Park Designed by School Children Winning Awards
March 12, 2009
Richmond children know a thing or two about park design.
The Garden City Park Play Environment, which local school children helped design, has won the 2009 Award of Excellence from the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects. It was one of six projects from across the country that won a National Merit Award in the category of Design.
It’s the second award garnered by the innovative play space, believed to be the first of its kind in North America. It also won the Best of Category in Landscape Architecture at the 2008 Design Exchange Awards, presented by Canadian Business magazine.
The play environment, with its pedestrian bridge over a meandering stream, old growth stumps and sculpted log seats, natural planting, hillside slides and net climbers, plus a skateboarding feature and an outdoor amphitheatre, was conceived through a design process involving school children, parents and staff from schools near the park, as well as members of the City Centre Community Association. Kindergarten, grade four and grade seven students described their vision for the playground development in drawings, sketches, words and clay models. Natural elements such as logs, rocks, trees, plants, flowers and water were present in every design. Slides were another popular choice, as well as areas for sand play and climbing activities.
Those ideas meshed with City parks planners, who had originally envisioned a non-traditional, more natural play environment for the park. The City contracted landscape architectural firm space2place design inc., who developed the design process involving the school children, and turned their youthful ideas into the concept plan. The plan was approved by City Council in April 2007, with construction beginning that summer. Much of the construction work was carried out by City staff while Warren Brubacher of Coastal Cedar Creations, created the stump, log and handrail pieces. The play environment officially opened June 13, 2008.
“The City is appreciative of the recognition for the park,” said Mayor Malcolm Brodie, “but our real reward comes from watching hundreds of Richmond’s children enjoying the play area they created.”
