Everik Harach, 7, with a spaceship he built at the Adventure Playground with Youth HQ staff member Cared Blackham. (rdnewsNOW/Josh Hall)

By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

less screen time

Adventure Playground helping kids grow and excel

Sep 22, 2019 | 12:00 PM

Youth HQ continued its efforts this week to open up the minds and imaginations of young kids with its final Adventure Playground event of the summer.

Meagan Parisian, Marketing and Communications Specialist says the experience is invaluable for the children who take part.

“It’s a really great opportunity for kids to just get out of their traditional play and instead use different materials,” she says. “You can’t put a price on a kid discovering something new or creating something new, or the pride that they feel. For us to be able to facilitate all of those kinds of experiences is really incredible.”

Materials range from cardboard boxes and steel chairs to a hammer and some nails for pounding into scrap wood.

Cared Blackham, who’s working in Canada for two years via Wellington, New Zealand, began the summer as a staff member at Camp Alexo. On Friday, he was helping out at the Adventure Playground.

residential mill rate to hold steady

Penhold town council approves final tax rate increases

8h ago

tips to prevent fires

Sylvan Lake urges extra caution as dry conditions push fire risk higher

8h ago

Guest speaker Chad Reyes

Premier Danielle Smith addresses Red Deerians at Christian Mayor's Prayer Breakfast

13h ago

The Adventure Playground at Rotary Park playground offered a wide variety of building materials for participants to use. (rdnewsNOW/Josh Hall)

“It’s rewarding because you get to see kids develop skills,” says the 19-year-old. “We get kids coming in from all over, and I get to teach them a little bit about New Zealand, but also see them build and grow. This is just a great opportunity for them to excel.

“Sometimes I find myself on my phone (too much), so it’s a great opportunity for me to get off mine, but at Camp, we even had kids coming in on their devices, but then they get stuck on what we’re doing. It’s great to see and encourage this kind of stuff.”

The Adventure Playground program is done in partnership between Boys and Girls Clubs of Red Deer & District, the Kerry Wood Nature Centre, and The City of Red Deer which provided a $2500 grant this year.

More information on upcoming programs offered by Youth HQ and Boys and Girls Club is at youthhq.ca/bgcrd.