Edmonton Leads the Country with Playgrounds Where All Kids Can Play

JasonDunkerley

March 31, 2009

Kicking a soccer ball with a bag tied around it in Northern Ireland is where Jason Dunkerley, a paralympic athlete with a visual impairment, discovered his love for running. Jason and his two younger brothers were born blind due to a genetic condition.

“Sometimes it’s hard for parents not to shelter children with disabilities for safety reasons, but our parents always told us to go out and play,” says Dunkerley. “The other kids tied the bag around the soccer ball so we could hear it coming.”

Immigrating to Hamilton, Ontario from Newtownardes, Northern Ireland at age 13, Jason attended a school for the blind where he participated in a variety of sports. “I enjoyed running the most,” he says. “But, I never expected it to lead where it did.” Dunkerley won a bronze medal for Canada at the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games.

“The City of Edmonton is leading the country with their commitment to accessible playgrounds,” said Dunkerley. “They have improved the quality of life for kids who otherwise wouldn’t have the chance to play with their friends, push their physical limits, and gain the self-confidence that comes with that challenge."

Dunkerley is now the Coordinator of the All Abilities Welcome initiative with the Active Living Alliance for Canadians with a Disability in Ottawa. He spoke to a group of fitness professionals yesterday and to City of Edmonton staff today.

He is in Edmonton to promote the All Abilities Welcome tool kit. This new tool kit refers to the new accessible playspaces standard developed by the City of Edmonton and the Active Living Alliance for Canadians with a Disability. The kit contains strategies and helpful hints to make programs offered through municipalities, schools and community organizations more inclusive.

“Edmonton is the first Canadian city to establish policy to make sure all new and retrofitted playspaces are accessible,” says Kim Sanderson, a Policy and Research Officer with the City of Edmonton. “Building accessible playgrounds means all kids are given the chance to reach their potential and have fun just being kids.”

Sanderson unveiled a new guidebook that helps explain the standard. The new Accessible Playspaces in Canada guidebook was developed through a coalition of national groups including the Active Living Alliance for Canadians with a Disability (ALACD), the International Play Association (Canada), and the Canadian Playground Safety Institute. It can be downloaded free of charge through the ALACD web site along with a fact sheet.

“The guidebook is loaded with pictures to help explain the formal jargon found in the CSA document. It’s our hope that jurisdictions across the country will adopt the standard,” says Kim Sanderson, who volunteered to help write the book. “Being inclusive strengthens our community and enriches our city. Who knows what our kids can achieve if we just give them the chance?”

 

For more information:

Heather Crowe

Title Special Needs Recreation Liaison, Community Services
Telephone

780-496-4917
Email recreationdisabilities@edmonton.ca

Diana O’Donoghue

Title Coordinator, Advisory Board on Service for Persons with Disabilities, Community Services
Telephone

780-496-5822
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