The Ennismore Inclusive Playground Project has officially raised enough funds to start construction thanks to a grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation, which is an agency of the Government of Ontario.
The Jude’s Joy Inclusive Playground project was started by community volunteers and the Ennismore Optimist Club in March of 2024 with the hopes of raising $250,000 to install a fully accessible playground at the Ennismore Waterfront Park.
Julie Grant, the chair of the project, came up with the idea for this initiative as she is a mother with a special needs child, Jude, who the project is named after.
In 2024, Grant approached Selwyn Council for their support of the project. During that meeting Grant said that after contacting over 300 municipalities, she found that the closest accessible playground to Selwyn was 64 km away in Port Hope. Through her research Grant was able to create a website which catalogs all the accessible playgrounds across the province called Accessible Playgrounds Ontario (accessibleplaygroundsontario.ca).
The goal of the Ennismore inclusive Playground Project is to create a playground with poured-in-place rubber surfacing, a ramped primary structure with game elements and slides, music elements, a swing area that includes an accessible swing, and an accessible merry-go-round.
The group has been collaborating with Henderson Recreation, which installed the current playground structure at Ennismore Waterfront Park in 2011 with help from the local Optimist Club.
The planned play structure, estimated to be between 2,240 and 2,640 square feet, is expected to cost approximately $250,000. According to the projects website, the goal is to create a space for multi-generational connections, ease of use for mobility aids, and play experiences for diverse abilities.
The province, through Ontario Trillium Foundation, provided the initiative with $145,000 in funding for the accessible playground equipment, paved pathways, and amenities like seating.
This put their fundraising efforts over their goal as earlier this year, they had raised about $135,000 through community efforts.
Grant told the Herald, “Everyone involved is extremely excited to be moving this project forward into construction. We can’t wait to provide our community with a playground that prioritizes inclusion for those of all abilities.”
She said that hope is to start construction in the spring just as soon as the ground thaws.
“I want our community to know that we couldn’t have done this without them, that the support this project has received over the last one and a half years has been truly inspiring. We appreciate all who wanted to learn about accessibility barriers and the reason behind the Jude’s Joy Initiative.”
Even though their fundraising goal was reached and the actual construction of the playground is able to start, they are still accepting donations through the township to further improve the park experience and the overall accessibility of the space.
For more information, to donate, or to see renderings of the playground concept, please visit www.ennismoreinclusiveplayground.com.
