Foreman Colin Leslie was busy last week installing a natural playground in time for the opening of Osoyoos Elementary School. (Richard McGuire photo)

As a new natural playground takes shape below the hill at Osoyoos Elementary School, and workers try to have it ready for the school opening, Principal Dave Foster is just as excited as the children who peer through the fence to watch the work.

“I can’t wait for the kids to have access to it and play on it,” said Foster. “They’ve been coming by the school and walking by the fence. The excitement of seeing it already.”

Originally it was hoped the project could be completed by September 2017, but there were problems when a supplier couldn’t access the materials.

“So we had to go back to plan B,” said Foster, noting that the school worked with another company, Habitat Systems, to complete the project.

Much of the planning was done by the PAC (parent advisory council) with parent Danielle Higginson taking a lead role.

The Rotary Club of Osoyoos gave the project a huge financial boost with a $28,000 donation, and Foster said the Ministry of Education also added a $105,000 grant.

School District 53’s grounds maintenance crew worked in July to remove the old equipment, which included large tires, and Habitat Systems began installing the new pieces on Aug. 20.

The idea behind the project is to give children a less structured play space.

As Amy Robinson, PAC president told Rotary last year, “We want children to be able to use their imaginations. We don’t want them to go out to the structure and be it a slide or a bar and be told how to play. We want them to be able to arrive at the logs or stones and rocks and natural elements and be able to have creative play.”

While the project aims to replicate the freer play of generations past, it still must meet today’s safety standards.

Workers were spreading a wood-chip ground surface on Tuesday, that will provide a soft landing if a child takes a tumble.

Foster said Tuesday that one of the remaining pieces to finish is the installation of eight swings across the back of the playground closest to the hill. The frames were already in place, but not the swings.

Community members and tourists will also be able to use the playground when it isn’t being used for school purposes, Foster said.

RICHARD McGUIRE

Osoyoos Times

Christian Letsos drills a hole in a large timber as he assembles a natural playground below the hill at Osoyoos Elementary School. (Richard McGuire photo)

Quinton Westwood uses a chainsaw to shave the rough edges off some pieces of log. (Richard McGuire photo)

Sean O’Leary in a Bobcat was spreading wood chips on Tuesday. (Richard McGuire photo)

Workers Christian Letsos (left) and Colin Leslie, the foreman, assemble a nature playground at Osoyoos Elementary School. (Richard McGuire photo)