Mission

The Outdoor Space Committee, as a partnership between the Coventry Hills Elementary Fundraising Society (CHEFS) and the School Council, aims to bring inclusivity, fun and learning opportunities to our community, through play and exploration. Our objective is to provide the students, teachers, and staff of Coventry Hills Elementary School, our community of Coventry Hills, and surrounding communities, with an outdoor space that is welcoming, inclusive, and rich with learning opportunities.

We are currently focused on creating a playground that offers a space of inclusivity, fun, and cooperation for the children of our future.  A space where all feel welcome to learn and grow with each other, through cooperative play, while pushing their own boundaries and exploring their individual and group limitations.

Problem

Currently, our school is home to 625 students, with only 90 children being able to use the playground equipment at a given time, due to safety concerns. Additionally, our school has been forced to create a separate recess time for those with disabilities to use the playground equipment in accordance with their ability. As you can imagine, this creates an atmosphere of separation based on ability, which leads to a decrease in mental health amongst our children, their parents, and caregivers. 

By the year 2027, our current school playground is scheduled to be demolished due to its age. In order for the school and community not to lose such an important feature, CHEFS, in partnership with the school council, will need to raise the money to replace the playground.  

Plan

Our goal is to have a new, inclusive playground built for August 2026. This new playground will encourage more active play in our students of all abilities, as well as all members of the community, so anyone can come and play. Along with increasing the number of students who can play at one time, the new playground will have a focus on inclusion. The playground design selected will enable those with mobility impairments to be able to use their abilities to play alongside their peers, to aid those with visual impairments to play safely, and includes equipment designed to help with calming for children who may be overstimulated, such as those with autism or other sensory processing disorders.

The proposed playground design will be the first inclusive playground within walking distance for most families in the community of Coventry Hills. In an engagement survey sent to the school and community populations in May 2024, 72% of respondents requested an inclusive playground and 73% believed a lack of inclusivity to be the largest problem with the current playground. Parents with children of diverse needs were specifically consulted on features they would find beneficial. The Outdoor Space Committee has worked with the playground manufacturer Canadian Recreation Solutions (CRS) to finalize an inclusive design, following Annex H guidelines.

Beneficiaries

Coventry Hills is home to 17,350 people as of 2021 with 22% of the population being 0-14 years of age, or 3,875 children. By the year 2026, our population is expected to grow a further 10%. 7% of these children live in low-income homes. Coventry Hills is one of four communities making up the Northern Hills Communities, including Panorama Hills, Country Hills, and Harvest Hills. Among these four communities, over 1,000 children aged 0-17 are considered to be in "private households to whom low-income concepts are applicable", according to the City of Calgary's Community Profiles. 

Also according to these community profiles, Coventry Hills has a statistically higher percentage of Indigenous families, immigrant families, visible minorities, and non-English speakers, compared to the general population of Calgary. 4.3% of families in Coventry Hills hold an Indigenous identity, compared to 3.2% across the city. Our community has a proportionately higher number of immigrant families, 37% over Calgary’s 33%, specifically first generation immigrants. More than half our population consider themselves to be visible minorities. 27% of households in Coventry Hills speak a language other than English most often at home, with 3.2% having no knowledge of English or French, but play is a universal language.

Given our inclusive playground will be accessible to the general public, but specifically the community surrounding our school, all of these families will be able to benefit from the play equipment. Having access to a recreational space that anyone can enjoy regardless of age, ability, socioeconomic status, or ethnic background provides children with a safe, reliable place to learn and grow together. We are advocating for these children to live a healthy lifestyle both physically and mentally. This playground will provide the children of today, and the children of our future, the opportunity to learn critical life skills of cooperation, team building, and problem solving.