(rdnewsNOW file photo)

By Troy Gillard

big boost

Westpark Middle School playground gets $250,000 in provincial funding

Jun 2, 2020 | 6:26 PM

Westpark Middle School is getting $250,000 for a new playground from the provincial government.

It’s one of 26 projects across Alberta that were previously unfunded and are now sharing in $5 million from the province.

Alberta Education recently expanded its playground funding criteria to get more playgrounds built than would have otherwise, the government says in a release.

This funding comes from the existing capital budget and will support 18 school divisions in building the new playgrounds, supplementing their fundraising efforts.

“Playgrounds are extremely important to local communities and provide a place for all children to explore, develop and have fun,” says Education Minister Adriana LaGrange.

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Alberta Education provides grant funding of up to $250,000 per school to support the construction of a playground for eligible projects. School communities that wish to exceed $250,000 can use fundraising to supplement the project.

Grant funding remains available to those schools that have not received the Education playground grant to upgrade or replace an existing playground through the Community Facility Enhancement Program.

Moving forward, the government says that any new school with K-6 programming will have funding for a playground included in their capital budgets.

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Elsewhere, Red Deer County has contributed more than $28,000 towards a new playground at Poplar Ridge School.

The money will allow for the addition of Gaga Ball, a variation of dodgeball that has become a popular outdoor activity in recent years.

The game is played in a fenced-in area that the county funding will help build.

“Council is very pleased to provide new and improved play areas for children in the Poplar Ridge area,” says Red Deer County Mayor Jim Wood. “We hope this equipment gets a great deal of use and allows kids to be happy and healthy as they come out of this difficult time of pandemic.”

“Our Poplar Ridge families are really engaged and they recognized this project would benefit the entire community,” said Principal Carolynne Muncer. “This is huge for our students. They all love the game, and they’re also really excited to be able to play a game of basketball. It means a lot to our school and to the entire community.”

The school and parent council provided $3,000 in material, labour and equipment for the project.

Ground preparation is already underway and the project is expected to be completed over the summer, with involvement from the division’s Facilities Dept. to ensure safety criteria are met.

Plans are to hold a community celebration at the school, when in-school learning resumes.