New playground equipment is officially unveiled at Coyote Ridge Park
On December 16, more than 60 people, including Jim Nikkel, district manager for the Castle Pines North Metropolitan District, Mayor elect Tera Radloff, Timber Trail Elementary students and the community, participated in a ribbon-cutting celebration for several new pieces of playground equipment at Coyote Ridge Park, which were recommended by the students.
By Lynne Marsala Basche; photo courtesy of Anna Mallinson
On December 16, more than 60 people, including Castle Pines North Metropolitan District (CPNMD) Manager Jim Nikkel, Mayor Elect Tera Radloff, Timber Trail Elementary (TTE) students and the community, joined for a ribbon-cutting celebration for several new pieces of playground equipment at Coyote Ridge Park.
TTE third-grade students participated in a Project Based Learning (PBL) unit called “Putting the Pieces Together.” (PBL teaches students to acquire knowledge and skills by investigating and creating solutions to real-world challenges.) As part of the lesson, students became playground engineers tasked with modifying a playspace to meet the needs of children with autism.
In October, the students presented their recommendations to modify Coyote Ridge Park to the CPNMD and the Castle Pines Parks Authority.
Based on the recommendations, the Castle Pines Parks Authority purchased three KidForce Spinners and one Volta Accessible Spinner. The CPNMD removed the old equipment, as well as installed the new pieces. The TTE Parent Teacher organization (TTEA) helped with the purchase of the new playground equipment.
Nikkel told the crowd how impressed he was with the students, and he thanked Anna Mallison for bringing the project to the CPNMD, TTE teachers for their hard work, and the Parks Authority, the CPNMD and the TTEA for contributing funds to purchase the new equipment. Radloff spoke about how she was inspired by the student’s presentation, and she noted that it must have been difficult to choose the new equipment.
The laughter and smiles lasted far longer than the coffee and donuts did during the celebration!
Read more about the project in the November and December 2017 issues of The Connection. Visit www.castlepinesconnection.com and enter “Coyote Ridge Park” in the Search field.
