After all its fundraising efforts, the Humboldt Public School (HPS) playground committee is finally ready to begin the first two phases of construction.
It was as actually set to begin on June 14, but the inclement weather forced them to delay things until the following weekend of June 20-21.
According to Patti Durand, chairperson for the school community council, the installation will cost approximately $55,000. Thanks to fundraising and memorial donations, the school community council had some seed money to the tune of $15,000. They also recently received word that they were the recipients of the Community Initiatives Fund (CIF), which matched the funds they raised with an additional $15,000.
“We just found out last week,” said Durand. “We couldn’t install it in anticipation (of receiving the funds), so we just held off and hoped. This is the first time we’ve been recipients of a grant for the playground.”
With the money raised by student fundraisers, the memorabilia auction, individual donations and donations made by groups such as HERO, the Humboldt Kinettes, and the Good Neighbour Store, the committee had enough to get started on the first two phases.
Those phases will include a play structure for Grade 3 and 4 students, 10 swings, three foursquare pads, and a gathering area for Grades 7 and 8 students. The gathering area will include a gazebo, two picnic tables, and six benches that were donated by Horizon Fertilizer.
“The idea is so they can gather in a clusters,” said Durand. “The (playground) is huge. It’s great to play in, but we need equipment because the population went from 180 to 285 students within a few years.”
Durand says it’s lucky the current structure is still usable so she’s hoping the new equipment will be fully in place by next year. For that to happen though, they’ll have to focus on grant funding as well as community support.
“Those groups make a big difference because they’re willing to see our need and support us, which means a lot,” said Durand. “The need (for new playground equipment) arrived well before we can meet it, so we couldn’t get it in place any more quickly.”
The committee is looking for volunteers to help with the construction, so anyone who’s willing to help out this weekend is asked to contact Durand at (306) 231-8650.
