Sherwood Elementary School playground closer to reality after international grant win
After winning an international grant of close to $200,000, the Sherwood Elementary School playground committee says students can expect a new play structure as early as the spring.
Parents and community members had raised about $190,000 since the fundraiser began in 2023, said committee member Bethany Robinson.
That amount has now been doubled, thanks to the Lions Clubs International Foundation humanitarian grant.
“We are a small school … in the country’s smallest province, so it is really crazy to us to be able to get an international grant of this capacity,” Robinson told CBC News.
The grant brings the playground committee much closer to their goal of raising $500,000.
Parents and volunteers fundraising to create the Sherwood school playground say it’ll be a while yet before all the new equipment will be fully installed. Meanwhile, as CBC’s Gwyneth Egan reports, the Public Schools Branch says the first phase of playground fun will be ready for back-to-school, with swings, basketball nets and more.
“By the end of the school year the kids should have their main playground structure installed, and we should be very close, if not completely done, to having a great schoolyard for the kids to grow and play on.”
Brighter outlook this week
Just a week ago, the outlook for the group was very different.
“We were not anywhere where we needed to be,” Robinson said.
“Our kids were going back with, like we said, basketball nets, GaGa Ball pits, we have some like, creative art spaces that have been painted on the sidewalk, but there were very limited options for them.”
The playground wasn’t included in the province’s budget for the school, leaving parents and community members to step in.
Robinson said one accessible play structure costs about $250,000.
While the grant will allow the group to proceed with installing a main play structure in the spring, Robinson said there’s between $75,000 and $100,000 left to raise.
Those additional funds will “fill in the gaps and make this a truly inclusive playground,” she said, noting the Lions Clubs grant is meant for projects that support inclusive play.
That means the playground will have certain design features that allow children with disabilities to participate equally.
“All of our ground spaces will be wood chip, which makes it more accessible. We’ve included wooden ramps from the walkways into these wood chip areas,” Robinson said. “The main structure itself will have a wheelchair accessible feature to it.”
Robinson said her children who attend Sherwood School are thrilled with the news, and are looking forward to a break from fundraising.
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