J.R Walkof Elementary Turns Sod For New Playground

J.R Walkof's iconic slide won't be demolished during the installation of its new playground.

Access Credit Union donated $5,000 towards refurbishing the school's old red and white slide, which will be the only part of the current play structure that will remain.

"The parts that are going to be removed are actually unsafe," Cyndie Wiebe, Co-Chair on the Committee for the Play Space Project, says. "And if you look closely, our documentation is several pages long with how many things needed repair. It would have had to be taken apart anyhow."

The new playground will include an easy access entrance for wheelchairs, followed by a path leading towards a bridge where a rain garden will be planted. An "interpretive forest" will be placed on the west side of the climbing wall, with a spiral structure of tires being constructed on the other side. At the opposite end, there will be a large one metre deep sand-pit constructed, along with the old slide being put up there as well. The dirt from the initial excavation will be repurposed to start a new hill for the students to play on. Plans for having this new playground to also be used as an outdoor class room are in place.

Naomi Peters, a member on the Parent Advisory Council, says they also want the playground to serve the community, "because this is actually a destination for even when there is no school, a lot of the community come here to play as opposed to any other park."

So far, the school has raised just under $90,000.