ESTEVAN — The new Pebbles to Rocks Childcare Centre in Estevan took another step forward with a ground-breaking ceremony June 30.
A crowd of day care board members and their families, dignitaries, supporters and others convened at the site at 1505 Wellock Road to join executive director Karolina Tamulaitiene for the celebration. She said the centre spent 2 1/2 years working to reach this point.
"This journey started when I learned that between our two existing day care centres, there were 500-600 children on waiting lists. That number hit me like, well, a ton of rocks," she said to laughter.
Pebbles to Rocks is expected to accommodate 90 children, which Tamulaitiene said is the maximum for a day care in Saskatchewan.
"I had this vision to have more open concepts where little kids can interact with big kids, too, not to just have them split up in groups. We will have rooms where kids will be set up with different activities, but a lot of it will be more open spaces," said Tamulaitiene. "I believe that little kids benefit lots from the bigger kids, and vice versa. I've seen that myself, so it will be very beneficial."
There will also be an outdoor playground.
Tamulaitiene hoped construction could begin later in the day, and the project is slated to be wrapped up in late January, allowing it to be open in early 2026.
The name for the day care came from Tamulaitiene's mother while they were discussing options.
Childcare is expensive, she said, and with the cost of living "climbing faster than a toddler on a jungle gym", families need support. The centre is designed to be regulated, non-profit and government subsidized.
"Access to quality childcare shouldn't be a luxury, it should be a given," said Tamulaitiene.
Reaching this point has been a bit like raising a toddler, she said, with surprises, a few sleepless nights and a lot of persistence. The day care explored a lot of buildings in and around the city but nothing fit, so they decided to build something from the ground up.
Estevan Mayor Tony Sernick and Estevan-Big Muddy MLA Lori Carr spoke at the sod turning and congratulated Tamulaitiene on the groundbreaking.
Tamulaitiene thanked her board members for listening to her. She also applauded city manager Jeff Ward and former mayor Roy Ludwig for their support; Alan Nixon with Revelation Engineering for designing the building that will meet both the building code and the Ministry of Education's requirements; project manager Cody Hopson with CCR Construction; and her family for believing in her.
The City of Estevan and the Southeast Sask Economic Partnership provided a total of $200,000 through the Municipal Coal Transition Assistance Program. Contributions have also come from the Ministry of Education, Tundra Oil and Gas and Kingston Midstream.
The day care has a long ways to reach full financial goals.
Tamulaitiene said the day care has about $1.5 million of the $3.1 million needed to get Pebbles and Rocks operational. She recognizes the challenges of gathering that much money, so fundraisers will be taking place in the coming months and they'll create a tiered sponsorship program for individuals, families and businesses who want to be part of making the day care a reality. She expects a mortgage will be needed.
"Building a centre of this scale, one that truly meets the needs of our children and families, requires continued support from the community," said Tamulaitiene.
Details of any fundraisers can be found on their Facebook page.
