Playstructures for our kids in Heron Park, Ottawa

About Heron Park Community: ● Heron Park is a mainly residential area encompassing - Bank St. to Sawmill Creek, Billings Bridge to Walkley Rd.. ● At the moment big changes in our community demographics are occuring – particularly there are a lot of young families moving into the area with children (as the original residents age and/or move on). ● Our community ranges from middle class to working poor and subsidized housing. ● Our park is very well used with at least 40 -80 visitors per day including our children, parents, grandparents, facility staff, young couples, neighbours, volunteers, local officials, generally people from all walks of life. ● The Heron Park Community Association is incorporated and is a registered charity. We have an elected board and our accounts are audited annually. Www.heronpark.ca

Why might you wish support the building of playstructures? ● Most people recognize that physical activity is important for children's overall development. ● Playgrounds are key to increasing children's activity levels, that is why building playgrounds is critical to improving the health and well-being of our children. ● Kids need more activities to keep them outside and play in a safe and enjoyable environment ● A good playspace build can lend itself to countless science, math and social studies lessons. ● New research suggests that play and down time may be as important to a child’s academic experience as reading, science and math, and that regular recess, fitness or nature time can influence behavior, concentration and even grades. (Taken from article in New York Times, 24th Feb.2009 on Health :The 3R's? A Fourth is Crucial, Too: Recess) • Childhood play is crucial for social, emotional and cognitive development. • Imaginative and rambunctious “free play,” as opposed to games or structured activities, is the most essential type. • Kids...that do not play when they are young may grow into anxious, socially maladjusted adults. (ScientificAmerica January 2009, "The Serious Need for Play")

At the moment we have two playstructures: one is for children 1 – 3, which consists of a small climber and a small slide; the second is for children 5-12 which consist of monkey bars, firemans pole and a slide. These two playstructures were put up by the City of Ottawa approximately 30 years ago and are now in desperate need of replacement. These older playstructures were built with materials containing a resin which is harmful to the environment and is no longer used for playgrounds.Our children would really appreciate having a park that challenges them more than they are currently being challenged at our park.

We would love to have three Playstructures in our park in order to serve chidren from 18months to 18 years.

We would love to have the following three structures or something similar:

● A structure that is geared towards children aged 18months - 7 years, such as, Maxplay 3 (with stepping stones and wheelchair accessible) you can find it at http://www.littletikescommercial.com/ncatalog/detail.asp/Play%20Structures/maxplay/no/MP3 The cost for this structure alone is $23,000 not including instalation.(An exciting feature of this stucture is that it is also wheelchair accessible...)

● A structure geared towards children agen 5 -12 years. NRG Builders 48104 The cost of this structure is $29,000, not including instalation.

● Ten Station Fitness Station -geared towards teens. This structure can also be found at http://www.littletikescommercial.com/ncatalog/detail.asp/Independent%20Play%20Events/Fitn ess/no/200007428 The cost for this structure is $13,000, not including instalation.

In order to achieve our goal of having these new playstructures, members of the Community have put together a number of fund-raising programs and events during the past year. It's a start, but we need to get local businesses involved.. We will need sponsors and sponsors' donations. WE NEED YOUR HELP TO REBUILD OUR PLAYGROUND!

This whole project stresses community involvement and produces visible, tangible, unifying outcomes that your business will be proud of for years to come. All donations to the project are tax-deductible.

If you can help or would like more information please contact either Maritala or Leo. We look forward to hearing from you soon. Best Regards, Maritala Robinson & Leo Derome Executives at Large, Heron Park Community Association Maritala Robinson Leo Derome 613 316-3979 613 739-5687 maritalarobinson@sympatico.ca