Lack of outdoor play options hard on families
Many don’t have cash for golf, camping, says community association leader
Many typical summer go-to activities such as swimming and playing on the playground are still off-limits because of COVID -19, and some community associations are worried that if their summer programming also is cancelled, families will have few activities left.
Murray Giesbrecht, executive director of the North Central Community Association (NCCA), said the closures of these recreational facilities hits low-income families particularly hard.
While golf courses and campgrounds opening up under the Re-open Saskatchewan provide outdoor opportunities, Giesbrecht said the cost of these is out of reach for many families struggling to make ends meet.
That’s where the NCCA’S summer programs typically step in, but with the pandemic ongoing, those programs remain indefinitely postponed.
“A lot of programs like ours, they create those opportunities ... We’ve had people out kayaking, we’ve had people out for field trips to Wanuskewin Park just outside of Saskatoon,” he said.
This summer the NCCA was planning on running basketball and soccer programs several times a week, as well as flag football, fitness classes and cooking programs. Should the organization have to cancel all of these programs, Giesbrecht said, it would leave a gap for families.
“They would definitely be at a loss ... It’ll be a missing piece for sure,” he said. “There is definitely some concern from families that there won’t be as many activities.”
Swimming pools, playgrounds and seasonal programming like camps and athletic activities all fall under Phase 4 of the provincial government’s Re-open Saskatchewan
plan. The tentative date of June 8 has been set for Phase 3, but no timeline has yet been announced for when residents can expect Phase 4.
At the moment, Giesbrecht said, the NCCA is taking it one day at a time and thinking ahead for how it could modify summer programs if needed.
Jim Elliott, chair of the Al Ritchie Community Association (ARCA), said his community is in a similar position. He said he has seen a few people use the playgrounds in the past couple of weeks, even though the city and school divisions still are asking people to stay off the structures.
As the weather continues to warm, he expects to see more people pushing for playgrounds and splash pads to reopen. While the neighbourhood’s Maple Leaf Pool would have been closed for construction anyway, Elliott said losing the summer day camps provided by ARCA would be a blow to families.
These day camps usually provide lunch for all of the kids who attend. Trips to the pool, the Saskatchewan Science Centre and the Royal Saskatchewan Museum also were regular program staples. These other closures and increases in cleaning expectations have made ARCA rethink what their programs will look like even if they are given the green light.
“If in fact we do go ahead, are we going to need more supervision?” Elliott said. “Are there things around washing hands and masks and all those types of things (and) additional sanitary needs that we wouldn’t necessarily have contemplated in previous times?”
In the meantime, Giesbrecht is encouraging families to spend time outside together, whether that means going for a walk or bike ride in a nearby park or wandering their own neighbourhood.
The NCCA is also still running its Renew project — which encourages residents to clean up the neighbourhood’s alleys — and its community garden this summer. Giesbrecht anticipates an uptick in participants for both those programs as there are few other options for activities.
“It’s maybe not so much recreational, but it’s still an opportunity for people to do something meaningful,” he said.
It’ll be a missing piece for sure. There is definitely some concern from families that there won’t be as many activities.