A Place for Everyone: Parents Start Fundraising for Inclusive Park in Cedar FallsWaterloo-Cedar Falls Courier Article By Mike Anderson
4/19/15 | CEDAR FALLS | Two mothers with special needs children are spearheading a campaign to raise funds for an inclusive park in Cedar Falls. Sarah Corkery and Amanda Weichers are hoping to enlist the city’s cooperation in constructing the disabled-friendly playground in Greenhill Park, but first they will have to raise $500,000 from grants and private donations. “We have identified a need in our community where all children can play together safely,” Corkery said. Corkery’s 6-year-old son, Jude, is legally blind and has a seizure disorder. “Which makes going to the park very stressful and dangerous,” Corkery said. “He might climb up on something, walk right off the edge, or trip and fall or run into the street.” Weichers’ 7-year-old son, Beau, also has a seizure disorder and was born with a rare brain abnormality. “He has lots of problems with balance and safety issues,” Weichers said. “So one of the reasons that Sarah and I have felt the need for something like this in Cedar Falls was safety reasons. A place that we could take both of our children.” Corkery and Weichers drew inspiration from an inclusive playground in Portland, Ore., called Harper’s Playground. Mark Kuiper with Ritland-Kuiper Landscape Architects has already worked up some designs for a similar park in Cedar Falls. One of the main sites Kuiper has considered so far is Greenhill Park. We felt that Greenhill Park provided the nicest canvas for us to develop what we actually feel is going to be a destination park for Cedar Falls,” Kuiper said. “There just aren’t many examples of parks in Iowa that are doing this well, so we feel like this is going to be a regional draw.” |
Kuiper’s preliminary designs are purposefully more integrated into the landscape to evoke a natural and interactive feel compared to a rubber pad with a playground on top. The result is a playground with several smaller structures and playground equipment pieces spread out around the park. Some of the features include a slide, an orbital spinner, a climbing structure, swings, a zip line with buckets, a bridge-and-tower structure and a sand play area. “Sand with a little bit of water is the holy grail of play equipment,” Kuiper said.
Much of the fundraising will be done through Beau’s Beautiful Blessings, a nonprofit organization founded by Weichers to help kids who suffer from brain disorders or intellectual disabilities. Those interested in donating can do so at www.beausbeautifulblessings.com. Contributors should specify their donation is intended to fund the inclusive park project.
Actual construction is still a long ways off, but once the park is built, Corkery hopes the increased accessibility will be taken advantage of not just by kids with disabilities, but adults as well. “By creating this more imaginative, fun experience and making it more accessible is kind of a win-win for everybody,” Corkery said.
Much of the fundraising will be done through Beau’s Beautiful Blessings, a nonprofit organization founded by Weichers to help kids who suffer from brain disorders or intellectual disabilities. Those interested in donating can do so at www.beausbeautifulblessings.com. Contributors should specify their donation is intended to fund the inclusive park project.
Actual construction is still a long ways off, but once the park is built, Corkery hopes the increased accessibility will be taken advantage of not just by kids with disabilities, but adults as well. “By creating this more imaginative, fun experience and making it more accessible is kind of a win-win for everybody,” Corkery said.