Vandal victim says: ‘Let’s build it even better’

WHEN vandals attacked her local playground, eight-yearold Sophie Gargett designed a new one.

The would-be landscapearchitect had her “blueprint” ready for Cairns Regional Council, complete with a climbing wall, a slide, a swing set and a pirate flag.

“I drew it because the playground was burned and I wanted to fix the problem,” Sophie said

The Forest Gardens play area at Bill Mills Park was burned and melted on Sunday morning.

The playground would normally be crawling with kids every afternoon after school, but has been deserted this week.

“For the amount of kids that use it, this was devastating,” Sophie’s mother Joanne said.

Sophie’s design caught the attention of Division 3 Councillor Cathy Zeiger.

“The goal is to get it built by Sophie’s birthday in August,” Cr Zeiger said.

“This week we were assessing the damage, then we will price up in order to replace it.’

She estimated a similar sized playground would cost $40,000.

“When something like this happens, it stimulates community vigilance,” Cr Zeiger said.

Picture: ANNA ROGERS WHAT’S NEEDED: Sophie Gargett, 8, at the Bill Mills Park in Forest Gardens, with her design for a replacement playground.