Kids lend a hand in planning playground at Ralph Klein Park
A natural playground launching in southeast Calgary this weekend came together with design help from some young experts.
The new playground within Ralph Klein Park will officially open with an event on Saturday. The unique space incorporates areas representing the mountains, the foothills and the prairies, aimed at illustrating part of the water-cycle story.
Alex Waffle of Earthscape said the company came on board after students in Grades 3 to 5 from Fish Creek School, McKenzie Towne School, Haysboro School and Penbrooke Meadows School were asked what features they would like to see at the play area.
“That information was compiled and was made available to us when we started doing our design work, so we were able to have that and kind of build from that, which was fantastic,” Waffle said.
In the mountain area, users will find a wood sculptural mountain that kids can climb on, tunnels, sliding bars, ropes and climbing holes.
In the foothills space, the main feature is a “log jam” or natural log climbing structure, while the prairie section includes a sand play area.
“Landscaping around those areas tries to reflect the different areas as well,” Waffle said.
For example, the mountains feature more coniferous planting, while the foothills have more deciduous trees and shrubs, and the prairies feature a grassland habitat.
Earthscape collaborated with local landscape architects Ground 3 on the design, and with Wilco Contractors on the installation.
The project was announced in 2017 as part of the project TD Common Ground, focused on revitalizing more than 150 green spaces in Canada. TD Bank Group made a $500,000 donation to fund the project.
The park is located at 12350 84th St. S.E., with the official opening on Saturday at noon.