City picks natural playground for Inglewood, after public input
Man-made materials will be limited when a natural play space opens in Inglewood next year.
Following in-person and online engagement, the city has released its preferred concept plan for a new natural playground at Mills Park, on the corner of 9th Avenue and 14th Street S.E.
The park’s existing traditional plastic equipment will be replaced with loose logs and sticks, boulders, wooden playhouses and trees in a design that was sparked by a desire to bring urban kids back to nature and is reminiscent of an old Alberta ranch.
“Kids that live in the inner core don’t always get the opportunity to go out and see these spaces,” said Dan Borslein, project manager for the Mills Park playground.
When the redesigned park opens next year, it will be one of the first City of Calgary parks to incorporate a natural play space — a concept that’s popular in Europe and emphasizes connecting children to nature through imaginative, self-directed outdoor play.
“This is not a replacement for the plastic playgrounds. This is a supplement or an alternative to it. It complements the plastic playgrounds. That option will always be available in Calgary,” Borslein said.
Borslein said extensive public engagement occurred for the Mills Park project because the natural playground concept is relatively new to Calgary and gathering so much feedback is something that doesn’t occur for every city park.
That engagement included a unique walking tour of playgrounds, followed by kids and parents designing their ideal playground using magnets shaped like natural play items, and an online survey in which participants offered thoughts and ranked their preferred type of play.
Feedback ranged from parents who praised the city for getting away from “garish plastic playgrounds” to participants who said they don’t want their children to get dirty while playing in natural features such as mud pits.
Borslein said the concept plan, which includes ranch-inspired elements, reflects the feedback gathered.
Construction on the park is expected to begin next spring and it’s hoped the new space will be open in the fall in time for the International Play Conference, which comes to Calgary in September 2017.
The renovations were made possible with a $160,000 grant the city received from the Lawson Foundation designated for research and construction related to natural play spaces.