Inclusive playground opens at Kingsville’s Lions Park

With the vast majority of Canadians believing that accessibility is a human right, the Town of Kingsville took a major step forward in addressing that right with the opening of the town’s first inclusive playground for local children.

A ribbon-cutting for the new playground took place at Lions Park on Mill Street on June 6, followed by the Kingsville Lions Club holding a free celebration barbecue for families checking out the new play structure for all to enjoy.

Beginning with an agreement formulated in 2019 between the Lions Club and the Town of Kingsville, the new playground marks the completion of phase two of the park’s redevelopment. 

Kingsville’s CAO John Norton indicated that the inclusive project came in at an overall cost of $300,000, of which the  Kingsville Lions Club covered $123,000 of that total by mounting a very successful Play It Forward fundraising campaign, and through a Canada Healthy Communities Initiative grant that they obtained through the Windsor-Essex Community Foundation.

Kingsville’s Manager of Parks and Recreation, Courtney Godfrey, shared what makes this playground so unique. 

“An inclusive playground represents more than just accessibility,” she said. “It represents children with sensory, cognitive and audible issues, and they can use this playground as other playgrounds are not necessarily suitable for them.”

Godfrey was also asked what features of this playground make it truly inclusive. She said, “It has different variations of challenge levels. It has different heights, there are boards for the kids to play on that are tactile, a variety of climbing levels are offered and it has a sway swing that multiple people can all enjoy together at the same time. We also have a hardened sponge surface by the play structure that makes for easier access to it. This playground really is for everybody.”