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- Each piece of equipment has different learning properties for children where they can exercise their imagination, coordination and other social skills (Krystal Nurse/ The Sun).
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- Brothers Cole, second grade, and Greyson Ferrell, preschool, stand next to their family’s post on the picket fence (Krystal Nurse/ The Sun).
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- Fifth grader Charlotte Hardoon balances on the ropes as other kids in the background enjoy the “Play for All” playground at Indian Mills School on Sept. 15 (Krystal Nurse/ The Sun).
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- Friends Kayla Kelley, seventh grade, and Zach Hopkins, fourth grade, enjoy the swing set before hopping on the equipment (Krystal Nurse/ The Sun).
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- Indian Mills School Principal Nicole Moore cuts the ribbon to open the Play for All playground for the eager boys and girls in attendance (Krystal Nurse/ The Sun).
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- Rusty Abrams, fourth grade, pulls his friends along for a ride on the modified merry-go-round (Krystal Nurse/ The Sun).
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- Second grader Lexie Abrams and friend Greyson Ferrell descend from the slide (Krystal Nurse/ The Sun).
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- Sixth grader Faith Storer tries a creative path to enter the rope bridge on the structure (Krystal Nurse/ The Sun).
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- Seventh grader Kayla Kelley ascends from the bottom of the rope bridge, gazing at the other kids playing (Krystal Nurse/ The Sun).
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- Superintendent Christine Vespe welcomes all in attendance to the playgrounds ribbon-cutting event where she thanked numerous groups for their support (Krystal Nurse/ The Sun).
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- Picket fencing welcomes children and their families to the playground as a ‘thank you’ to all who donated or assisted in the acquisition of funds for the structures (Krystal Nurse/ The Sun).
Families will no longer have to travel to Jake’s Place in Cherry Hill to play with others now that the Shamong school district has an inclusive playground open to township children and adults of all abilities.
Two years of drafting blueprints, fundraising and construction came to an end on Sept. 15, as Indian Mills School Principal Nicole Moore cut the ribbon at the Play for All site on school grounds.
Superintendent Christine Vespe thanked organizations within the district, the board of education and township officials for formulating plans beginning in October of 2018. Fundraising to offset building costs began in January the following year, and district employees worked over the summer to install equipment and run trials for safety and mobility.
New playground structures include a stabilized surfboard to encourage balance; a modified merry-go-round that, unlike in years past, limits the amount of children who can spin inside; a rope bridge; and a climbing set for kids to practice coordination and others.
“I like to see the kids on the spinning one (merry-go-round) because you hear them excited and see them excited,” said Ali Ferrell, head of the Indian Mills Home and School Association, which coordinated many of the fundraising events.
“That’s just my favorite one. Watching the kids run onto it was my favorite thing.”
With the playground, families no longer need to travel to Jake’s Place roughly 40 minutes away to enjoy a wheelchair-accessible swing set or other play equipment.
A 50/50 fundraiser held at Indian Spring Country Club in Marlton earlier this year helped another aspect of the project come to life, a memorialized picket fence exterior etched with the names of donors. Attendees at the fundraiser paid $100 for admission, half of which went to the playground and the rest to pay for building equipment.
“It’s a lot of families, some local businesses that wanted to be a permanent part of the community playground,” Ferrell noted. “It’s really a reminder that it took a whole village to make the playground.”
Kids in the township can play once all after-school programs at Indian Mills School end. Ferrell recalled gathering with friends at a playground in her youth and she hopes her kids, Cole and Greyson, can experience “Play for All.”
“Play must be inclusive,” Vespe added. “Physical barriers cannot be an issue. Here in our community, we are proud to say all of our children can play together.”
