To go along with that new playground smell, the surrounding area at the Linwood Community Centre got a full makeover last weekend thanks to a group of kids and numerous local volunteers.
![Volunteer Sandi Albrecht painted some spots on the playground beams on July 26.[elena maystruk / the observer]](https://www.observerxtra.com/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Post_Giver.jpg)
All the hard work was duly recorded for posterity by a television crew, who’ll share their efforts with a wider audience.
“We’ve had a great turnout,” said coordinator Cathy Bowman during the build last weekend.
Kyle Wilker, Kasja Bowman, Carlwyn and Arriana Edralin, Noah Charlton and Jordan Vogt rolled up their sleeves for the build and helped dozens of volunteers make the playground a reality. During the three-day build (July 25-27) kids learned the skills necessary to bring their designs to life. They raked woodchips, drilled and even worked with concrete. Kids as young as three were also among the volunteers that came out to help over the three days, joined by parents and local service club members.
“I have no idea exactly how many, on any given day. Probably between 60 and 100 in the first two days,” said Bowman.
Camera crews were on scene the entire time to document the kids’ hard work as they climbed ladders, painted and even hammered in a few shingles on the playground’s roof.
As part of a TVOKids television series Giver, produced by Sinking Ship Entertainment, six kids were chosen to help design and build a playground for their community. From beginning to end the group worked with designers, contractors and volunteers to complete the project. Linwood was the second Wellesley Township community chosen as the backdrop of a new playground after Hawkesville built theirs in 2011 for the same show. Giver has been nominated for several Canadian Screen awards and won a 2013 Youth Media Alliance Award of Excellence for best television program.
Linwood was picked out of about 100 submissions for this year’s second season of the show. It was Wellesley’s charm and community spirit that brought crews back for another episode, and the kids didn’t disappoint.
Sinking Ship crews filmed the kids’ hard work throughout the weekend.
“They’ve been working with concrete, they’ve been racking wood chips, they’ve been painting with oil-based paints as you can tell by their shirts when you get to see them…and their hair. They’ve had a lot of fun,” said Bowman.
Halfway through the build on July 26, the “gnome adventures” theme, aptly named for the twisting, electric blue slides, brightly coloured toadstools and red and white painted spots, was coming together as a centrepiece of a new play and recreation space complete with young, budding trees planted by volunteers, benches, and a fresh boardwalk built by graduates of Linwood PS.
Bowman said the Grade 8 school graduates wanted to contribute their skills to the community project.
The trees were also a welcome and much needed change, she added, and now contribute to the beautification of the entire area behind the community centre.
“Ten years from now you’ll never know there was no shade here.”
