The design of a new playground at École Quarterway elementary school is to give kids of all ages a rich and diverse playing experience. (Alex Rawnsley/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Alex Rawnsley

RUN AND JUMP

‘It’s awesome, seeing them play:’ new accessible playground at École Quarterway end of long journey

May 24, 2022 | 4:55 PM

NANAIMO — It’s officially the end of a journey which has seen kindergarteners grow into soon-to-be high schoolers.

A new accessible playground at École Quarterway is officially open, months after installation but years after the idea first came to the school at their Parent Advisory Committee (PAC).

Arlette Kaké, principal at the French immersion school, told NanaimoNewsNOW the structure it replaced was dilapidated and literally falling apart.

“We had some wood, a lot of wood. It was all rotten, it wasn’t good at all and I have some pieces in my office that fell down and the kids would come and say ‘hey Madame, we have another piece here.’

Design of the space was a joint effort with teachers and staff at the school asking students to design their dream playground.

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Wishes for pools and water slides made way for more realistic options like a zip line, multiple freestyle climbing structures and two small hills covered in turf and a slide.

Kaké said the end result is something the school can be immensely proud of.

“It’s awesome, seeing them play. The good thing with our school is that we have a big, big field so you have kids all over the place, there’s no congestion. They will play here, they’ll play over there, it just feels good knowing I won’t have any pieces of wood or metal coming back into the office.”

The playground is also open to the community after school, over weekends and on holidays, with several of the school’s roughly 420 students frequenting the area on their days off.

Money from the school’s PAC initially purchased this climbing star, however the province’s contribution helped take the project to the next level with additional structures. (Alex Rawnsley/NanaimoNewsNOW)

Members of the school’s PAC were instrumental in getting the project off the ground, fundraising upwards of $140,000 before provincial funding came in to put the playground over the top.

Joyce Troost, part of the PAC’s playground committee, said support from the government helped them expand their initial goals.

“Because the funding was so great then we could have some added elements like the zip line…we were just getting the star, that was it, so they added quite a few features.”

Troost’s oldest child is one of the kindergarteners who will transition to NDSS this fall, while her two younger children will get to enjoy the facility for years to come.

She added her expertise as an architect, as did others with specialties in engineering and substantial community connections to raise enough cash.

“It’s a huge amount of money, it’s not like we need to raise $500 to send kids to camp. We needed to raise $140,000 and that’s a lot of money to ask parents and a lot of time and hot dog sales aren’t really going to get it done.”

The design of the space, open and flowing with turf elements surrounded by pebbles, was intentional and designed to offer something for kids of all ages.

“You can use it so many different ways and for different age groups,” Troost said. “That was the ultimate goal…natural play has an advantage over a typical structure as it just allows you to more freely use it and how you’re going to use it. It can support teenagers and it can support kindergarteners.”

Nanaimo MLA Sheila Malcolmson speaks with grade 7 students at a new playground at École Quarterway elementary school. (Alex Rawnsley/NanaimoNewsNOW)

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