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Website

http://www.topsfieldplaygroundcommittee.org/

So you’re going to improve your local playground. What’s your great idea?

The Topsfield Playground Committee has already successfully built 2 playgrounds in town. We are currently fundraising to build a final playground at the lower elementary school. There are currently many issues with safety, bee infestation and muddy areas at the playground. We are designing a fabulous new playground that meets all the safety standards and we are relocating the playground to another area of the school to avoid the poor drainage issues in the current location. We are a very dedicated group of volunteers who have raised a large sum of money in a very short amount of time!

Which local nonprofit, school, or park district will you work with, and how will you work with them to choose a playground for the project?

We are working with the Steward School in Topsfield, MA. We have had extensive meetings so far with the School Committee, the school principal and nurse, Parks and Recreation and the Town Selectman. We have sought input from the principal and school nurse to create the most fun, yet safe playground possible. We also traveled to 10 other playgrounds in the area to research each playground vendor. We took photos and had our own children play on each one to get “real” input from real kids.

How will you involve local volunteers in the playground project?

This has been an entire committee of volunteers from the beginning. We are soliciting "in-kind" donations from contractors and parents in the area that would be willing to donate their equipment and/or manpower to install the playground. We also will have a "community build" for 2 days where we ask any and all members of the community to come help build our playground. We have already had 2 very successful community playground installs, so we are confident this will be another one!

Tell us about the kids that will be using the playground.

The students of Steward School are grades K-3. We have taken the wide range of skills and ages into consideration while planning this playground. There is a big difference between a 5 year old and a 9 year playing on a playground! We have incorporated 2 handicapped swings and of course there will be handicapped accessibility. There will be children with moderate special needs who will benefit from the "sensory garden" area.

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