By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
The ground is bare now, but Ed Metzger envisioned his son ripping through the inclusive playground soon to be built in Bowling Green’s Carter Park.
“This will be great for Jake. He might be 42, but he thinks like a 2-year-old,” Metzger said.
The community came together Thursday afternoon to break ground for Wood County Plays latest effort to build an inclusive playground for people of all ages and abilities.
Ryan Wichman, president of Wood County Plays, thanked many who pulled together to make the $500,000 playground a reality.
That included the city of Bowling Green, which provided a site at Carter Park.
Wichman recalled his conversation with Mayor Mike Aspacher about the project.
“You did not say you wanted one of these. You said you needed one of these,” in Bowling Green, Wichman said.
Aspacher admitted he was struck by the first Wood County Plays site in Perrysburg.
“When I saw the final project, I was jealous,” he said.
“I can hardly wait to see what this is going to be,” Aspacher said.
The playground will be wheelchair and walker accessible through extensive ramping, rubber surfacing, and specialized play equipment. Fencing will surround the playground for children with sensory disorders who may run away. The poured rubber surfacing is coded for children with visual impairments to highlight danger areas.
Prior to the official groundbreaking Thursday, Wichman painted a picture of the proposed playground.
“We’re going to let kids use their imaginations,” he said.
There will be a giant hollow log structure that kids can roll through in their wheelchairs. There will be a 6-foot rubber hill, safe for kids to climb up or roll down. Unlike typical playgrounds, this one will have a sidewalk, not stairs to the tallest slides.
“So everybody gets to go on the really cool stuff,” Wichman said.
The playground will also feature the first wheelchair swing in Bowling Green, which is designed for easy access and ensures that all can experience the joy of gliding through the air. And for thrill-seekers, a seven-foot-high climbing course will challenge their ability to race to the top.
Children and adults of all abilities will be welcomed. It will provide individuals, who are physically, mentally, or emotionally challenged, the opportunity to grow and learn through sensory-stimulating activities and peer-to-peer interactions.
For Stuart James, who uses a wheelchair, the inclusive playground will allow him to fully engage with his kids.
“I can get up to the top of the slide with them, and give them a push when they aren’t expecting it,” James said with a smile.
Others who gathered for the groundbreaking expressed elation that people with varying abilities will finally have a place they can play alongside others.
“My kids grew up in City Park,” Tari Geer said. But that site didn’t work well for their grandchild with autism. “I wish we would have had this for him.”
Such a playground would have been great for Ryan Sanner, who used a wheelchair. When he was a child, there was no playground equipment designed for people in wheelchairs, said his mother, Carol Sanner.
Ryan Sanner recently died at age 32, and a memorial golf outing in his name on June 11 will raise funds for the new playground.
Pam Shumaker, a neighbor of the Sanners, said she recently took her grandchildren up to the inclusive playground in Perrysburg.
“We thought it was important for them to see kids with disabilities” and play alongside them, she said. “It was packed.”
Wichman recognized the many individuals and organizations that have contributed to the playground project, including Peggy Schmeltz, the Ability Center, the Bowling Green Rotary Club, Wood County Board of Developmental Disabilities, and Paul and Margot Hooker of Rally Cap Sports.
“They are doing an amazing thing for our community,” said Trevor Jessee, of the Rotary Club, who presented a $15,000 check to Wichman.
“It takes an entire neighborhood to make this happen,” said Metzger, representing Wood County Developmental Disabilities.
The site will be named the Rally Cap Sports Inclusive Playground – after the Hookers’ organization dedicated to sports for people with special needs.
A “build week” will be announced soon, when the community will be invited to participate in construction of the playground, Wichman said.
Wood County Plays is a registered not-for-profit volunteer organization. More information on the new inclusive playground and the mission of Wood County Plays can be found at wcplays.org.
