October 12, 2009
Building a playground in Etna
One of my favorite things about Dryden is that people will come out to get things done together. They'll work on our state forest trails (and again) or put together elementary school playgrounds. This weekend it was Etna's turn, as the Etna Community Association called on volunteers to assemble a new playground for kids ages 2-5 at the Etna Community Park.
When I first got there, the main visible features were 12-inch holes in the ground, bored the previous day. The rain made things pretty amazingly muddy around the area where the equipment was to be installed. Volunteers were laying out a plastic border that we'd be filling with gravel and mulch, as well.
Getting the first few pieces assembled was a challenge - the decks were heavy, and keeping them stable meant multiple people holding them above the mud while we tried to set them just right for the bolts to work. As the structure came together and things became more stable, it got easier, but still took careful tweaking.
Installing a deck.
Adding the slide.
The mulch, gravel, and concrete were a ways away from the playground, but fortunately lawn tractors helped move the materials.
Town Board member Jason Leifer and County Legislator Martha Robertson unload a gravel delivery.
Bringing concrete.
I had to leave before they'd finished - which apparently was around 6:00pm from a 9:00am start - but I went back yesterday to see the finished structure. You can't actually play on it until Thursday, as the concrete needs to set, but it looks great!
Completed playground structure.
The structure, including the time of the company representative, Crystal, who did a great job of keeping things going during the build, cost around $10,000, of which Town of Dryden funds for community centers covered $8000. The mulch, gravel, concrete, and augur rental were extra, though. The result should last for years, keeping kids entertained for a long time to come.
If you want to see a lot more of this, I've posted a gallery of playground build photos. (And yes, the photo of Sungiva at the end is on the old equipment, not the new. She'll get to try that later this week!)
Posted by simon at October 12, 2009 12:06 PM in Etna , community centers , volunteersNote on photos