Country Lakes Park Playground Reopening Celebration and Play Day Set for Sept. 6
The community is invited to the reopening of the Country Lakes Park playground at 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2017. Following a brief ceremony with remarks and a ribbon cutting, children will have the opportunity to explore the new play equipment which is designed for inclusive play.
In the event of inclement weather, the playground celebration will be rescheduled for Thursday, September 7 at 5:00 p.m. Residents can check the weather cancellations tab at napervilleparks.org for the latest updates.
Country Lakes Park, located at 736 Genesee Drive, is a 30-acre park serving the northwest area of Naperville. In addition to the renovated playground, the park includes an existing ball field, a multi-use trail, a sled hill, basketball courts, an open field, a wetland area and a parking lot.
The park was initially developed in 2003 and 2004 with the assistance of an OSLAD grant from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. The 13,000 SF playground is one of the Naperville Park District's largest playgrounds. In 2016, Park District staff noted that the rubberized surfacing needed to be replaced and the equipment was showing signs of wear and tear. Plans were developed to renovate the playground, with construction taking place in summer 2017.
The renovation of the playground at Country Lakes Park was supported, in part, by a Healthy Play Action Grant in the amount of $60,000 from GameTime, awarded in partnership with their parent company, PlayCore, and the Illinois Park and Recreation Association.
Staff from Western DuPage Special Recreation Association will be on site during the playground celebration with activities and ideas for cooperative and inclusive play, demonstrating some fun ways to use some of the features of the new play pieces. The equipment was chosen based on 7 principles of inclusive playground design, identified by PlayCore and Utah State University from research in child development. The play environment is designed to be:
1. Fair - allowing everyone to participate equitably with siblings, caregivers and friends
2. Inclusive - supporting participation of individuals of diverse abilities and ages
3. Easy to understand - allowing kids to be successful and gain confidence through play
4. Promoting independence - supporting play at each developmental level and in multiple sensory modes
5. Safe - following current safety standards yet allowing kids to take appropriate risks
6. Active - supporting active participation in physical and social play
7. Comfortable - usable for individuals with diverse sensory needs, body size, posture, mobility and motor control
"The Arch Swing is a great example of the features at the new Country Lakes playground that promote inclusive play," said Project Manager Jessica Burgdorf. "Children can sit around the perimeter of the seat or lie across the center section and enjoy the calming motion of the swing."