Last week playground structures were delivered to the sites at Rochester/Gladstone housing project. Like IKEA furniture, it came with hundreds of pieces and thousands of colour-coded screws and bolts and flanges and washers and mysterious extra pieces.
The work was so meritorious, volunteers came from as far away as Beijing to spend a few hours working. Actually, the work crew from Beijing returned to painting the Chinatown Royal Arch later in the morning.
Allen key? Allen key! Who’s got the Allen key?? IKEA definitely has better instruction sheets.
Look for the Made in China tag; assembled in Canada by Chinese workers…
Evidence of a healthy and happy workplace where work is child’s play.
Many hands eventually make a roof.
Shovelling can be done in many conditions and circumstances.
A snakes and ladders sidewalk game is spray painted onto the pavement. Everyone breathe but don’t inhale!
Volunteers from St Luke’s and from St Mathias 32nd Brownie Pack
Volunteers from Adobe, in Action; and overweight volunteer assigned to hold down a troublesome retaining wall.
Insert blue-dyed left-hand threaded 13.8mm bolt into lock-nut #6 using left-handed monkey wrench turned counter-clockwise …
Mr Tilly could have been a sponsor, there were so many Tilly-style hats in evidence.
Children inspect the finished structure.
Many thanks to the hundreds of volunteers who worked to make Dalhousie a better place for their neighbours. Isn’t west side Ottawa just the best place to live?
It is great to see the community get together like that!
Very nice! A group of young ladies from the Rochester Heights community were selling homemade painted cards for $1 to raise funds for this project the other day. I was quite cute, and I must say, these youngins had infinitely more artistic talent than I.
It would be nice to see the “park” in this community re-imagined next. The one at the corner of Gladstone and Booth, I believe. It’s such a dreary, concrete pad. Right across from St Anthony’s church, it could probably be very nice with a bit of greenery.
Oops, that should read “it was quite cute”, not “I was quite cute”. HA!
The piazza at the corner of Booth and Gladstone, opposite St Anthony Church, has been redesigned by the City as part of extensive community consultations. Construction is slated for the next year or two. Last time I saw plans, there were spray pads, benches, and a much more planted and green look.
thanks for the info! that’s great.
Eric – thanks for the photos. I’m sorry I couldn’t make it, but am glad there were enough people to get the job done!
Heather – it’s not a park, it’s a Piazza—Piazza Dante—named after Dante Academy (now St. Anthony’s School).
I anxiously await a revitalized park at Gladstone/Booth! It’ll be great to have a spot that everyone in the neighbourhood can use.
Beyond being a great community-building initiative/activity — I think it’s cool that the kids got to see the playground under construction. At least, I would have liked to have seen that when I was a kid.