Janssens was not the only parent who thought an updated playground was a good idea, and Principal Landon White agreed that the structure was past its prime. Some elements of the existing middle years’ playground were from the 1970’s, and its newest addition was already 25 years old.
Planning began immediately. Jackson and Janssens started reaching out to playground companies for designs, applying for grants, and doing as much fundraising as they could.
Originally, the goal was around $175,000, but with tariffs and other expenses the final bill came to just over $195,000. Fundraising was slow at first, but once the project got its first few major donations ($20,000 from the Municipality of Boissevain-Morton and $25,000 from the Boissevain-Morton Foundation), more kept rolling in.
Meanwhile, Jackson and Janssens were hard at work on the design. Their first step was to ask the kids what they wanted. They surveyed grades five through eight and asked them how, what, and where they liked to play and what they wanted to see in the new structure and shared that with playground companies.
“When we said we want something bigger for older kids they came back with a design right off the beginning that was bigger and a little more out there than just your standard monkey bars and a five-foot slide,” said Janssens. “To older kids that isn’t that big of a slide, so we did want to go big with this.”
Thankfully, the more elements they added, the more bulk and bundle discounts they were able to get. The design process was a bit tricky, however, and came with a few challenges since the layout of a playground has many factors to consider. The footprint of the project ended up increasing from its original size to accommodate for snow removal and not encroach on the track.
“One thing I learned through this process is how much space certain elements take because you need to have enough space for a safety zone in front and back of the swings and other elements to make sure it’s safe,” said Jackson. “For example, the spinner actually requires something like 13 or 14 feet, and that’s just a small spinner.”
“There’s a lot of pieces to it, but it’s easier with a great designer,” said Janssens. “Tracy, our designer, was really great. When we were moving the slide she was like, ‘okay, if I come down the slide and I turn this way, where am I going to go? What am I going to play on? Okay, there are three things to play on, that’s good. If I turn this way, there’s nothing.’ That’s why that little climber is added to the side. It was very interesting listening to her.”
Designing for accessibility was a similar process, with both an easy way to get up and down, and a challenging way. The stairs on the structure are very gradual and considered a transfer station, so if a wheelchair user was able, they could lift themselves onto the stairs. It also makes it easier for a grandparent to walk up the stairs so that they can go down the extra-wide slide with a child.
Surrounding the play structure is a material called engineered wood fibre (EWF), which is made from processed wood fibres that interlock to create a soft, cushioned surface that absorbs high impacts, allowing the playground’s fall height to reach 11 feet. It is also non-toxic, provides good drainage, and has a lifetime of around 15 years, if maintained.
All said and done, the construction of the playground took a week of 12-hour days for two shifts of volunteers. Now all that is left are two pieces still in transit, and waiting for the grass seed to grow. The pair said that it was not until the second day that it really felt like their project was coming to life.
“Going from that image you had in your head to seeing it in person is really hard to describe,” said Jackson. “You think ‘oh, is it ever going to happen?’ You hope it does, and wonder, but then it all started to snowball and one thing after another it all started to come together. Then we got the BASF award, which was very community driven, and that put us over the top.”
She is referring to a grant from BASF to the tune of $25,000 that the group won due to garnering the most votes from their community.
“When we did get the notification that we had won, that was pretty ecstatic!” said Jackson. “We really felt the community’s support.”
“I think that really was a catalyst for making this playground,” said Janssens. “It wasn’t just mine and Susan’s playground anymore. It really became like everybody knew about the playground then, and got lots of people behind it.”
That community support showed up again when it came to putting the structure together. Jackson and Janssens said that it was not an easy build and the size of some of the components made it challenging because each piece was connected and had to be levelled.
“It wasn’t quite like putting together Lego, so the skilled help really made a difference,” said Jackson.
They said that out of the 100 adults, teens, and youth who volunteered to work no one sat on the sidelines. They also noted the Ukrainian community, who put in a lot of work and helped with pouring concrete, as well as local stores and restaurants that were very generous with the meals and snacks they provided.
“Gord Turner played a very big role in helping with the build. His knowledge of everything was so helpful,” said Janssens. “Both of our husbands were dragged into it, too. I think they are quite relieved it’s done.”
Local youths are excited to play on the new structure as well.
“We had kids that were here helping spread the wood fibre on the last day, and as soon as the last truckload of fibre went in and the Bobcat stopped, we said ‘alright go for it’, and they took off running and went down the slide and climbed on it, so yeah that was fun,” said Janssens.
It felt like a rollercoaster for the pair—one week a grant request would be denied, and the next they would receive a donation. They said there were a lot of moments when they thought they would never get there.
“I think it was Nelson Mandela who said ‘it always seems impossible until it is done’, and that’s literally how we felt the whole way through,” said Jackson.
Some kids even had a lemonade stand and donated almost $100 to the initiative.
“It’s neat to see some of the kids work for it and take pride, and we’ve been trying to show the community that too with the fundraisers we’ve been doing: yes, we are asking for money, but we are also working for our money,” said Janssens. “Unfortunately, we can’t sell enough lemonade to make something like this happen, so the donations that have come from the community from individuals and businesses have been great.”
They are hoping that the completion of this phase gets the community excited for phases two and three, which will be something for high schoolers, and changing up the primary playground. Phases two and three will likely move forward simultaneously, since they qualify for different grants. They said it was a labour of love but that they need more people to join them for the next phases.
Overall, Jackson and Janssens said the project has been a positive experience and have enjoyed seeing everyone playing on it, as well as the positive impact it has had on the community so far.
“You don’t need to speak the same language to play together, you can make a connection and play in any language, it doesn’t matter,” said Janssens. “[This project] shows that we are proud of our community. It keeps our community sustainable. It can be hard for small towns to keep up with the times, but there are a lot of people that believe in Boissevain and keeping it moving forward.”
by JACQUIE MAYNARD
Recorder staff