President’s Message
January marks the start of the New Year, a perfect time for reflection on a year gone by and time to set our sights for what lies ahead. The Chaparral Community Association is pleased to have wrapped up the following community projects in 2019: Chaparral Elementary School’s playground extension, St. Sebastian Elementary School’s outdoor classroom, the
City of Calgary’s This Is My Neighbourhood (TIMN) projects, which include all the beautiful garbage can wraps seen throughout the community and, of course, the Chaparral Valley Adopt-A-Rink (that will continue to be a community favorite for years to come). Looking forward to 2020; the median along the entrance to Chaparral Blvd at Stoney Trail will be receiving some landscape upgrades thanks to the TIMN funding, and the CCA is very pleased to move forward with the Chaparral Common playground replacement. In the coming months, we will be unveiling the playground design and launching our volunteer drive to help with the Spring install. Please stay tuned.
I’d like to introduce you to our Trailblazer Volunteer Editor, Amy Nogas. Amy is not only a great editor, but she was also instrumental in helping the CCA secure our playground grants with the fantastic letters of support she wrote on our behalf. We asked if she would be kind enough to share some of her thoughts with you and the community.
Benefits of Playgrounds
by Amy Nogas
With the news of our new community playground coming this spring, located behind Chaparral Common, I want to highlight the benefits of playgrounds for all of us. As a mother to young children, I value outdoor spaces and the installation of the new and improved play structure will be a big highlight for the whole community. Playgrounds are the heart of community as gathering spaces, and there are many reasons we should all be excited:
First and foremost, playgrounds are fun for kids and families. Most people can recall fond memories of hours spent on the playground with friends and neighbours, playing until called in for dinner. Whether you hopped on your bike and met all your friends there or begged your mom to take you to a certain playground – the one with the monkey bars, best slide, or highest swings – many happy hours have been spent at the local playground.
They are social gathering spaces and the best ones draw people in from the whole community, regardless of location. We all need to gather and have social interactions and playgrounds are especially good at this, particularly for kids. In this day of social media and so much screentime, we need places that bring people together. Places that force us to look up from our phones and talk to one another, and well-designed, enticing playgrounds do just that. At the playground, you just might meet a new, local, parent and become good friends. Furthermore, they give kids an essential setting to practice their own social skills; everything from sharing, to making plans for made-up games, to learning how to sort out a disagreement.
This learning through play is essential for social skills, as well as motor skills and spatial development and the playground is the perfect place to master these. Most of the features of a playground aid in learning these skills; monkey bars, climbing, sliding, swinging, etc. and most importantly mastery, of skills like these, leads to self-esteem and confidence. Confidence for the future, as leaders and experts. There is even essential learning through making mistakes and most of us have plenty of stories of playground bumps, bruises and scrapes, as well as, getting up and trying again, over and over, and then feeling proud when we finally learned to “pump” on the swing, cross the monkey bars, or climb to the top of the structure. At any age, if we are motivated and engaged, learning comes much more quickly, and our environment has a foundational impact.
An underground basis for effective learning is our surroundings and we could all benefit from getting outside more. By being engaging venues, playgrounds help draw us outside and encourage outside play. The outdoors provides a beneficial feeling of freedom, and luckily in Calgary, our playgrounds provide year-round opportunity to use and are just as fun covered in snow, as they are dry. Magically they can become a bear’s cave, or Santa’s Village just with a thin layer of snow. The melting snow can even become soup to serve at a restaurant and the slide the perfect delivery system. The outdoors is the perfect place to let a child’s imagination be in charge – no sweeping or tidying required! Being outside is essential for everyone, of all ages, and even watching your little ones at the playground benefits you too.
By being in nature, with open skies and beautiful views, we are all encouraged and inspired, which has an impact our sense of well-being, mood and reduces stress. Community spaces are for the young and old; when you take your dog for a walk, or child or grandchild to the playground, it forces adults to be active too. Playgrounds promote a healthy lifestyle for everyone, by providing an exciting opportunity to stay active. All ages can be encouraged and feel better just by a sort trip outside.
One obvious, more pragmatic benefit of a new playground is the aesthetics. The look of a community is important to drawing caring and considerate neighbours and pride of ownership. Thus, the whole community benefits when its amenities are updated and well-maintained. A new playground can even improve property values. Furthermore, a new playground would draw more children and families to the area, which in turn would encourage the community-focusedmindset of our community.
Lastly, playgrounds are free! The perfect place for a family to spend a few hours without having to spend a dime. Let your imagination run wild, pretend your flying through space while your little one zips down the slide or whips by on the swing – whatever the game, take time to enjoy the outdoors and let the next playground you see encourage you to get outside and play!
