Construction started May 19 and on June 6 committee members Shelby Kiteley and Stephanie Splane hope enough volunteers show up to help them finish the project. The last day is installing the wood edging that separates the sand from the grass.
“I'm hoping that by the end of (May), or by the time the restrictions are lifted, that it'll all be done,” Kiteley said. “We're kind of hoping that it coincides with each other. That's why we kind of put a rush on the build; because we knew that nobody could be playing on it (while restrictions were in place).”
TC Energy has been working in Amber Valley and had sand leftover from their project, so after ensuring it was free of contaminants, they dropped it off for the playground.
“To meet the safety spec when you get kids involved kind of thing, you’ve got to do it,” Kiteley explained. “And then Nikipelo Services has been a big help. They went and took all the old sand out for us and they helped in hauling the new sand."
When the old playground got too dangerous it was torn out except for a sandbox and a few swings. Then the little kids were getting hurt on swings too big for them.
“This isn't the original playground that they had planned, but this is the playground that we've all as a committee busted our butts for and are getting, and it's going to be superior to what was there,” Kiteley said. “I think it's going to be a really good addition to the school, but there will be room to add on if need be if the kids out grow it. But this one has a 50-kid capacity so, it should hold up.”
Kiteley credits Stephanie Splane for getting the ball rolling on the project. When Splane started adding to her family, Lacey Doman and Kiteley stepped up to help finish off the fundraising.
“I was on the committee the whole time and then just in November Lacey Doman asked if I wanted a little bit of a break and then she and Shelby kind of took over then,” Splane said. “I was expecting my sixth baby so they gave me a bit of a break.”
Now all that hard work has paid off and the new playground is almost complete, a happy time for Splane.
“It's a smaller plan than we had originally wanted, because obviously getting funding was trickier than we originally planned so then we had to scale back,” she said. “The kids are dying to go try it out.”
