NORTHAMPTON — After nearly a week of construction, it’s anchors away for the Jackson Street School’s new ship-themed playground.
The school’s old playground was torn down in 2014 because it was beyond repair and did not pass inspection. Construction of the $225,000 project began last Thursday, and took four 12-hour days to complete.
“It makes my heart sing,” said principal Gwen Agna. “There’s such joy and enthusiasm and anticipation. To see children have that look about them, especially in the world right now, it allows kids to have that childhood that they may sometimes be deprived of.”
The new playground’s focal point is a wooden ship equipped with a wheel, a working periscope, rope ladders, and two slides.
Surrounding the ship are swings, a toy shed, and man-made boulders for children to climb, among other features. Agna said that the structure has sparked creativity in the children and challenges them mentally and physically.
“The kids call it our pirate ship … some kids even came to school this week wearing pirate outfits,” Agna said, laughing.
She said she also overheard talk of the slides being used as the “plank.”
Agna said that while the playground opened Sunday night, it still needs one more concrete path to be handicapped-accessible.
She noted that making the playground accessible for all students was one of the main objectives of the project.
“We wanted to make sure that everybody could use the playground no matter what their mobility issues were. Our goal at this school is to be as inclusive as possible,” Agna said.
More than 100 volunteers, including parents and faculty, made construction of the playground possible. Valley Home Improvement also donated manpower.
“It’s been an incredible embodiment of what community looks like, and what it looks like when people put their mind and hearts together to solve a problem,” said Jo Comerford, a parent who volunteered last week.
She said that while the children love playing on the playground, what is most moving is how they were able to see their teachers, principals, family, and friends join as one to create something new.
This was seen not only through the playground’s construction, but also through funding.
The playground was paid for through a combination of Community Preservation Act funds, a federal block grant for community development, as well as donations from hundreds of Jackson Street School families, businesses and other members of the wider community.
The Jackson Street School playground had always been a beloved part of the Northampton community, particularly because of its wooden structure.
Daniel Bradbury, designer of the new playground, said that was part of the reason they picked a wooden ship as the foundation of the new space. It was a way to incorporate the old tradition in a creative way.
In the end, Bradbury said he could not be happier with the final product.
“It was so gratifying to see a community come together to make something that we can all step back and be proud of, and children can enjoy for generations to come,” Bradbury said.