Playground project becomes reality

Enthusiastic students at école John Wilson Elementary School and St. Marguerite Bourgeoys School cheered the news the long-awaited $216,000 community playground will be a reality this coming June.

In front of a large crowd at école John Wilson School on Dec. 5, Innisfail-Sylvan Lake MLA Kerry Towle presented a cheque for $75,000 from the province's Alberta Culture and Community Spirit department to Erin Flewelling, lead volunteer on the playground project and member of école John Wilson's school council.

Neighbouring schools, community stakeholders and members of the public, who also participated in the fundraising efforts, were part of the event.

"When we first started out, we expected this to be a three- or four-year project. Now we will have our new playground built by the middle of June," said Flewelling. "This success is certainly not me – it's the generous community we live in. People knew this project would affect the whole community and they just said yes. In fact, people I didn't even ask have approached me to provide their support. It has been awesome."

Plans for the playground project, which started in May of 2013, involve three distinct components, each with elements that are expected to appeal to various age groups as children grow. The entire site will be accessible for wheelchairs, strollers and walkers, and will include benches and other details designed to bring the community together.

The shared playground project began with a goal of raising $300,000 by 2015, which had been revised to $216,000 after cost savings were realized on specific playground equipment. Community donations set the project on the road to success, coupled with sponsorships in funding or gifts in-kind through the Kinsmen Club of Innisfail, the Town of Innisfail, Kevins No-frills, Fourlane Ford, Dairy Queen and Innisfail GrainCorp, among others. Towle's presentation of the provincial government grant of $75,000 through Alberta Culture and Community Spirit boosted the project over the top.

"It is incredibly impressive how quickly this large project came together," said Jason Drent, principal at école John Wilson. "The playground initiative really only got underway a year ago, but it was led by a very dedicated group of volunteers. Their enthusiasm and the interconnectedness of this community is what made this an amazing success.

"It is truly a community playground and is such a great model of our Innisfail Campus approach to school and greater community involvement," he added.

Brian Spiller, mayor of Innisfail, added, "It is incredible to see how fast money piles up when a whole community is behind a project," while Chinook's Edge School Division board chair, Colleen Butler, said she was "amazed" with the rapid results of the fundraising campaign.

The playground is expected to be completed by June of 2015.