Town has received a grant for $30,000 to go toward the rubber surface, though it won’t cover the entire cost of the matting, she said. In addition, council has $250,000 earmarked in its capital budget for the playground and the Town is applying for more grant to help pay for the project, said Michailuck.
She said playground equipment usually has a lifespan of about 20 years.
Jodi Halpin helped get the ball rolling on an inclusive playground two years ago, when she emailed Okotoks Mayor Bill Robertson about her wish for a new play structure in town that could benefit her daughter Ashlyn, who was two-and-a-half. Ashlyn has cerebral palsy and requires a wheelchair at all times.
Her family spent a lot of time at the playground near Lions Park and it was great for older sister Ava, but there wasn’t a lot they could do with Ashlyn.
“She wasn’t able to sit in the baby swings and the inclusive swing there was too big for her,” said Halpin. “We were struggling a bit.”
Her letter prompted a meeting with Robertson, Michailuck, and community services director Susan Laurin, who took interest and asked her to make a presentation to the Culture, Parks and Recreation Board and town council.
Halpin enlisted the help of her friend Tami Alger, whose daughter Madison also has cerebral palsy, and together they shared stories of how their families would benefit from an inclusive playground.
“The big part for us is we just want to be a family like everyone else,” said Halpin. “Just because our daughter has mobility challenges and special needs, we still want her and my family to feel like we’re part of the community.”
She said it would be nice for her two daughters to be able to play together on a playground where they can both have fun. It will also help Ashlyn socially, she said.
“She can’t go out and make friends or interact with the other kids because it’s just not accessible to her,” said Halpin.
Alger said she was eager to help Halpin make a case to the town, and she’s looking forward to the workshop and seeing where it goes.
“Just thinking about the other kids in the area I knew who would benefit from it, including our own family, I thought the idea was fantastic,” said Alger.
Her parents bring their RV to Lions Park Campground each year, where the family joins them for visits and barbecues, she said. While Madison’s twin sister Emma is able to join their cousins on the Sheep River Park playground, Madison can’t.
They were excited when they first saw a special needs swing had been installed at the park, until they took Madison over with her walker.
“We trucked across to go to the playground, and it’s gravel,” said Alger. “The whole surface is gravel. She can’t get to the swing. There’s a nice swing she wants to go on now, that she can go on now, and she can’t get to it.”
She said there’s a similar situation at a playground in Mountainview, where large disc swings have been installed that are great for children with special needs, who can be laid in the swing, and even have a parent or caregiver sit with them.
But again, the swings are surrounded by gravel, she said.
“Surface is a huge problem,” said Alger. “If there were a way for a child in a wheelchair to access the playground, if my daughter could wheel herself up with her walker and be able to access those really cool movable parts they put on there now, she loves those things but she can’t get at them.
“We could do something here that’s a total game-changer for families who have never been able to go to a playground.”
To participate in the inclusive playground workshop email Okotoks Parks at [email protected] or call at 403-938-8958. Child care will be provided for children age four and older.
