By Spencer Sterritt

Significant donation recharges efforts for new Ecole Quarterway playground

Oct 5, 2017 | 11:50 PM

NANAIMO — The plan to replace an aging playground at a Nanaimo school is now on the fast track after a substantial donation.

As part of the particiPACTION exercise campaign, $10,000 was donated to the Ecole Quarterway Nature Inspired Play Space group on Thursday. The group wants to replace the currently 27-year-old playground with one entwined with nature and builds on the existing landscape.

Committee chair Emma Montpetit said the donation was the most sizable they’ve received in three years on their way to the $100,000 goal.

“It really gave us that extra push at the end that we really needed to get the school going again, to get our hopes up again,” she told NanaimoNewsNOW.

The particiPACTION funding announcement was made possible thanks to a donation by Chevrolet Canada.

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Montpetit said they’re now in the last leg of their campaign and are seeking natural resource materials such as logs and rocks to put the finishing touches on the project.

“It’s really going to come down to community support at this point.”

The project made it to the finals of a $1 million Aviva contest in 2016, but unfortunately wasn’t selected.

Though she was disappointed at the time, Montpetit said the publicity which came from the Aviva contest helped promote their goal and raised awareness for future donations.

with files from Dom Abassi

spencer@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @spencer_sterrit