Groundbreaking event of the Waskasoo Playground renovation on Monday in Red Deer. (rdnewsNOW/Alessia Proietti)

By Alessia Proietti

First of it's kind

Red Deer’s Waskasoo neighbourhood hosts groundbreaking event for new natural playground

Jun 27, 2023 | 1:39 PM

Residents gathered at Red Deer’s Waskasoo Playground on Monday to celebrate the groundbreaking of its renovation.

Originally planned for June 19 but cancelled due to weather, locals instead postponed the event to June 26, where they ate hot dogs on the barbeque alongside games and hula hoops for the kids.

The renovation is the third and final phase of the Waskasoo Gardens Playground Project (45 Ave. and 58 St.) which includes the creation of a community gardens and a gazebo, as the first two completed phases, respectively.

John Bouw, President of the Waskasoo Community Association (WCA), said the new natural playground will be geared towards preschool children, aged five and under, as other “Tot Lots” in the city are not located within walking distance from the neighborhood.

“The inspiration was, this is a very mature neighborhood; you had a lot of older people here 10-15 years ago but now you’re getting more families,” he said. “When they did surveys, a lot of people said we have a lot of playgrounds in Red Deer but nothing for small tots.”

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According to the Little Tikes company, a natural playground features elements that feel integrated with the outdoor landscape with an emphasis on the surrounding natural environment.

The Waskasoo natural playground will include a low berm to act as seating for the playfield area, bike and stroller parking, landscaped borders, picnic patios, a new decorative fence and a pathway.

With a “Prairie to Parkland” theme, the WCA says the rolling and grassy prairie plains will be represented by the field and berm, while the rich and varied ecology of the northern wooded parklands will be represented by the mature and newly planted fruit trees, landscaped borders, and a 12-foot tall elk-shaped main play feature.

According to the WCA website, the word ‘Waskasoo’ in Cree means elk, as vast herds roamed the area prior to its settling. As well, they say in the 1970’s, a 10,000 year-old bison tibia was found at Waskasoo Creek.

As a result, the play zone is designed to be divided into three free-form play sections:

• A main feature shaped as an elk head
• A sand lot for tots with buried ‘elk’ bones
• A swing zone
  Design of the main play feature at the Waskasoo playground in the shape of an elk. (Waskasoo Community Association website)

The antlers of the main feature will be made of logs and footholds for kids to climb with metal core ropes. The top of the elk’s head will be covered with a hammock-style net for climbing, resting, or observing while the back will be a multi-use rubber mat acting as a slide, challenging climbing surface, or jumping feature. Two doors will also allow kids to explore the inside of the structure.

The non-accessible sand surfacing in the play zone will also be expanded and replaced with barrier free engineered wood fibre.

“I think this will be an attraction for all of Red Deer. This is something Red Deer and very few communities in Alberta will have; it’s so unique,” said Bouw.

“Don’t forget, we have Kerry Wood Nature Centre close by and McKenzie trials so we’re thinking, if [people] are going to drive by for Kerry Wood, why wouldn’t they stop at this beautiful playground we’re building?”

A total cost of $390,000, Bouw said the project would not have been possible without donations from community members, the City, who have already started excavating, the province, companies like Central Alberta Co-op, Shunda Construction, and the Calgary Flames Foundation, to name a few.

Excavation work already begun by the City of Red Deer for the playground’s renovation. (rdnewsNOW/Alessia Proietti)

Linda Cullen-Saik, WCA Secretary, says due to inflation, they are now $10,000 away from reaching their goal. The Association raised funds during the groundbreaking event for the new decorative fence to surround the park.

Bouw anticipates the playground to be completed by approximately this September.