Grounds for celebration

It’s no mystery why the Aikahi Elementary School playground is such a hit with young families. It has a volcano slide, turtle tunnel, treehouse, a boat deck that sways back and forth, rope nets and a cool "dragon king" wall bordering the play area. Tropical fish, dolphins, a gecko, a hammerhead shark and a sea horse adorn the structures, and student-decorated tilework gives the playground a nice local touch.

Cushiony artificial grass and seating areas make it a comfortable place to play, and there’s plenty of shade beneath the trees.

Aikahi is unique in that the community — not a government entity — built it, with private funds and corporate donations as well as hundreds of hours of volunteer labor from the Marines, Hawaii Job Corps students, the Hawaii Carpenters Union and others.

Students, parents and staff at Aikahi Elementary School were able to tell the designer, New York-based Leathers & Associates, what they wanted. In all, it cost an estimated $300,000 to build, but three years later the school and community are pleased with the results.

In the face of municipal budget constraints, more communities across the nation are taking an active role in funding and building their own playgrounds, whether through pizza parties, grants or contests.

Not that it’s easy. Playgrounds less elaborate than Aikahi can cost upward of $150,000 and must comply with a long list of safety standards and Americans with Disabilities Act requirements.

Honolulu’s Parks and Recreation Department will not have any money to build new playgrounds this fiscal year, said Director Gary Cabato. Instead, the agency will focus on maintenance, repairs and replacements of existing facilities.

But the public can expect to see some new-to-Hawaii play structures thanks to a city contract with a new provider, Kompan.

Cabato said the city sought a contractor who could provide playgrounds able to endure Hawaii’s salty air and sun and are vandal-proof. Kompan offers structures made of mostly stainless steel.

Kompan play structures are scheduled to be installed at Wilson Community Park in Kaimuki, Waialae Iki Neighborhood Park, Kipapa Neighborhood Park in Mililani, Iliahi Neighborhood Park in Wahiawa and Palolo Valley District Park, with more to come.

In the small East Honolulu community of Niu Valley, residents have been working over the past seven years toward one simple dream: a playground for their neighborhood.

At the bottom of a hillside, below two tennis courts and adjacent to Niu Valley Middle School, there’s an open field of grass owned by the city.

Since the city doesn’t have the budget to build any new playgrounds, the residents decided to raise the money themselves. So far, they’ve collected about $47,000 toward their goal of $66,000. They won $15,000 in an online "Let’s Play Design Contest" offered by Dr. Pepper Snapple Group and KaBOOM, a national nonprofit group. Corporate sponsors donated from $2,000 to $5,000 apiece.

Other fundraising efforts continue, including a recent ice cream social at Bubbies last month.

"It’s really going to be a family center, where kids can play and parents can sit and watch kids play. It will be the epicenter of the neighborhood," said project spokes­man Peter Kay.

One advantage of raising your own funds is that you get to design it yourself, he said.

The Niu Valley Playground Committee chose to put in contemporary-style play structures by Evos. Surrounding benches and exercise stations for adults will make the site an ideal recreation spot for the entire family.

Construction is expected to start sometime this year. When done, the park will be open to the public.

Mike MacFarlane of Island Recreation, which designed the project, said Hono­lulu is slow to catch up with national trends in playground design. Those trends include apparatuses that encourage imaginative freestyle play and incorporation of nature. Instead of the straight lines of traditional monkey bars and similar play structures, shapes are spherical and three-dimensional.

For example, kids climbing Evos’ 14-foot-high arches can pretend they’re on a spaceship or a giant bug.

Most of the city’s public playgrounds offer the same play structures — generally a straight or twister slide, a bridge, a climbing structure and monkey bars — in primary colors, along with tic-tac-toe blocks or an alphabet.

Most seem to be made from a combination of plastic and steel.

"There’s nothing wrong with the design (of most public playgrounds)," MacFarlane said. "What’s wrong is that not all of our children are the same. A child in Hawaii Kai goes to Kailua goes to Ewa Beach and it’s the same experience."

MacFarlane, a 20-year industry veteran, says he’s seen more creative playgrounds emerge out of "community builds," and they tend to be well maintained.

"It’s kept clean by everyone in the community because it’s truly theirs," he said. "Community-based projects are the way that great things can continue to be built in the future."

After applying for a city grant of about $85,000, a nonprofit group is installing a replacement playground at Ewa Beach Community Park.

The contract has not yet been finalized, but the group hopes to have Kompan of Denmark, install a 14-foot-high climbing dome with nets, two spinner bowls and a spinning pole.

Volunteers are expected to help install artificial grass for the surface, with the goal of completing the new playground this summer.

"We’re really excited," said Debra Luning, an adviser to the group’s board.

Getting the playground at Aikahi built was no easy feat, according to those who started initial efforts.

There were numerous hurdles along the way. The playground was closed temporarily after the play structures were installed because students were suffering scrapes from the gravel ground cover. It took more fundraising and volunteers to cover it with the artificial turf.

Fundraising wasn’t easy at the beginning, according to parent and Navy officer Hobie Anderson, but it was rewarding to be able to provide input for the design.

THE custom-designed play structures, made of a lumber composite and galvanized steel screws, were chosen to endure Hawaii’s environment, he said.

It took perseverance, skill at navigating bureaucratic hurdles, and leadership from the right people at the right time, according to maintenance volunteer Greg Thielen.

A number of plaques and tiles commemorate those who helped make Aikahi playground a reality. There’s also pride of ownership. Since the playground was built by the community on campus property, the school’s PTSA volunteers maintain it.

"It’s an opportunity to show my kids I care about the environment they’re in," Thielen said.

Thomas Fahey of Kailua says Aikahi is his son’s favorite playground.

Paciano, 2, loves to climb on the turtle and jump down and crawl through it.

"A lot of thought and energy went into this design relative to the ergonomics of kids and the way they move about," Fahey said. "It also incorporates the natural beauty of Hawaii, with the trees and natural breezes, plus it’s bordered by this park."

Liz Feeney of Aikahi brings her two daughters, Kolena, 2 and Kiana, 4, at least once a week.

She likes how the playground is spread out into different areas, with some structures more appropriate for younger tots and others better suited for older kids. The artifical grass is also great, she said, because when it rains you don’t have to worry about mud.

"I like that it’s clean and that there’s a lot of interactive play here," she said. "You can use your imagination and there’s plenty of shade. It’s just a great playground all around."

On the Net
» Niu Valley Playground: www.niuvalleyplay­ground.com
» Evos: www.playlsi.com
» Kompan: www.kompan.us
» Handbook for Public Playground Safety: www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/pubs/325.pdf