By Connie Tabbert
Editor
BEACHBURG — A $1,000 grant will go towards providing the first shade trees in a natural playground at Beachburg Public School.
Working with KidActive, the natural play committee at the school is hoping to develop a natural play and learning area for children at the school and in the community, said Jane Johnson, chair of the committee, which is part of the parent council. KidActive is an organization that was founded to foster the development of healthy kids, communities and outdoor environments.
“KidActive is helping us to facilitate how to put this all together,” she said. “We want to improve the play areas for children by creating natural spaces. We want to bring in nature rather than plastic.
“The goal is to create space that has a greater connection with the environment,” she said.
There are many benefits for a community and children having a connection with a natural environment, such as trees, flowers, animals and how things grow, said Ms. Johnson. Many studies have shown that it’s healthier to get outside, she added.
It is the parents’ interest that is the driving force behind this project, she said. They know there is a need for children to be outside and active.
Ms. Johnson said after looking into the concept of a natural education space and playground, it was realized there would be costs involved. To help offset fundraising, the group will look into what grants are available. She noted it recently was awarded a $1,000 grant from the Evergreen Toyota Learning Grounds grant to spend on shade trees to go around the current play structures.
There is hope people from the community will financially help with the development of the natural learning space, either with cash, in-kind donations or their manual labour, she said. As an example, she noted there are many farms in the area and tractor tires would be greatly appreciated.
“There will be weekend working bees and we are hoping people will come and help with the physical work,” Ms. Johnson said.
The group is also looking forward to having outdoor classes, she said, which would be a great break for kids.
“They would be outside, doing the same work they are doing inside, but it would be in the fresh air, it would be a change of environment,” Ms. Johnson said.
Currently, if it’s raining or very cold outside (in winter), students are not allowed outdoors, she said. It would be great if it was made so that when it’s raining kids can go outside, if it’s cold or snowing, kids can go outside, she added.
The natural playground and learning area would have to be done in various stages, she said. It would have to start with providing a much-needed dirt base. She noted Danny Buchanan, who owns Buchanan Sand and Gravel, has said his resources would be available to the group.
To ensure the children would use what is created for them, Ms. Johnson said they were asked to suggest ideas as to what they would like to see in these areas. Some of the suggestions from the students included willow trees, flowers, a water pond, gardens, rocks for hiding and making sculptures with, trails, a play castle, tree house, wooden dinosaur, gazebo/shade structure, ice skating rink, climbing wall, water fountain, teeter totter, trampoline, rakes/shovels/buckets to be used in all seasons, new soccer and basketball nets, and areas for lacrosse, football, badminton and volleyball.
“We can’t do everything they would like, but we can do some of them,” Ms. Johnson said.
The students would also be encouraged to help, such as constructing garden areas and then taking care of the gardens, whether they be flower or vegetable, she said.
“We feel if they have ownership they would look after it,” Ms. Johnson said.
It’s also been suggested that whatever is created would be linked by pathways, she noted.
While the areas are only on school property, she said they could be used by anyone in the community, just like the current playground is used by everyone.
“These areas would be a benefit to all,” Ms. Johnson said. “I can’t see anything but positive coming from this.”
It has been shown, through studies, that children need to take risks, it’s how they learn, she said. Children need to make their own rules and decisions and fun needs to happen.
Ms. Johnson said the group is currently looking for volunteers and contributions to begin the project. While the committee has no set meetings, it’s expected the next one will occur near the end of July. She suggests people watch the Beachburg school’s web page or Facebook or call her, 613-582-7325.
She added there is a pamphlet available called Beachburg Public School’s Natural Play and Learning Spaces Project. While it was sent home with students, it is also available to the public.
Reading from the pamphlet, Ms. Johnson said, “With your help, we can create a fun, outdoor play space for our children to encourage an active, healthy lifestyle while helping them connect to their natural environment.”
