Let’s Play 2Gether!

The Cause

Our community has been through some tough battles over the past few years including the most recent loss of the fight to preserve the cherished Highland Park Golf Course. This was a hard hit for many of the community members to take, as the land has cultural significance for community members, Indigenous peoples, and environmentalists. Our committee is dedicated to replacing an old playground, and we believe this project has the capacity to inject some much needed positive energy into the community.

The playground adjacent to the Thorncliffe Greenview Community Association (TGCA) is outdated and unsafe. The paint is peeling and the old metal structures are rusting. The pea gravel surface limits accessibility. The Playground Team is a subcommittee of the Thorncliffe Greenview Community Association comprised of a group of volunteers, which include parents and community members. The Team's mandate is to bring together the resources needed to develop and build a new playground located adjacent to the community association. Our mission is to create a place where community members from different backgrounds, ages, abilities, and economic levels can unite.
The vision for our playground is something completely unique. Our playground will be an inclusive and safe place to foster cognitive, creative, and social development and encourage healthy and active lifestyles. We see our playground incorporating many features to engage tactile senses, encourage cardiovascular fitness, and allow for complete accessibility, whether a child is in a wheelchair, uses a walker, or has special sensory needs.

Additionally, within the next 5-10 years, Calgary's new LRT green line is proposed to stop in front of the TGCA. Our community is rapidly becoming more urbanized, more inner city. We fully support this transition, and we believe that a new playground will create a welcoming and safe meeting place.

Who Will it Benefit?

A playground doesn't just benefit the immediate community it resides in. This playground is located directly off of Centre Street North, and sits beside a huge community association that offers programs to all citizens in Calgary. Within the next 5-10 years, Calgary's new LRT green line will run along Centre Street, allowing easy access to the playground and the community association (as well as new developments that will surely pop up). An inclusive and accessible playground will benefit children and families with and without special needs from all over the city, as there are very few playgrounds with these features anywhere nearby. Families will benefit from this playground, because a playground is a place where people from different backgrounds, socioeconomic levels, and abilities come to gather. A playground builds community. And community members look out for each other, and work together to keep their neighbors safe. A playground has that trickle down effect. Accessibility within a community adds value to those who live there. We all benefit from the opportunity to participate fully in social and recreational activities with one another without the limitations imposed by physical barriers.