By Theresa-Marie Wilson
July is National Park and Recreation month, and one local service club wants to make sure that children of differing abilities can enjoy the activities and fun a park can offer.
The Kiwanis Club of Arroyo Grande Valley is set to launch a campaign to raise funds for the purchase and installation of new inclusive play equipment at Elm Street Park that would be accessible to all children including those with special needs and disabilities.
The play area currently has a swing set, a structure with a playhouse for small kids to climb and slide as well as a car like apparatus all designed to develop physical coordination, strength, and flexibility, but it can be challenging for children with special needs to join in the fun.
“We want to make it all access so that children of all abilities can play together with no distinction like this is your area and this is your area,” said Anne McCracken, who serves on the board of the AGV Kiwanis. “We want a place for all children to play together equally, enjoy one another and learn about each other. We are all the same, we are all one.”
The service club has received full support from the City of Arroyo Grande Parks and Recreation Department and received approval of the first draft of the plan from the city council to create Kiwanis Centennial Playground. Approval of the second or final draft is typically a formality.
The idea was born when an old metal slide in the current play area fell apart and was removed and there was no money to replace it.
“I was blown away when I found out they no longer had a slide,” said McCracken. “I’m a cancer survivor. I have watched a lot of children with cancer and different issues, not just wheelchairs, but any child with disabilities, and a lot of times they are unable to play in a park. I found out that there were no all-accessible parks around here. The Five Cities has nothing, so we are starting something. This is a centrally located community park. Everyone comes here from every city in the Five Cities. This is really going to be a huge community effort.”
Working with the playground equipment company RecWest Outdoor Products, Inc., children will soon be able to play on or with a roller table, fossil digs, a SuperScoop and an elevated sand table.
Inclusive playgrounds often include sensory play offering visual, sound and tactile opportunities, a variety of accessible high points, which can be landscaped mounds, decks and climbing units and multiple routes through the play area to encourage moving about the space.
“Accessibility is not enough,” said Carolynn Jones with RecWest. “We want to enhance the play experience of children with limited mobility and address the needs of children with sensory deficits and other developmental issues. Our inclusive playground designs try to focus on accessibility, age and developmental appropriateness and sensory-stimulating activity.”
Arroyo Grande in Bloom plans add to the sensory experience by planting flowers and other plants in the areas surrounding the playground.
A planned phase II of the project would include a swing set that is handicap accessible and additional play equipment.
Accessible playgrounds are slowly beginning to take shape in the county. Currently there is one in Atascadero and the Jack Ready Imagination Park in Nipomo is under construction.
“We have seen an increased focus on trying to better address the needs of children with all abilities,” said Jones. “The chance to play side by side can help remove barriers and allow all kids the chance to learn and grow through play.
Not only is the Arroyo Grande Valley Kiwanis Club raising funds for the equipment, but they will also cover maintenance of the playground as the initial of an Adopt a Park agreement.
Phase I of the project is expected to cost about $20,000 and the 40-member club will reach out to community members, other service clubs and business to help reach that goal through sponsorships.
“For us to get that will be incredible,” McCracken said. “We are nickels and dimes. We are sweat equity, we lay cement, we build a gazebo; we have never been a big money club. It is just sheer determination. We have got to do this. I’m getting goose bumps because we are going to do this.”
The AGV Kiwanis has a long history with Elm Street Park. More than three decades ago members built the gazebo picnic area and were later active volunteers in the Elm Street Dog Park.
“We have been connected to this park for 35 years,” said McCracken.
The Kiwanis Club of Arroyo Grande Valley serves the 5 cities area
For more information or to make a donation to the new playground, call Anne McCracken at 805-441-2151.
Club meetings are held Thursdays from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. at Quarterdeck Restaurant located at 1500 West Branch Street.