Camille Gomez tries out the three-story slide at the newly completed HES playground. (Photo by Lisa Aciukewicz)
After years of planning and anticipation, the new and improved Hildreth Elementary School playground reopened unofficially on Friday, July 22, ready for returning students to break it in this fall.
There will be an official opening celebration on Monday, Aug. 29, at 4 p.m. This is the day before school opens for students.
The realization of the new playground was a community affair. It was a grassroots effort that started with a small group that eventually organized as an official committee. The committee members didn’t let the hefty price tag of $193,000 dissuade them. They held fundraisers, including a concert with Hildreth Elementary School alum and local singer Ashley Jordan, sold sweatshirts, and collected “pennies for the playground” in HES classrooms and on counters at the General Store.
In addition to the committee’s fundraising, the playground project received contributions from the Shaw Trust, revenue from Mass Development contracts, and a $65,000 appropriation from Town Meeting.
The biggest community offerings came in the form of labor. Mark Saydah and his crew from Whole Earth Landscape and Design were the first people on site.
“We dismantled the old structure, regraded the surface, and laid out the fencing around the new structure,” Saydah said. “When I look at the finished product, I see a monument to the town. It took a diligent team who dedicated themselves to this project right up to the end.”
After Whole Earth took apart the previous structure, which had stood for 23 years, volunteers, including School Committee chair Keith Cheveralls and Rene Roy, owner of the Harvard Home Improvement Connection, stepped in to pour concrete footings to support the equipment.
However, later that day, a group of teens crossed safety barriers that had been placed around the site, Harvard Police said. The group was spotted and asked to leave. However, the damage had been done. The poured concrete had not yet cured and about 10 of the support elements had to be removed and repaired.
“It was a nuisance,” Roy said, “but no real damage was done. It could have been much worse and someone could have been hurt.”
The incident was reported to Harvard police. The department reiterated to the Press that residents should take heed when they see caution tape and netting around work areas.
The centerpiece of the new playground is a three-story “mega tower,” designed for 5- to 12-year-olds, with a winding tunnel-slide. Then there is the see-saw built to accommodate 12 riders. The pièce de résistance is the giant Orbx Climber.
Other new features include a handicap-accessible section with specially designed swings and a wheelchair ramp. There is also a dedicated section with a climbing configuration and slide for 2- to 5-year-olds.
To get from one side of the playground to the other, kids must walk across the spine of a big blue fish. New swing sets line the edge of the playing field, with a low stone wall designed as a retaining wall and a place for spectators to watch baseball and soccer.
“This was truly a community build. So many did so much right to the end,” said playground committee member Cindy Buhner. “In spite of 100-degree temperatures, people showed up to spread over 60 tons of rubber mulch around the structures. We had ninth-graders, parents, teachers, community members, and even our new principal Linda Dwight out there at 6:30 in the morning helping out. I am so happy everything turned out fabulously.”
The Hildreth Elementary School playground is currently unofficially opened to the community. Everyone is welcome to the official opening on Aug. 29, which, in case of rain, will be held in the cafetorium.
During the celebration, several people will speak on behalf of the project. There will be songs and student participation. The celebration is slated to last less than an hour and children are welcome to stay and play afterwards.
When the children return to school on the following day, teachers will escort their classes to the playground so they can explore it together and discuss safety and responsibility prior to the first recess.
