Eight-year-old Aaron Newman’s eyes danced Wednesday as he gazed at the colourful playground that’s finally opened in the centre of his Windsor Street housing complex.
It was hard to decide what to play with first.
From snakes and ladders and a basketball net, to the swings and slides, the possibilities seemed endless. When all was said and done, he chose to join his six-year-old friend Malkai Johnson spinning Bey Blades in the unseasonably warm November outdoors.
“It’s pretty fun playing with it,” he said.
“It’s right in the middle. I can play with my Bey Blades and basketball and play other games,” he said. “And when you have colour in the playground, it looks all cool.”
The natural playgrounds were paid for by the District of Thunder bay Social Services Administration Board, a $150,000 investment that when completed will see similar structures added to a low-income housing area at John Street.
The playground at Limbrick Place also opened this fall.
Only John Street remains to be built, said DSSAB chairman Bob Katajamaki.
“It’s wonderful because it gets the kids away from TV and computers and starts them playing and interacting with other children and imagining things,” he said.
The playgrounds, which also include bike tracks, climbing walls and natural accents including boulders, trees and art wall and cedar post seats are unique in Thunder Bay.
Most playgrounds, Katajamaki explained, are filled with pre-manufactured equipment picked out of catalogues, using mainly steel tubing and plastic elements.
DSSAB dared to be different this time around.
“They have to use their imagination to play on this stuff and it creates sort of a learning environment for them. They can interact with it and climb poles and slide,” Katajamaki said.
“I think we have to start participating with the tenants and I believe there was a lot of tenant input into this. This is what they wanted and I think we should respond to that.”
The playgrounds were designed with the assistance of Earthartist Planning and the work completed by Wilco Contractors Superior Inc.
