There will be a new playground coming to Seymour Lake Twp. Park this summer. (Left) Parks & Recreation Director Phil Castonia and Oxford Township Communications and Grants Manager C.J. Carnacchio, pictured with the old playground near the soccer fields, worked to get grants and funding to install a new, larger playscape and accessories. Photo by Jim Newell

Playground will be all inclusive

By Jim Newell
Managing Editor
OXFORD TWP. – A new playground will be coming to the south end of Seymour Lake Township Park this spring, providing kids three times the fun over the old playground.
That’s because the new playscape is three times larger and has additional accessory features.
The new Soaring Saunter playground will replace the 30-year-old playground next to the soccer fields at the back of the park, said Oxford Township Parks & Recreation Director Phil Castonia.
A $125,000 grant from the GameTime/mParks Statewide Funding initiative helped make the project possible. The grant was secured last year by Oxford Twp. Communications and Grants Manager C.J. Carnacchio. The parks and recreation department has budgeted for the remainder of the costs.
The new playground features five slides, two towers, swings and assorted climbing elements. The playground will also have a communications board, a shadow play flower and swings and an engineered wood fiber surface.
There are additional features, such as a sensory wave seat, that will help make the playground inclusive for those with physical limitations, Castonia said.
“This playground will ensure everyone enjoys equal access. We don’t want anyone to feel excluded. We want everyone to feel welcome when they visit our parks,” Castonia said. “This project will encourage more children and families to reap the many physical, mental and social health benefits associated with outdoor play. Playgrounds help bring families and communities closer together.”
The playscape will be ADA accessible so all kids can take part in the fun. It will also include a variety of components designed to promote physical, social, sensory, communicative and cognitive development, including assorted drums, interactive play panels, talking tubes and therapeutic rings.
Of the system’s 22 elevated play components, 13 are accessible by ramp and 18 are accessible by transfer systems – platforms, steps and supports that allow users to reach elevated components without using a wheelchair or mobility device, Carnacchio said.
“Children of all abilities will be able to play and learn together in the same space and feel a true sense of belonging,” said Oxford Twp. Communications and Grants Manager C.J. Carnacchio. “This will help break down barriers while building self-confidence and self-esteem. Our goal is to create play experiences that actively promote inclusion, awareness, understanding and unity.”
The main part of the playground, the large playscape, is expected to cost $247,207. The other components will cost extra. Installation of the playground and accessory features budgeted at more than $76,000, Castonia said.
Oxford Township Parks & Recreation maintenance crews removed the existing playground, adjacent to the Laidler Pavilion in Seymour Lake Park’s southern end, last week and will do the groundwork, getting the site ready for installation.
“This playground will ensure everyone enjoys equal access. We don’t want anyone to feel excluded. We want everyone to feel welcome when they visit our parks,” Castonia said. “This project will encourage more children and families to reap the many physical, mental and social health benefits associated with outdoor play. Playgrounds help bring families and communities closer together.
“We need to make it bigger. We need to make it so more kids can fit on there. That one is so small it gets crowded quickly,” Castonia said.