(Almost) All of it Costs Money

All of the great things we accomplished at the L’École King George Public School playground were done with stuff and by people – and almost all of it costs money.

Some of it was purchased directly using money generously donated by students and their parents and grandparents, as well as by neighbours of the school and members of our community.

Other things, like the tires that the kids like so much and the edging that will simplify maintenance and preserve the shape of the pathway for years to come, are special items. We simply would not have them without the involvement of some dedicated parents and the generosity of their community-minded employers.

All of these materials were transported to site using specialty equipment and installed via either heavy machinery or good old-fashioned hard labour. We hired contractors to do the excavating and placement of materials, which required the use of heavy equipment.

The rest of the work, which included countless hours of fundraising, planning, designing, administrating, coordinating, cleaning, hand digging, sod laying, watering (and watering some more) was done by a huge corps of volunteers who gave a lot of their precious summer-holidays to ensure that the foundation of the playscape could be completed quickly – and frugally, so our money could be spent elsewhere.

We Did it in Record Time

Did you know that our plan as of the beginning of June was to install only about a quarter of the pathway that we have now? With the arrival of John and Pam Rennie’s extremely generous donation at the end of June, we changed our course of action – planning to complete half of the playscape pathway. We very quickly ramped up, recruiting new people and approaching several businesses for estimates, knowing that our very quick timeline would be a challenge for all of them. We were thrilled when we got fast responses and were able to set the plan in motion in mid-July.

Our contractors brought some amazing talent to the project, doing the work faster than anticipated. Their skill enabled us to consider fast tracking our project to install the entire playscape foundation by the start of school.

We’re a stubborn bunch and we decided to go for it – knowing full well that it was a huge undertaking that would require precision co-operation among the contractors and the involvement of many volunteers. The fast schedule, weather that impacted work, and on-going changes to the plan that were necessitated by generous donations of resources that made our playscape better for the kids made it a real challenge.

We persevered and got it done in time for the first day of school, as planned. Volunteers, in particular, shouldered a heavy load: they were often called on short notice and asked to work hard in the heat of summer to shore up our budget enough to complete the project.

So Many Benefits

Sure, all this work impacted our summer, but we just couldn’t resist the many benefits that would come from completing the entire playscape ‘foundation’ in one fell swoop. We were able to save money, save time, protect the surrounding field from the wear and tear of heavy machinery, and ensure that the activity areas are all in place, ready for future work.

Now we can relax a bit and plan what to do next, knowing that most of the hard work is already done.

So Many Ways to Help!

If you’ve been sitting back and watching the transformation, now is a great time to get involved and enjoy the process of making the playground a great place for your kids to have fun.

There are so many ways to help! Let us know whether you prefer to use a shovel, a pen or a phone, and we’ll find a way for you to be involved. To get on our information list so you can receive news about upcoming volunteer work parties and our needs for special talents, contact our volunteer coordinator, Linda, at lindasherwood@bell.net.