Captain John Palliser School
Inclusive & Naturalized Playground

CJP Inclusive and Naturalized Playground – Thank you!

We are extremely excited to have officially celebrated the opening of our new Inclusive and Naturalized Playground Project together! It has been interesting and exciting navigating the past three years and it has truly taken the contributions of the whole community to get us to this point. Your financial and time commitments, words of encouragement,…

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View the full length time-lapse videos on our YouTube channel.

THANK YOU

Every minute of time and dollar of support was essential to our success! Thank you for supporting our fundraisers, donating your time, money and services, sharing about our project and supporting us along the way. We are especially grateful for the support of the following donors:

Allardyce Bower Foundation

Allard Foundation

The Loxam Family

Henry, Roger & Theo

Gruman Law

The Wickland Family

The Bjornsen Family

The Damm Family

The Sutherland Family

Li-Yen & Oliver

The Shahmoradi Family

City of Calgary – Ward Community Event Fund

It’s time for a new playground at CJP

The current playground at CJP is over 20 years old and is nearing the end of its usable life. It’s showing its wear over many years of joyful play and is proving to be insufficient and inaccessible for our large and diverse student population and surrounding community members.

The Discovery Gardens, a naturalized space adjacent to the playground, needs revitalization.

Our goal is to build this project in Summer 2022 and we need your help!

In the spirit of reconciliation, we are making a commitment to honour the truth and acknowledge our shared history here on Treaty 7 territory, the traditional lands of the Niitsitapi (Blackfoot Confederacy), which includes the Siksika, the Piikani, and the Kainai; the Tsuu t’ina Nation; the Îyârhe (Stoney) Nakoda Nations, which include the Wesley, Bears Paw and Chiniki First Nations; and the Metis Nation of Alberta (Region III).

We are all Treaty people. Treaty 7 was and is a promise between nations to share the land and support one another. It is up to each and every one of us to work to make this place and the world better for all future generations.

Project Goals

Play

Creation of a play-space that meets the needs of CJP students and the community at large

Nature

Creation of a naturalized outdoor learning and play-space with a focus on recognition of Indigenous Peoples and their teachings

Inclusion

Creation of an inclusive environment, sensitive to differing physical and neurological needs

Respect

In all activities, respecting Canada’s cultural diversity, both historical and modern

Design Features

Draft Design (March 2022) BDI Designs Inc.

Playground

The playground design will foster parallel play so that those of all abilities and interests can play alongside each other. It ensures all children can challenge themselves and offers opportunities to succeed.

Features Include

accessible rubber surfacing
agility course
disc & belt swings
ground level features
accessible transfer slide
beehive net climber

high visibility transitions
musical features
picnic tables & benches
ramp access
monkey bar circuit
sensory panels

Discovery Garden

This space will expand learn and play opportunities by creating a quiet space to reflect, gather, explore, and deepen connections with the land.

It will feature an outdoor classroom surrounded by sustainable permaculture and low-maintenance native ecosystem design, inspired by Indigenous learnings.

Fundraising

The school, Calgary Board of Education and Alberta Education do not financially support playground builds. The CJP Parent Association is responsible for fundraising the full cost of the project, coordinating the design and installation of the playground and ongoing maintenance of the Discovery Gardens.

The total cost of our project is approximately $520,000.

We are aiming to fundraise about $200,000 through our fundraising campaigns, casino funds and corporate donations. We’re applying to multiple grants to cover the remaining amount.